The Lonesome West

In a Godforsaken corner of an Irish village, two brothers argue constantly, hate each other and fight for their lives over even the most trivial things. Although no one remembers what started the quarrel, as soon as they open their eyes each morning, they set off to argue as if it were their job. The Lonesome West (1997), a play by Irish-born British playwright and screenwriter Martin McDonagh, often staged in Latvia, is the final work in the author’s Leenane Trilogy. “I was drawn to the theme of how the closest family members—brothers—sustain and feed on their hatred for one another. The writing is so brilliant because McDonagh can drive it to an extreme. When it seems there is no way out, a mysteriously insane solution suddenly appears. McDonagh’s writing is marked by very direct language—it is dark, but at the same time very witty, funny, and in fact says quite a lot about how we in Latvia often treat one another too. You don’t have to look far: when driving, God forbid I inconvenience another driver even slightly—their outburst of hatred will be no less than in this play; they may even wonder why I was born at all!” the director draws parallels.