Jeffrey Frace (Padraic) & David Roby (James)

Every October I make an effort to indulge in some sort of birthday brouhaha that doesn’t involve hopping the bars of Seattle’s nocturnal jungle gym. There’s of course nothing wrong with a classic pub crawl revelry, but with so many Libras in my bizarre crop circle of friends, I’ve usually had my fill of cheap beer, scant parking, and Journey covers ravaging the karaoke mic when it’s my turn to get older.

Last year I traded shots of booze from state controlled liquor bottles for shots of paint from CO2 powered rifles (both often ending in mysterious bruises). But this year my gift to myself was a play from my favorite Seattle theater company by my favorite Irish playwright. One naturally assumes that seeing a play would be much less physically exhausting than mock trench warfare, but I was proven wrong as I walked away pleasantly short of breath from laughing so hard.

ACT’s current production of Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore is the fiery finale to their 2010 main stage season. If you’re unfamiliar with the company, let me start by saying that ACT stands for A Contemporary Theatre, meaning that they aren’t dedicated to recycling Death of a Salesman to fill their seats, and their definition of contemporary is much more than simply outfitting Shakespearean favorites in modern attire. As much as theatre can be timeless, and as much as I appreciate the greats of drama, playwrights like Shakespeare, Ibsen, Checkov, and Miller launched themselves through history by first addressing an audience of their own time. If current success for theatre means primarily living in the past, it will seemingly remain a dated art form, making our stages more like museums than grounds for new ideas and passages to enjoyment.  ACT is a breath of fresh air in the Seattle theatre community as their manifesto clearly conveys a belief in “[...] theatre of the moment.”

The Lieutenant of Inishmore is to the moment to a ‘t’. After all, it’s a dark farce about ruthless terrorists who show tremendous affection for the pet cats of Ireland. Much like an Irish spin on Guy Ritchie (Snatch) type noir, McDonagh (Oscar-nominated author of In Bruges) creates brutally crude characters who indulge in brutally crude actions and dialogue, splicing scenes with remorseless use of gratuitous blood and countless cameos of the word “feck” (the Irish version of our favorite four-letter word), used more like punctuation than profanity. It may seem like McDonagh abuses a one trick pony named Shock Value, but the imposing wit of his craft perspires from a brow raised quite high. While I wouldn’t call it a political piece, it certainly lands a few knocks on the front doors of the audience. In a world where terrorism is such an imminent “cluster-feck,” it seems only right to parody.

Sean G. Griffin as Donny

While this isn’t a review of the production itself, as I attended a preview mere days before opening night, I will say the blood pool of talent in this show is extensive to say the least, bringing together many stars from my favorite nights of theatre in to one shimmering constellation I’ll call To James, with Love. The Lieutenant of Inishmore is directed by ACT’s Artistic Director, Kurt Beattie, who also directed Steven Dietz’s Becky’s New Car for ACT’s 2008 season. It features Sean G. Griffin as the drunken Donny, who appeared in Seattle Rep’s 2009 production of Conor McPherson’s The Seafarer, which was directed by Tony nominee Wilson Milam, who also directed the US premiere of Inishmore in NYC. On loan from Seattle’s hottest fringe company, Washington Ensemble Theatre, is Elise Hunt who plays the punked-out Mairead, who starred in WET’s local premiere of The Mistakes Medaline Made, by Elizabeth Meriwether, in 2008.

Furthermore, the Inishmore set in all its dreadful dinginess is actually quite gorgeous, acting as an ideally rustic frame to severed limbs and gutted felines (check out a behind the scenes look at Inishmore’s special effects). I also can’t help but commend the Dropkick Murphys soundtrack during set changes:  a band Martin Scorsese also used to drive his Boston-Irish thriller The Departed. While an obvious choice, it tops off this show like the foam on a thick Irish stout.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore runs at ACT through November 14th in the Falls Theatre. You can purchase tickets here with special rates for students and people under the age of 25. You can also contact ACT at (253) 839-4204 to inquire about group discounts.

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