I don't think I was the only one in the auditorium not expecting a play about the last man to be hanged - (or is that hung?) in England to be as funny as this. Perhaps, you say, I should have looked it up beforehand- but who wants to risk accidentally reading something that skews their perspective or forces them to notice a tiny hole in the plot? In this case my strategy paid off - who wants to struggle through a couple of hours of a playwright's quiet contemplation on a rainy Monday night?
We are introduced to Harry Wade (David Morrissey), England's second-best hangman and now pub landlord. He gives an interview to a London journalist visiting Oldham for the day (queue plenty of North/South jokes), adding to his local celebrity status and boasting in his talents as an executioner. When Harry's daughter goes missing he quickly suspects Peter Mooney (Johnny Flynn), a loud, charming yet rather creepy southerner who has recently turned up out of the blue.
Set in the mid 1960s Martin McDonagh's black comedy is brought to life predominantly inside a distinctly British pub complete with smell of stale ale and cigarettes. Though much of the action is set next to the wood panelled bar, we're also treated to some genuinely impressive feats of set design and manoeuvring. Yes that's impressive even compared to The Barbican's current gigantic production of Hamlet starring Sherlock Holmes. Deep reverberating guitar riffs instill a "vaguely menacing" atmosphere and subtly ties scenes together while gently reminding us that we are indeed watching a play about capital punishment.
This is not a play you go to in order to more deeply examine the meaning of the death penalty. Perhaps that's why the Royal Court recently put on debbie tucker green's harrowing play on corporal punishment "hang" which was one of the few plays I've heard illicit an audible gasp from the audience as tension was cut.
Hangmen doesn't have the same tension, but it doesn't need it. As a criticism of the death penalty, it is subtle and is written in such a sharp way that it is easy to forget that it's demonstrating just how fallible any justice system can be. We are so distracted by the action, whether it be comedy or drama that we forget that another human being is literally dying in front of us.
On a brighter note, this is probably the funniest thing you'll see on the stage this year.
On a brighter note, this is probably the funniest thing you'll see on the stage this year.
Hangmen is showing at The Royal Court, Sloane Square, with the best value tickets on Monday nights until October 10th available here.
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