“The Most Important Living Irish Playwright” Happy Birthday Martin McDonagh

Over the past few years, Martin McDonagh has become a household name. He’s brought us some amazing plays, fantastic films and, let’s face it – the man knows how to write a seriously engaging plot.

He’s considered to be one of the most important living Irish playwrights, so we thought it was only fitting to big him up today. Why? Well it’s his birthday! Yes, the man himself is turning 43 today and what better way to celebrate him than by taking a look at the five Martin McDonagh works that you just have to see.

Martin with the cast of his film Seven Psychopaths

1. The Beauty Queen of Leenane
If there’s one play that’s synonymous with Martin McDonagh it’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Considered to be one of Martin’s best works, the play centres on the story of a dysfunctional relationship between a spinster and her domineering mother. The play first opened in Galway in 1996 and transferred to New York before finally ending up on Broadway. It also received a Tony Award nomination for Best Play.

2. In Bruges
Starring Colin Farrell, Ralph Fiennes and Brendan Gleeson, In Bruges recieved a host of positive reviews. The film is about two hit men who decide to hide out in the town of Bruges after a job goes wrong. In Bruges was the opening film for the 2008 Sundance Festival and it earned Martin a nomination for Best Original Screenplay at the Oscars. Not bad, huh?

3. Seven Psychopaths
This is McDonagh’s most recent offering and again, it was met with positive reviews from the critics. Starring Colin Farrell, Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Woody Harrelson and Tom Waits, it’s a black comedy that follows a struggling writer and an unemployed actor who kidnaps dogs for a living. We can’t say too much without giving the plot away but it’s full of dark humour and twists.

4. Six Shooter
Martin only went an won an Oscar in 2006 for this short film. Six Shooter was his first film and stars Brendan Gleeson. Shot on location in Wicklow, Waterford and Rosslare, it focuses on a man making a sad train journey home after his wife’s death. On his trip he encounters a very strange young man. This is definitely worth a watch.

5. A Skull in Connemara
This play has everything that you’d expect from Martin McDonagh. A man in Connemara is given the job of exhuming skeletons in an overcrowded graveyard but what happens when his next customer turns out to be the wife he was accused of killing years before?