
The Cripple of Inishmaan
Martin McDonagh(Author)
P.J. Matthews(Editor)
Methuen Drama (Publisher)
Published on 17. December 2015
Book
Paperback/Softback
128 pages
978-1-4725-3228-2 (ISBN)
Description
In 1934, the people of Inishmaan learn that the Hollywood director Robert Flaherty is coming to the neighbouring island to film his documentary Man of Aran. No one is more excited than Billy, an unloved and crippled boy whose chief occupation has been gazing at cows and yearning for a girl who wants no part of him.
For Billy is determined to cross the sea and audition for the Yank. As news of his audacity ripples through his rumour-starved community, The Cripple of Inishmaan becomes a merciless portrayal of a world so comically cramped and mean-spirited that hope is an affront to its order.
With this bleak yet uproariously funny play, Martin McDonagh fulfilled the promise of his award-winning The Beauty Queen of Leenane while confirming his place in a tradition that extends from Synge to O'Casey and Brendan Behan.
This Student Edition, complete with plot summary and scholarly notes, is edited by Dr. P.J. Mathews of University College Dublin.
For Billy is determined to cross the sea and audition for the Yank. As news of his audacity ripples through his rumour-starved community, The Cripple of Inishmaan becomes a merciless portrayal of a world so comically cramped and mean-spirited that hope is an affront to its order.
With this bleak yet uproariously funny play, Martin McDonagh fulfilled the promise of his award-winning The Beauty Queen of Leenane while confirming his place in a tradition that extends from Synge to O'Casey and Brendan Behan.
This Student Edition, complete with plot summary and scholarly notes, is edited by Dr. P.J. Mathews of University College Dublin.
Reviews / Votes
A darkly savage account of lives stunted in a small 1930s rural community... McDonagh offers a cast of characters whose frail humanity is tested by the fictions that they weave... break-your-heart, cruelly funny. -- Lyn Gardner * Guardian *More details
Series
Language
English
Place of publication
London
United Kingdom
Publishing group
Bloomsbury Publishing PLC
Target group
College/higher education
Dimensions
Height: 198 mm
Width: 128 mm
Thickness: 12 mm
Weight
113 gr
ISBN-13
978-1-4725-3228-2 (9781472532282)
DOI
CBID180838
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Martin McDonagh | P.J. Matthews
The Cripple of Inishmaan
E-Book
12/2015
1st Edition
Methuen Drama
€12.99
Available for download

Martin McDonagh | P.J. Matthews
The Cripple of Inishmaan
E-Book
12/2015
1st Edition
Methuen Drama
€12.99
Available for download
Persons
Martin McDonagh is a Tony- and Oscar-winning scriptwriter whose first play, The Beauty Queen of Leenane. won multiple awards including four Tonys and the Laurence Olivier Award. He has gone on to write many smash-hit shows and films, winning an Academy Award for Live Action Short Film for Six Shooter (2005), an Oscar nomination, a British Independent Film Award for best screenplay, an Irish Playwrights and Screenwriters Guild Award for Best Film Script, and a BAFTA for best original screenplay, all for In Bruges, and a Laurence Olivier award for Best New Play for The Pillowman (2004).
P.J. Mathews is a Senior Lecturer in the School of English, Drama and Film at University College Dublin, and has written widely on Irish literature and theatre. He is the author of Revival (Field Day, 2003); editor of The Cambridge Companion to John Millington Synge (CUP, 2009); and co-editor (with Declan Kiberd) of Handbook of the Irish Revival (Abbey Theatre Press, 2015). He is Director of Academic Podcasting for UCDscholarcast (www.ucd.ie/scholarcast).
P.J. Mathews is a Senior Lecturer in the School of English, Drama and Film at University College Dublin, and has written widely on Irish literature and theatre. He is the author of Revival (Field Day, 2003); editor of The Cambridge Companion to John Millington Synge (CUP, 2009); and co-editor (with Declan Kiberd) of Handbook of the Irish Revival (Abbey Theatre Press, 2015). He is Director of Academic Podcasting for UCDscholarcast (www.ucd.ie/scholarcast).
Author
Playwright, UK
Volume editor
University College Dublin, Ireland
Content
Chronology
Plot overview
Commentary: - Context - Structure - Themes - Characters
Play text
Notes
Questions for Further Study
Further reading
Plot overview
Commentary: - Context - Structure - Themes - Characters
Play text
Notes
Questions for Further Study
Further reading