Contents: Werner Huber: The Early Plays: Martin McDonagh, Shooting Star and Hard Man from South London - Rebecca Wilson: Macabre Merriment in McDonagh's Melodrama: The Beauty Queen of Leenane - Martin McDonagh/Conor McPherson: Ireland in two minds: Nicholas Grene - Paul Murphy: The Stage Irish Are Dead, Long Live the Stage Irish: The Lonesome West and A Skull in Connemara - Christopher Murray: The Cripple of Inishmaan Meets Lady Gregory - Mária Kurdi: The Helen of Inishmaan Pegging Eggs: Gender, Sexuality and Violence - Mary Luckhurst: Martin McDonagh's Lieutenant of Inishmore : Selling (-Out) to the English - Catherine Rees: The Politics of Morality: Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore - Lisa Fitzpatrick: Language Games: The Pillowman, A Skull in Connemara : Martin McDonagh's Hiberno-English - Patrick Burke: 'Like the Cat-astrophe of the Old Comedy': The Animal in The Lieutenant of Inishmore - Ashley Taggart: An 'Economy Of Pity': McDonagh's Monstrous Regiment - Eamonn Jordan: War on Narrative: Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman - Laura Eldred: Martin McDonagh's Blend of Tradition and Horrific Innovation - Ondrej Pilný: Grotesque Entertainment: The Pillowman as Puppet Theatre - John McDonagh: 'When it's there I am, it's here I wish I was': The Construction of Connemara - Aidan Arrowsmith: Genuinely Inauthentic: McDonagh's Postdiasporic Irishness - Shaun Richards: 'The Outpouring of a Morbid, Unhealthy Mind': The Critical Condition of Synge and McDonagh - Victor Merriman: Decolonization Postponed: The Theatre of Tiger Trash - Sara Keating: Is Martin McDonagh an Irish Playwright? - Patrick Lonergan: Martin McDonagh, Globalization, and Irish Theatre Criticism - Péter P. Müller: Domesticating a Theatre of Cruelty: The Plays of McDonagh on the Hungarian Stage - Frank Molloy: The Beauty Queen of Leenane in Australia - Karen Vandevelde: Martin McDonagh's Irishness: Icing on the Cake? - Declan Kiberd: 'The Real Ireland, Some Think' - Declan Kiberd: 'Gained in Translation' - Uinsionn Mac Dubhghaill: 'Drama Sails to Seven Islands' - Susan Conley: 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' 2000 - Karen Fricker: 'Ireland Feels Power of Beauty' - Fintan O'Toole: 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' - Fintan O'Toole: 'Murderous Laughter' - 'The Leenane Trilogy' - Fintan O'Toole: ' The Pillowman Program Note' - Michael Billington: 'New Themes in Synge-song Land: The Beauty Queen of Leenane ' - Michael Billington: ' The Pillowman ' - Susannah Clapp: 'Pack up your Troubles ...' - Ben Brantley: 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' - Ben Brantley: 'The Cripple of Inishmaan' - Ben Brantley: ' The Lonesome West: Another Tempestuous Night in Leenane' - Ben Brantley: 'A Skull in Connemara' - Ben Brantley: 'The Pillowman'.

With such plays as The Beauty Queen (1996), The Cripple of Inishmaan (1997), The Lonesome West (1997), A Skull in Connemara (1997), The Lieutenant of Inishmore (2001), and The Pillowman (2003) Martin McDonagh has made a huge reputation for himself in ternationally, winning multiple awards for his work and enjoying universal critical acclaim. Most recently, he won an Oscar for his short film Six Shooter (2006). This collection of essays is a vital and significant response to the many challenges set by McDonagh for those involved in the production and reception of his work. The volume brings together critics and commentators from around the world, who assess the work from a diverse range of often provocative approaches. What is not surprising is the focus and commitment of the engagement, given the controversial and st Whether for or against, this is an essential read for all who wish to enter the complex debate about the Theatre of Martin McDonagh.