The modern Grimm-like fairy tale The Pillowman, written by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, is currently playing with a take of its own at Mainline Theatre’s Minimain stage.
The Snowglobe Theatre has mounted a production that adds a layer of visual complexity to this modern classic. Storyteller and newly arrested police-state comrade Katurian (Matias Rittatore) finds himself at the mercy of good cop Tupolski (Jeroen Lindeman) and bad cop Ariel (Genti Bejko) as they try to figure out how his short stories—each darker than the next—are linked to three recent murders of children. There’s also Katurian’s “slow to get things” brother Michal (Jonathan Reinglas), whose torture at the hands of their (long-dead) parents provides a glimpse into the brothers’ troubled past… and dystopian present.
In this version, the stories Katurian tells throughout the play aren’t merely left to the imagination. A projector has been set up at stage left, relaying the story details in naïve illustrations, harking back to each character’s boyhood and the circumstances that link them together, drawn in the hand those who were there.
This production also features the Storyteller (Joanna Felemegos)—an additional presence who embodies Katurian’s characters on stage in a mute but energetic exchange between fact and fiction, character and storyteller. The result is a 3-way play where dialogue, sketch, and miming mingle on a single stage and compete for the audience’s attention, delivering a frenzy of activity until the play’s inevitable end.
The production still has a few kinks to work out when it comes to presentation, delivery, and cohesiveness—and the actors need to find their rhythm—but all in all it’s a compelling few hours and unlike any production of The Pillowman you’ve seen before.
The Pillowman is playing at Mainline Theatre at 8 p.m. on November 8, 9, 10, 14, 15, 16 (@ 2 and 8 p.m.), and 17. Get your tickets here.
