We were neither of us too sure about this play/production.
Granted, it was extremely well received. Granted, we recognised Martin McDonagh’s talent and said we’d like to see more of his work, which subsequently we have done.
But this particular play/production felt like a pastiche of a pre war Irish play to us and left us a bit cold.
Here is a link to the production’s Theatricalia entry.
Charles Spencer in The Telegraph shared some of our concerns:
Inishmaan Charles Spencer Telegraph 09 Jan 1997, Thu The Daily Telegraph (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.comNicholas de Jongh similarly:
Inishmaan Nicholas de Jongh Standard 08 Jan 1997, Wed Evening Standard (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.comWhile Michael Billington praised the work highly while also signalling that he felt McDonagh could achieve yet greater things:
Inishmaan Billington Guardian 09 Jan 1997, Thu The Guardian (London, Greater London, England) Newspapers.com