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THE BEAUTY
QUEEN OF LEENANE
Written by Martin McDonagh, Directed by John Hickey
The Story:
Set in a country cottage in Leenane, a small town in
Connemara, County Galway, audiences have the feeling of
peeking through the windows where a possessive mother and her
spinster daughter live as though locked in mutual bondage.
Elderly Mag Folan
watches TV all day, hunched in her rocker, while 40-year-old
Maureen stews in the juice of desperation. The two sap swap
silly demands and insults in a game of one-upmanship that,
apparently, has gone on for many years. The game is fuelled by
Mag’s fear of abandonment and Maureen’s dreams of escape.
Hope soon presents itself in the person of Pato Dooley who
takes a shine to Maureen. Indeed, the title of the play, ‘The
Beauty Queen of Leenane’, comes from Pato’s assessment of her
after an evening out at a party. When Pato must return to his
construction job in London and wants to re-kindle their
relationship, his dim-witter, younger brother Ray becomes
their unreliable impertinent go-between.
The Setting:
The action of the play is set in the living-room / kitchen of
the Folan’s rural cottage on top of a windswept and sodden
hill. The play has nine scenes. There is an interval between
scenes four and five.
Cast:
Margaret McGowan as Mag Folan
Judi Jones as Maureen Folan
Damian Fitzpatrick as Ray Dooley
Mike Jeffries as Pato Dooley
Brendon Flynn as theRadio Announcer
Behind the Scenes:
Director: John Hickey
Director’s assistant: Marie Scholes
Stage Manager: Marie Sellars
Ass’t Stage Manager: Anne Martin
Prompt: Rose cooper
Lighting Designer: Leigh Collins, courtesy of Laycock
Street Theatre
Sound Operation: Daniel Williams
Set Design: Nola McKeowen
Set Design Assistants: Mary Middleton & Nancy
Stockbridge
Operations Manager: Barrie McKeowen
Set Construction: Barrie McKeowen & member of WWLT
Program: Peter Santangelo & Graham Vale
Publicity: Jan Taylor & Margaret McGowan
Photography: Peter Santangelo
Box Office: Linda Williams
Front of House: Julie Young and members of WWLT
Canteen: Gerri Briegar & members of WWLT
Acknowledgements
Central Coast Express Advocate
Peninsula News
Gosford City Council
Rose Cooper – E-Newsletter
Multi Arts Confederation
Laycock Street Theatre
The Entrance Printing Co
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