The Cripple of Inishmaan
Reviewed by Taylor Kass
Long Beach Playhouse
Through Aug. 20
RECOMMENDED
News travels fast in a small town — and so does gossip, misinformation, and a white lie that snowballs out of control. On the tiny island village of Inishmaan, Billy Claven (Dylan La Rocque), or “Cripple Billy,” as his neighbors insist on calling him, has finally had enough of the casual cruelty that characterizes his suffocating life on the island. So when the village gossip Johnnypateenmike (Karl Schott) spreads the news that a film crew has set up shop to film a movie about life in Ireland, Billy is determined to take a chance to change his life — no matter the consequences.
In the Long Beach Playhouse’s production of Martin McDonagh’s classic dark comedy, director Susan Boulanger and the committed ensemble have created an immersive world that celebrates The Cripple of Inishmaan’s absurdist tone, which teeters delicately on the edge of tragedy.
Billy Claven, orphaned as a baby after the mysterious drowning of his parents, lives with his two goofy yet warm-hearted adopted aunts, Kate and Eileen (the hilarious duo of Mary Price Moore and Carmen Tunis, respectively). His days are spent shuffling to and from doctors’ appointments, his only form of entertainment staring at cows. Dylan La Rocque plays Billy with sweetness and sensitivity, but with a seething rage buried deep inside. The villagers of Inishmaan are bold characters, close to caricatures, but their desires and dramas are embodied with such high stakes that the text’s biting humor is never overshadowed.
Our identities, and even the way we see ourselves, are often shaped by the narratives other people have written. And sometimes, it may seem easier to sever relationships or cut ties with a community than attempt to fundamentally transform the way they see you. Billy’s abrupt departure for Hollywood is less about becoming an actor than it is about becoming the type of person who would take such a risk. But, comically and tragically, the islanders only ever see him as the cripple of Inishmaan.
Long Beach Playhouse, 5021 E. Anaheim St., Long Beach; Fri. – Sat., 8 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.; through Aug. 20. Running time: 2 hours and 30 minutes with one 15-minute intermission. (562) 494-1014 or https://LBplayhouse.org.
