Martin McDonaugh is known and loved for his iconic Irish dramas filled with acerbic wit, raw humanity and violence so brutal that it has left more than one fight director trying to figure out how to successfully stage it. The Cripple of Inishmaan is no exception, chronicling the small town inhabitants of Inishmaan – namely a 17-year-old boy named Billy Claven, whom the townsfolk affectionately refer to as Cripple Billy, because he is, after all, crippled. The key word is “affectionately,” despite the harsh things they may say. For better or for worse the townspeople have known each other their entire lives and not only do they depend on each other, but they enjoy each other’s company whether they want to admit it or not. Mammy relishes poking fun at her son and calling him a goose. Johnny Pateen Mike may be an extortionist for the delivery of his boring news, but boring news is better than no news at all. It is this joy and love for the small things that get them through the day, which keeps the townsfolk from just being bitter and mean.
Unfortunately, the Druid Theatre and Atlantic Theater Company’s production is missing that joy. Without that schadenfreude, the production is staid, stiff and procedural. Everybody hit their marks, got their accents (for the most part) and remembered their lines. But there was no room left for discoveries, realizations or fun. Johnny Pateen Mike, played by Dermot Crowley, clearly enjoyed being the center of attention. As the town gossip, there was no sense of the love of storytelling or the drawing out of the details to increase the anticipation and build to the ending. The banter and news-telling was rushed. Despite this, Crowley definitely stood out in his performance as one of the few people on stage having fun. Dearbhla Molloy, as Eileen, and Ingrid Craigie, as Kate, combine to form an excellent duo of Billy’s funny aunties and, like Crowley, actually appear to be enjoying themselves.
On the opposite end of that spectrum is Slippy Helen, played by Clare Dunne, who comes across as just bitter and mean. However, a large majority of that could have to do with casting. According to the script, Slippy Helen is 17, yet the actress cast to play her appeared to be in her early-30s or late-20s, at the youngest. The exact same lines are going to sound snarky and immature coming from a 17-year-old, while sounding bitter and resigned from a 30-year-old. The same can be said about Bartley, Helen’s 16-year-old brother, played by Laurence Kinlan. He obsesses over sweeties and telescopes, which sounds sweet and naïve from a teenage boy, but daft when coming from a 30-year-old man. Both Kinlan and Dunne turned in solid performances. They’re just too old for the parts they played, which gave the characters an unfavorable aftertaste.
While Tadhg Murphy also looks too old to play 17-year-old Cripple Billy, the casting works because Billy is much more mature than either Helen or Bartley, due in large part to the death of his parents when he was a baby, and to his deformity. However, it is the portrayal of this deformity that detracts significantly from Murphy’s performance. The sporadic tics and unnatural movements suggest that he suffers from a disease that continues to ravage through his body instead of an illness that he suffered as a baby, which left deformities (as described by more than one character). Anyone that has ever suffered from ankle problems will cringe with every step that Murphy takes, as he spends the play essentially walking on one of his ankles. While this effectively draws attention to the fact that his character has a pronounced deformity, it also draws attention to the fact that the actor might be hurting himself with every step that he takes, particularly when in a moment of excitement he jumps up onto a bench. Just as dangerous fight choreography may pull an audience out of the moment because they fear for the safety of the actors, so did the jump onto the bench, as several audience members cringed expecting to watch Murphy’s ankle break as he landed. Unfortunately, Murphy’s physicality overshadowed everything else that he did, which is a shame because he has talent.
The Druid Theatre and Atlantic Theater Company’s production of The Cripple of Inishmaan is entertaining. There are some laughs and some touching moments. However, anyone who has ever seen McDonaugh at his finest, including 2008’s In Bruges, may walk away feeling like Bartley at the sweetie shop – heart set on Minty-O’s but having to settle for what’s in front of him.
