Young Vic Revives McDonagh\’s Queen of Leenane

Opening on 21 July 2010 (previews from 15 July) for a month-long run, the production will mark the play’s first major London revival since its premiere run at the Royal Court Theatre Upstairs in 1996, when it won the Evening Standard, Critics’ Circle and Writers’ Guild awards for Best New Play.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane is the first in McDonagh’s Leenane Trilogy (the other two plays are A Skull in Connemara and The Lonesome West), all of which are set in the small village of Leenane in County Galway.

It centres on lonely spinster Maureen and her devilishly manipulative mother Mag. Maureen longs for the romance that will spirit her away. But if she goes, who will stir the lumps out of Mag’s complan?

Martin McDonagh won the BAFTA in 2008 for his feature film debut In
Bruges which he wrote and directed. In 2006 he won an Oscar for his short film Six Shooter. His latest play A Behanding in Spokane opened recently on Broadway starring Christopher Walken and Sam Rockwell. His other plays include The Pillowman (winner of the 2004 Olivier Award for Best New Play) and The Lieutenant of Inishmore.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane will be directed in the Young Vic’s main house by Joe Hill-Gibbins (The Girlfriend Experience, A Respectable Wedding), designed by Ultz with lighting by Charles Balfour, sound by Paul Arditti and casting by Sarah Bird.

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In the Young Vic’s Maria Studio, Lisa Hammond and Rachael Spence’s new piece No Idea will run from 22 July to 31 July 2010 (preview 21 July).

Armed with a tape recorder, they went on to the streets and asked people to take a good look at them and imagine what their show could be about. Who should play the main character? Who should be the funny one? What should the story be?

Using verbatim theatre, comedy double-act, song and dance they recreate their encounters in this new and provocative piece, dealing with “ordinary people’s
attitudes to disability”.

Directed by Lee Simpson, co-founder of innovative theatre company Improbable, No Idea arrives at the Young Vic following a national tour, which kicks off at artsdepot on 9 April, and visits the Manchester Royal Exchange, Liverpool Unity Theatre, Greenwich Theatre, Ludlow Assemly Rooms, Plymouth Drum, Birmingham Rep and Bristol Old Vic.