ACT’s Mainstage Season Concludes with the Seattle Premiere of The Lieutenant of Inishmore

Seattle, WA – October 7, 2010 – ACT concludes its 2010 Mainstage season with the much anticipated Seattle premiere of The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Oscar-winning author Martin McDonagh. Directed by ACT Artistic Director Kurt Beattie, this gleefully gruesome black comedy revolves around Padraic (Jeffrey Fracé), a merciless Irish terrorist deemed too extreme for the IRA, and his obsessive love for his black cat, Wee Thomas. Wee Thomas is Padraic’s only friend, and when Padraic learns of Wee Thomas’ untimely and unnatural death, the carnage begins. His short list of suspects includes his father Donny (Seán G. Griffin) and his neighbor Davey (MJ Sieber). Aiding Padraic in his bloody quest for vengeance is Mairead (Elise Hunt), a young terrorist groupie, and stalking him are three of his fellow Irish National Liberation Army members (Tim Hyland, David Roby, and Brian D. Simmons), looking for vengeance of their own.

“An instinct for the absurd is probably a requirement for any comic talent, and Martin McDonagh is exceedingly good at making comedy out of unfunny things. The destination of his plots is usually an absurd one, because only in an absurd world could violence be understood as a natural form of problem solving, as it seems to be in almost everything he has written,” said Director Kurt Beattie. “In The Lieutenant of Inishmore, McDonagh brilliantly spotlights and skewers the horrific extent of the savagery in Northern Ireland during the latter half of the 20^th century. Because McDonagh is so audaciously entertaining, and such a good storyteller, it’s easy for us to forget that his play isreally centered in the realities of this tragic chapter of Irish history.”

A highly technical (and fun!) show, featuring plenty of theatre tricks, gallons of blood, and gruesome body dismemberment, ACT has been in preparation for over a year in the making of this Seattle premiere. The Lieutenant of Inishmore was first performed by the Royal Shakespeare Company at The Other Place, Stratford-upon-Avon, England, on April 11, 2001. It was produced off-Broadway at the Atlantic Theater Company in 2006 before transferring to Broadway and receiving a 2006 Tony Award nomination for Best Play.