PLAYBOY OF THE WESTERN WORLD: NATIONAL THEATRE LIVE.
UK, 2026, 145 minutes, Colour.
Nicola Coughlan, Eanna Harwicke, Siobhan McSweeney, Declan, Conlan, Lorcan Cranitch.
Directed by Caitriona McLaughlin.
The film version of the celebrated play by John Millington Synge, first performed in Dublin in 1907.
For those interested in the background of the play, of the career of Synge, of the riots and antagonism towards the play on its first performance, subsequent attacks in Ireland and the US, there is a very detailed entry about the play in Wikipedia, well worth reading as background to the experience of the National Theatre Live interpretation.
The most important aspect of the play is the use of the rhythms, cadences, emphases, grammar complexities, particular vocabulary of the Irish-English. Those who are able to respond to it, there is constant delight and wonder in listening. On the other hand, looking at comments on some reviews, it is clear that it is too much for some audiences. But, it is essential for appreciating the Irishness.
As regards the plot itself, is very much a mirror to Ireland in olden days, an Ireland of the 19th century and the early 20th century, not immediately familiar to 21st-century audiences but an opportunity to go back into the past. However, in its time, many considered it an insult to Ireland, Irish life and values, a critique, sometimes satiric, sometimes raucous, especially of Irish men, a blend of old faith, the hardships of the 19th century, British rule, drinking, celebration, races…
And the title? At the centre is Christy Mahon, on the West Coast, single, younger, wandering for ten days thinking that in his bashing his father, he has killed him. And, little love lost between father and son. The first part of the play has him arriving at a rural pub in County Mayo, becoming infatuated with Pegeen, daughter of the owner, sdreving at the pub, and she is engaged to a rather simple, righteous young man who is continually quoting the church, reference to Father Reilly (not seen) and his influence on him and life in the village. There is a rather large supporting cast of men and women of the village, but especially a very lively widow who takes a shine to Christy Mahon.
In the second, shorter act, his father turns up with his wound, trying to track down his son, the son, now something of a hero, infatuated with Pegeen, her turning against him, the townspeople listening to the father and getting a rope to attack Christy. Romantic expectations are turned upside down and, at the end, there is a wailing lament by Pegeen.
The staging is interesting, the interior of the pub, but a backdrop of landscape and the actors able to move from one side to another describing a race that they are watching from a distance. And, with the backdrop, it can even rain. And, in the Irish vein, musicians and chorus move along the back, into the action and transforming the stage set, many of them covered with the historic mumming headgear. Irish atmosphere and some keening.
Nicola Coughlan (many episodes of Bridgerton and so lively in The Magic Faraway Tree) is a lively Pegeen. Eanna Hardwicke, sinister in The Sixth Commandment, confronting in Saipan, may appeal to some audiences with sympathy in his somewhat naive simplicity after the death of his father. On the other hand, some may consider his performance too eccentric, sometimes over the top. A very favourable comment on Declan Conlan as the drunk owner of the pub, one of the most persuasive stage performances of someone drunk.
Many favourable reviews exhorting audiences to appreciate the Irish English rhythms. A number of reviews who found the play eccentric, over the top, rushed and unsympathetic.
Since its first performance, Playboy of the Western world has been confronting.
