Martin McDonagh's THE LONESOME WEST Opens This Month At Little Fish Theatre

Martin McDonagh's fiendishly funny story The Lonesome West opens August 22 at Little Fish Theatre. This Tony-nominated play about the squabble between two brothers runs for four weeks, and is directed by LFT company member, and StageScene LA and Ovation Award-winner Stephanie Coltrin.

In this dark comedy written by the Academy Award Winning Writer/Director of In Bruges and Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Valene and Colman are brothers residing in the far reaches of rural west Ireland. Their father's recent death finds them alone together in the family house, frequently and violently fighting over everything from potato crisps to poteen, and most importantly, over their inheritance. Add in a rumor about town that one of them may have murdered the father over a haircut-related insult, a local parish priest who tries desperately to save their souls, and a young girl who is their bootleg whiskey supplier, and you get a play that is both intensely hilarious and viscerally gripping.

"I am thrilled to be directing The Lonesome West. McDonagh has astonishing insight into human nature and isolation on every level - not just individual - but cultural and geographical, as well. He examines the characters of four people who have lost their compass (if they ever had one) and explores what happens to people when a moral center doesn't hold," says director Coltrin (Bloody Poetry, Taking Sides). On the play's character studies, she remarks, "There are two interdependent brothers who literally can't survive without their cruel pettiness and violence; a priest who feels abandoned not only by his parish, but also by God himself; and a girl whose veneer of toughness belies her inner feelings and hope." On what audiences should expect, Coltrin says, "As hilarious as it is disturbing, the play takes us on a ride that is surprising and thoroughly honest at every turn."

The roles of Valene and Coleman are taken on by LFT company members Bill Wolski and Cylan Brown. Wolski, StageScene LA award-winner for LFT productions of Pick of the Vine, Panache, and Tryst was last seen on stage in last season's production of Sea Marks. Brown, a frequent director at LFT (Boeing Boeing, The 39 Steps) and Shakespeare by the Sea, played Percy Bysshe Shelley in 2018's Bloody Poetry. New to the LFT stage are Brendan Kane as Father Welsh and Eliza Faloona as Girleen. Kane appeared in both SBTS productions this season, most notably as Dromio of Syracuse in The Comedy of Errors and has worked in the Hollywood Fringe Festival and at the Culver City Public Theatre. Faloona is a recent graduate of UCLA's School of Theater, Film and Television with credits ranging from Cavale in Cowboy Mouth to Nora in Brighton Beach Memoirs.

Stage Managing the show is Jacob Severance, with Set Design by Matt White, Lighting Design by Stacey Abrams, Costume Design by Diana Mann, Sound Design by Holly Baker-Kreiswirth, Set Build by Sara Haddadin, and Prop Design/Set Dressing by Coltrin.

The Lonesome West opens on Thursday, August 22 at 8pm, with Friday and Saturday shows at 8pm from August 23 through September 14. There will be two Sunday 2pm matinees: September 1 and 15. The September 1 matinee features a special talkback session where audience members can interact with the cast and creative team.

Tickets can be purchased online at www.littlefishtheatre.org, by phone at 310-512-6030 or by text 424-203-4727. Popular subscriptions of Anytime Tickets are available for purchase throughout the year and can be used at any of Little Fish Theatre's regular season productions, at any time.

Founded in 2002 as an artists' ensemble, Little Fish Theatre presents classic and contemporary plays in an intimate setting on Centre Street in the Arts District of downtown San Pedro.

To post a comment, you must register and login.