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In 2021 I got the chance to see Good Time Theatrics’ haunting vision of what happens when you lack education, respect and understanding of mental health in the Australian adaptation of ‘Spring Awakening’ known simply as “Awakening”, and I’m excited to see what they have planned for a play which has been sitting on my “to do” shelf ever since it was passed onto me by a friend!
If dark comedies like In Bruges & Birdman, or dramas like Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri & The Shape of Water are your cup of tea then Martin McDonagh’s critically lauded dark comedy, with elements of horror, The Pillowman will be the perfect blend you’re looking for!
The play stemmed in part from McDonagh's experience composing fairy tales early in his writing career. In attempting to rewrite fairy tales, Michael remembered from his childhood, he realized that "there's something dark about them that doesn't quite come through."
Set In an interrogation room, in an unnamed totalitarian dictatorship. Katurian Katurian, a writer, is being interrogated by two detectives. Next door, Katurian’s mentally disabled brother Michal waits. The detectives want to know why Katurian’s stories feature gruesome plots about child murder and torture, and in particular, why they seem to mirror a string of recent child murders in the area.
Can stories hold the power to cause atrocities? Where is the line between truth and fairy tale? Is a life of horror worth living at all?
Drawing on inspiration as diverse as Grimm’s Fairy Tales, The Pillowman poses these unanswerable questions.
Looking into some reviews about the script I found that in 2005 David Rooney, from Variety, said:
“While its themes include bad parenting, damaged children and the creation and protection of art in a restrictive climate, this claustrophobic horror show is concerned less with provocative reflection than with spinning a hypnotic yarn.”
Another review by Ben Brantly , from The New York Times, in 2005 said:
“The laughs elicited by "The Pillowman" are the kind that trail into gulps and gasps, appropriate to a show that concerns a man under suspicion of torturing and killing children with no mercy and lots of imagination.”
A review from British Theatre Guide, written by Philip Fisher, in 2005, that said:
“The Pillowman is extremely funny and has hidden depths that will leave the amateur psychologists in the audience with much food for thought.”
And a review by Lola MacMillan, in the Australian Stage, during the Melbourne Theatre Companys 2007 performance, said
“The Pillowman shatters the somewhat conventional line between a dark subject and comic delivery. It questions the veracity of fairytales and queries our capacity to be brutal and kind simultaneously, all this blended in to a superlative theatrical adventure.”
Good Time Theatrics’ is attempting to produce an all female version of the show like you’ve never seen it before, and if it sounds like your cup of tea you can see it at Pips theatre, Milton, from 18-27th of Aug.
Tickets are $40.00, with concession at $33 and group of 6+ at $30 each.
You can purchase tickets here
Please note: this show is for a mature audience as it contains violence, strong coarse & offensive language, ableism, antisemitism, adult themes, murder, suicide, police brutality, torture, child abuse and loud noises.
Strobe lighting effects will be used during the show and patrons that may suffer from epilepsy & other visual light stimulation effects are advised to contact the Front of house staff, prior to entering the auditorium.
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