As Martin McDonagh’s Hangmen is about to finish its run at the Wyndham’s Theatre on Saturday and we weren’t going to make it to London, last night we took the opportunity to do the next best thing and catch a live streaming of the play at the Riverside Theatre in Woodbridge. No substitute for the real thing but a worthy alternative, nonetheless.
The play has had almost universal acclaim and it begins with a prologue in a prison in 1963 where Harry Wade, the UK’s “second most famous hangman”, is overseeing the execution of a killer who protests his innocence. We then switch to an Oldham pub, where Harry is something of a local celebrity publican. Not an entirely promising plot for a comedy, but the play does push out its fair share of laughs, albeit those of a rather macabre, sinister nature that befit a black comedy. The play is populated by Pinter (ish) characters and there is some very funny dialogue that clearly demonstrates its debt to that style of writing – the chorus line of alcoholics exchange the sort of aimlessly silly dialogue pioneered by Pinter. The performances, especially from Johnny Flynn as Mooney and Andy Nyman as Wade’s deputy Syd, are quirky, absorbing and often very funny – Nyman in particular has a very nice line in comic timing.
The subject matter is grim, yet Hangmen is consistently entertaining and, somehow amid the frantic action, gives you time to think about what the play’s big themes might be; the sanctity of life, the perils of institutionalisation and above all, the effects of the habit of violence. But, having said all that, I didn’t really care about the characters and, a little like Pinter’s work, I felt the play lacked the emotional intelligence to force me to care.
Some commentators have also recorded their admiration for the play’s structure. I’m not that sure. There seemed no reason for Mooney to return to the pub at night having cruelly insulted the landlady there a few hours earlier, other than to keep an appointment with the playwright’s dramatic finale. However, the balance between comedy and thrills was expertly achieved and, despite not being as completely bowled over as the majority of critics, I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it (if it weren’t for the fact it closes on Saturday!)
A final word for the set, which was fantastic. The way the death row cell and chamber rose dramatically into the theatre’s upper reaches to reveal a completely realistic Oldham pub where the rest of the play was set was superb. So, overall, very enjoyable, just not in my opinion as complete a play as some have suggested.