Scenes 3, 4 & 5
In scenes three, four and five consider how society's codes of conduct are disrupted by terrorism and what dramatic techniques McDonagh uses to explore these issues on the stage floor.
Scene three
This is set back in Inishmore and the audience are introduced to sixteen year old Mairead, who is renowned for shooting and blinding cows. She violently berates her brother Davey for killing Wee Thomas and is passionate about her cat Sir Roger*. Meanwhile an INLA terrorist Christy purposefully bumps into Mairead and Davey swearing that Davey was the fella he saw running over and killing Wee Thomas.
*Mairead's choice of name for her own cat, Sir Roger Casement, reduces Irish history to the laughably and absurd; Sir Roger Casement was a renowned Nationalist in 1916.
Scene four
Davey and Donny are trying to cover a live ginger cat with boot polish so that it resembles the black cat Wee Thomas whilst simultaneously predicting their demise at the hands of Padraic. This ginger cat is Sir Roger which Davey's has stolen from his sister Mairead. Their performance style is firmly based in slapstick and violent comedy.
Scene five
Through the INLA men, Christy, Brendan and Joey, Martin McDonagh makes a direct link between the drugs trade and the funding of terrorism which is why they wish to murder Padraic. We find out it is they who have decapitated the black cat and blamed it on Davey in order to lure Padraic home. In this scene there is again a misuse of irish history demonstrating that the characters operate in a world they no longer understand. For example, Christy's remark 'Do you know how many cats Oliver Cromwell killed in his time?' absurdly reducing Irish history into the image of maltreated cats (Rees, 2006, p.135).
Activity
Discuss and workshop the dialogue and dramatic action from the scenes above. The scenes below could be used to guide you in this process.
- What is the purpose and function of the commas, full stops and question marks?
- Why do the character's repeat each others phrases and words?
- What tone of voice, pacing, inflection is being used and why?
- Why are the stage directions given at precise moments and how do they add to the dramatic action?
- Why are all the character's objective almost unchanging, and why does this acting techniques emphasise the absurdity and perversity of human existence?
Realism hardly exists in this play as there is no true character cause and effect and that is why The Lieutenant of lnishmore has been described as 'non-motive theatre'. The fact the characters objectives only change incrementally, if not at all, creates the black comic effect.
One way to explore non motive acting is to experiment with tactics as tactics are used for the characters to get what they want. When playing tactics in The Lieutenant of Inishmore the actor should find the balance between exaggerations and being truthful; this middle ground can help make the acting hilarious and confronting. Tactics can be divided by those who threaten and those who persuade. The characters often use they same tactics and keep heighten them until it becomes absurd and hilariously stupid or they create small incremental changes until it becomes absurd because the actions is not going very far.
Activity
Tactics
Take one character and experiment with their tactics, for example:
- Mairead glaring at Davey in scene three can be a threatening tactic, or breaking into a smile at Padraic in scene six a persuasive tactic.
Create a list of tactics that the characters use in the first four lines of dialogue in scene four.
- Donny -frightens Davey
- Davey - makes Donny listen to him
- Donny - makes Davey worried about the situation
- Davey - tries to intimidate Donny
Or the last three lines of scene four.
- Donny - tries to make Davey happy
- Davey - makes Donny worried about the situation
- Donny - tries to make Davey laugh with him.
In pairs, play to these tactics adding the dialogue. Consider how the humour is created.
Status
The status of each character in The Lieutenant of Jnishmore is interesting as this can be explored through their terrorists' ideals and acts and is therefore determined by factors such as a character's terrorist knowledge, skills, wisdom, and relationship to a terrorist. Workshop the dot points from scene five below.
- How each characters status at the beginning of the scene adds to the underlying horror and laughter throughout the scene
- How the status of Christy, Joey and Brendan shift and change during this scene
- How the perversities in the dialogue affect the status of the characters
- How the characters statuses affect their physicality?
- Why status adds to the satirical nature of this scene?