Review: THE PILLOWMAN, Duke of York's Theatre

It has been 20 years since Martin McDonagh’s play The Pillowman was first staged at The National Theatre and following a delay caused by the pandemic, it’s now returned to London for the first time since 2003.

Although it’s the play’s first revival in London since its premiere, it has enjoyed great success on Broadway and around the world in the interim. In Matthew Dunster’s production, the role of protagonist Katurian has been gender swapped, played by Lily Allen who made her theatre debut in Dunster’s 2:22 A Ghost Story.

Set in an unnamed totalitarian police state, cops Tupolski (Steve Pemberton) and Ariel (Paul Kaye) bring writer Katurian to a rundown looking police station. Katurian is confused as to why she’s being interrogated, sure she writes grisly short stories depicting torture and death of young children, but just writing about these things isn’t a crime itself, is it?

It’s eventually revealed that someone is carrying out the acts portrayed in Katurian’s fairy tales on real life children. Two are already dead and one is missing, and the cops believe Katurian and her brother Michal (Matthew Tennyson) are responsible for these terrible crimes.

What seems to be a straight-forward whodunnit is, in classic McDonagh form, actually extremely complex and intricate. Katurian’s fictional stories are played out and blended with the real-life happenings taking place on stage. It’s brilliantly done thanks to Anna Fleischle’s set and video design from Dick Straker.

Allen garnered high praise for role as Jenny in 2:22 A Ghost Story and after seeing her in The Pillowman I can understand why. She is a commanding presence on stage, never letting her character slip into mania or histrionics, something that could so easily happen in this role.

Both Pemberton and Kaye are excellent as the two police officers. Pemberton attacks the role with relish, this dark comedy perfectly suits him as he delivers some of the more funny yet dark lines in the production.

While Ariel is keen to torture Katurian for her part in the brutalisation and murder of children, Kaye expertly conveys the deeper more emotional side to his character as the play progresses. ‘Oh, I almost forgot to mention… I’m the good cop, he’s the bad cop’, Tupolski tells Katurian at one point, however the audience eventually discovers that that may not be entirely true.

As with McDonagh’s previous work including Hangmen and The Cripple of Inishmaan, the pace is relentless throughout, the cast bouncing McDonagh’s intricate dialogue off each other effortlessly. The complexity of the play could result in disaster, but Dunster’s impeccable directing means the audience can’t help but remain gripped throughout.

The Pillowman is at the Duke of York's Theatre until 2 September.

Photo credit: Johan Persson