The Cripple of Inishmaan

AN ALL-ROUND MASTERPIECE!

After another highly successful run in Broadway, The Cripple of Inishmaan back in the West End where its 2013 run was sold out. Written by Academy Award-winning playwright Martin McDonagh, the superb dark comedy, deliciously rich in Irish sensibilities, is beautiful and astringent story of innate aspirations, cruelty interaction and raw human nature. Told by the whole community, as is customary in such small communities, the humdrum life on Inishmaan is peeled open, one rumour at a time.

Internationally acclaimed director Michael Grandage's production which first opened in 1996, sees Daniel Radcliffe, of Harry Potter fame, in the title role. With an exceptionally talented cast and a superb script, The Cripple of Inishmaan is further bolstered by award-worthy design (by Christopher Oram) and a musical score (by composer Alex Baranowski).

WHAT'S THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN ABOUT?

Set in 1934 on Inishmaan, one of the three remote islands forming The Aran Islands off the West Coast of Ireland, the local community is abuzz with excitement. Word has come of the arrival of a Hollywood film crew on neighbouring island Inishmore, where American director Robert Flaherty will be making a documentary about life on the islands. The locals all vie for the chance to be in the film, but there is no one as eager as orphan and cripple, Billy Claven. With the odds stacked against him, as is the norm for the young man, Billy fights for his once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to escape a life of cruel mockery, endless patronization, gossip and boredom.

DID YOU KNOW?

This is Radcliffe's best-received performance of his stage career. After his previous roles in Equus and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying were met with tepid responses, his performance in The Cripple of Inishmaan, however, received rave reviews not just in the West End but on Broadway too.