Direct from a smash hit London run, Daniel Radcliffe takes on his most critically acclaimed role yet in THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN—the biting comedy by the master of vicious fun, Academy Award winner Martin McDonagh (The Pillowman, In Bruges), and directed by Tony Award winner Michael Grandage (Red, Frost/Nixon).
When a Hollywood director visits a remote Irish island to cast his latest film, the locals clamor for their once-in-a-lifetime chance at movie stardom. But it's Billy, a frail young man with the odds stacked against him, who has the biggest Hollywood dream of them all.
As endearing as Radcliffe makes Billy, McDonagh's play really belongs to the women who co-star as his 'pretend' aunties, and Craigie and Hanna hang on to their adopted nephew like two determined barnacles. Under Grandage's direction, these two actresses take McDonagh's penchant for rustic cuteness - people who talk to stones, gossip about the cows - and make it sing with genuine humor. Less credible is the play's two big revelations, about the cause of Billy's physical impairment, which feel stuck onto the ending. And it wouldn't be a McDonagh play without some hilarious and/or ghastly episode of physical destruction. Here, the egg-smashing scene between Helen and her brother (Conor MacNeill) emerges as an unfunny overreach that, while lacking any blood, is a Grand Guignol display signifying not much of anything and, no doubt, a big mess to clean up after the curtain drops.
Radcliffe sensitively captures Billy's fragility and gutsiness all the while conveying his physical deformities, limping around with a bent arm and stiff leg, and signs of serious illness. While Michael Grandage's revival doesn't quite equal the Druid Theatre Company's pitch-perfect production, which briefly played Off-Broadway in 2008, it is a strong-acted, atmospheric staging that more than does justice to McDonagh's bitter tale.
1998 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2008 | Off-Broadway |
Off-Broadway |
2013 | West End |
Michael Grandage Company Production West End |
2014 | Broadway |
Michael Grandage Company Production Broadway |
Year | Ceremony | Category | Nominee |
---|---|---|---|
2014 | BroadwayWorld Awards | Best Leading Actor in a Play | Daniel Radcliffe |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Actor in a Play | Daniel Radcliffe |
2014 | Drama Desk Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play | The Cripple of Inishmaan |
2014 | Drama League Awards | Distinguished Performance Award | Daniel Radcliffe |
2014 | Drama League Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Broadway or Off-Broadway Play | The Cripple of Inishmaan |
2014 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Director of a Play | Michael Grandage |
2014 | Outer Critics Circle Awards | Outstanding Revival of a Play (Broadway or Off-Broadway) | The Cripple of Inishmaan |
2014 | Theatre World Awards | Outstanding Broadway or Off-Broadway Debut Performance | Sarah Greene |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Direction of a Play | Michael Grandage |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Lighting Design of a Play | Paule Constable |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Performance by an Actress in a Featured Role in a Play | Sarah Greene |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Michael Grandage Company |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Arielle Tepper Madover |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | L.T.D. Productions |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Stacey Mindich |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Starry Night Entertainment |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Scott M. Delman |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Martin McCallum |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Stephanie P. McClelland |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | Zeilinger Productions |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | The Shubert Organization |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Revival of a Play | The Cripple of Inishmaan |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Scenic Design of a Play | Christopher Oram |
2014 | Tony Awards | Best Sound Design of a Play | Alex Baranowski |
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