Hangman

[edjames]

At the Atlantic Theater Co. I saw this production last night and loved it. Terrific cast and tale. Written by Martin McDonagh ( award winning director/writer of Three Billboards in Ebbing Mo.). Long rumored to be gay, he's written a slew of plays, many which have been produced on Broadway and the West End.

 

His latest, Hangman, is a twisted and eerie tale story set in a northern England run-down pub, run by a man who's former job was a hangman. Britain outlawed hanging in the early '60's and Harry has settled in this little town and bought a pub. He lives with his wife and 16-yer-old daughter. The pub is typical of many British pubs and is inhabited by a group of regulars. However the plot is infused with fast actions and deeds, The story is outlined in the review below and I've also included Michael rider's piece on the show's sold-out success and eventual transfer to Broadway this spring.

 

Of note is the appearance in Act 2 of Maxwell Caufield as the "other" hangman. Harry's arch rival. Johnny Flynn is great as the stranger who shows up to stir the pot. One is never quite sure of what his ambitions or motives might really be.

‘Three Billboards’ writer is Broadway-bound

By Michael Riedel February 8, 2018 | 6:57pm |

 

A very sock-and-buskin moment in "Hangmen"

 

McDonagh’s dark new farce, “Hangmen,” opened at off-Broadway’s Atlantic Theater Company space this week to strong reviews. Tickets are impossible to come by, but plans are in the works to move the production to Broadway’s Cort Theatre just before the April 26 Tony-eligibility cutoff date.

Which means “Hangmen” will square off against that juggernaut from London, “Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.”

“Harry Potter,” opening at the Lyric Theatre April 22, has an advance of over $15 million. Every time new blocks of tickets go on sale, they’re snapped up within hours. It’s also the only new play slated to open on Broadway this spring. Everything else — including “Angels in America,” “Three Tall Women,” “The Iceman Cometh” and “Children of a Lesser God” — is a revival.

“Hangmen” is a sublimely creepy play. It’s set in the mid-’60s in a pub owned by Harry Wade, the second-best hangman in England. The death penalty has just been abolished and the news attracts an assortment of characters to Harry’s bar. Not all of them are who they appear to be.

“Hangmen” won the Olivier Award in 2016. The superb London cast includes Johnny Flynn, Reece Shearsmith, Sally Rogers and former “Game of Thrones” star Mark Addy. All will make the move to Broadway and will probably fill the ranks of Tony nominees.

 

Review: A Criminally Enjoyable ‘Hangmen’ From Martin McDonagh

Reece Shearsmith, left, and Johnny Flynn in “Hangmen,”

 

Please allow him to introduce himself, not that he’s remotely shy about doing so. He’s a man of stealth and taste, a smooth talker out of 1960s London who dresses like a Teddy boy and seduces with buttery brashness.

The name of this spiffy young devil, whose contemptuous charm is dripping from the stage of the Linda Gross Theater, is Mooney. He’s a dab hand at misdirection, the sort of fellow who sets even stolid minds spinning in paranoia and perplexity.

Mooney, it must be said, has a lot in common with the artful playwright who created him.

Left to right: Sally Rogers and Mark Addy as a former hangman and his wife, Mr. Flynn as a menacing stranger who visits their pub, and David Lansbury as a policeman in Martin McDonagh’s play.

 

More at :

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/02/05/theater/review-hangmen-martin-mcdonagh-atlantic-theater-company.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Ftheater&action=click&contentCollection=theater&region=stream&module=stream_unit&version=latest&contentPlacement=7&pgtype=sectionfront