The Cripple of Inishmaan

The cow-staring was blown out of all proportion !! A cow staring back on Inishmeain earlier this year.

If you’ve seen Martin McDonagh‘s The Cripple of Inishmaan, you’ll know that cow-staring features prominently (along with talking to stones). I didn’t chat to much geology when I was on the island during the summer, but, judging by my photographs, I stared at plenty of cows (in my defense, they stared at me first).

The Druid theatre company are touring with the play for the next couple of months – you really do need to go see it. Aaron Monaghan justs gets better and better in every play, and he is the glue that holds the play together. The mix of cruel humour and pathos would sit awkwardly together in the play if it wasn’t for his performance as the doomed Cripple Billy.

In fact, there’s plenty of great stuff happening between now and Christmas in Galway (obviously, I’m glossing over Foster & Allen, and Jason Byrne). The big theatre event – the Gate’s countrywide tour of Waiting for Godot is already sold out. I went to see the production in the Gate back in 2003 ago – Conor Lovett was playing the Fool (Stephen Brennan is in the role for this year’s tour), and it was considered the ‘definitive’ Beckett. It certainly was the Fab Four of Irish theatre, with Johnny Murphy, Barry McGovern and Alan Standford – I’ll let ye judge which one was Ringo. Lovett has not given up on Beckett, though – he’s appearing at the Project Cube in Dublin with another Beckett work – First Love.