Winner of five Naledi Theatre Awards, The Beauty Queen of Leenane is a theatrical masterpiece by acclaimed Irish playwright Martin McDonagh (The Banshees of Inisherin, In Bruge, Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri, Hangmen). It will run at the Baxter Theatre from 2 to 19 August 2023.
Recipient of four Tony Award nominations, the play is a darkly comic tale about the turbulent, dysfunctional, and often savage relationship between mother and daughter, Mag and Maureen Folan. Presented by How Now Brown Cow, the production played to overwhelming critical acclaim at Johannesburg’s Theatre on the Square in 2022.
Multi-award winner Charmaine Weir-Smith (The Train Driver) directs a stellar cast starring Jennifer Steyn (Recipes for Love and Murder, The Inconvenience Of Wings) as Mag, Julie-Anne McDowell (The Revlon Girl, Couplet) as Maureen, Bryan Hiles (Sweeney Todd, Cabaret) as Pato and Sven Ruygrok (Spud, Abraham Lincoln) as Ray.
The production is designed by multiple award-winning designers Greg King (set) and Denis Hutchinson (lighting).
Award-winning
The production won an incredible five Naledi Theatre Awards: Best Supporting Actress in a Play for Jennifer Steyn; Best Supporting Actor in a Play for Sven Ruygrok; Best Director of a Play for Charmaine Weir-Smith; Best Theatre Set Design for Greg King and the highly coveted Best Production of a Play. It also received nominations for Best Lead Actress in a Play for Julie-Anne McDowell and for Best Lighting Design by Denis Hutchinson.
The play centres around the life of Maureen, an unmarried middle-aged woman, as she cares for her ailing mother Mag and tries to find love. When the two brothers enter, we are set on a path, interspersed with romance and humour, to the play’s thrilling conclusion.
What: The Beauty Queen of Leenane
Where and when: Pam Golding Theatre at Baxter Theatre from 2 – 19 August 2023
Tickets: Webtickets
Pictures: Brett Rubin
WS
