Review: A SKULL IN CONNEMARA at Irish Classical Theatre

When a cast list calls for grave diggers and props list call for skulls you may think you’re planning a production of HAMLET. But in this  case we have Martin McDonagh's dark comedy A SKULL IN CONNEMARA, now playing in a winning production at Buffalo's Irish Classical Theatre Company.

This play completes the company’s presentation of McDonagh’s Leenane Trilogy, having produced the dark BEAUTY QUEEN OF LEENANE and THE LONESOME WEST. These darkly brooding comedies are the stuff that Irish Classical does best. Misery, self loathing in dismal surroundings with graphic depictions of unthinkable topics provides the meaty scripts that can balance despair with hints  of uncomfortable laughter.

A SKULL IN CONNEMARA tells the dark story of Mick Dowd, who once a year is hired to exhume the bodies of those buried for at least 7 years to make room in the cemetery for the recently deceased. It’s just 7 years since his own wife Oona died and he is due to dig  up her remains. A rambunctious teen, Mairtin is hired to help. Mairtin’s  own grandmother Maryjohnny visits Mick daily since the death of his wife, to share some liquor, while stirring the pot with her busy-body news. The town cop Thomas  happens to be her son and Mairtin’s brother.

The grisly story unfolds around the mysterious death of Oona… was it simply in a car crash or was Mick somehow responsible for her death. Does Maryjohnny know something more than she pretends to know?

McDonagh fashions a plot where each character may hold their own dark secrets, and who is lying is as a vague as their possible intentions in doing so. The dark days of autumn in this perpetually cold town make it easy to realize why Mick and Maryjohhny commiserate daily over their bottle of liquor. Mairtin interrupts their dull dreary lives with his school antics, disobedience and hyperactive zeal for life. The heart of the story unravels as the two men start their grave digging.

Robert Creighton makes a superb Irish Classical debut as the complex Mick Dowd. Creighton embodies the downtrodden man who thinks nothing of grave digging to make some extra money, even if it includes digging up his dead wife. The macabre act is peppered with enough comical touches to somehow lighten the mood of piling bones up beside each graveside. Creighton is brusque and edgy, making him perfectly enigmatic..is he holding onto a secret or is he drunkenly numb to exhuming his own wife. His Mick is masterfully portrayed and his entry onto the Buffalo Theatre scene certainly portends of more great things to come.

Phineas Goodman is a bursting ball of youthful energy, eager to join the work, but supremely naive. Goodman’s wide eyed portrayal ensures for just the right amount of comic distraction for the dark plot. When he and Mick  find Oona’s grave empty, the plot twists from grave digging to a possible murder cover up and a case of whodunnit.

Pamela Rose Mangus is perfectly cast in her spot-on Maryjohnny. Mangus is a little dottie, a little motherly, but always wise as she embodies the woman who can instigate and also offer a maternal touch. Her religious piety adds an interesting take on how the local priest handles the exhumation . Of course the elderly woman questions these  actions, based on deep rooted Irish Catholic beliefs. 

Brendan Didio as Thomas brings a fine mix of authority with small town cop dopiness. When he joins the mix to investigate the mystery of the missing  corpse it is unclear if he is in on the deal or if he is trying to get Mick to confess to his wife’s murder. 

Director and Sound Designer Mason Beggs paces the action as a slow burn. Tempers rise and  fall, subtlety in appearance and posturing are notable, and physical altercations are handled deftly. When Mick and Mairtin gather around their collections of newly exhumed bones, a gleeful smashing of skulls allows the two to have a psychological catharsis while verbally jousting. The scene was deftly handled by Creighton and Goodman. 

McDonagh’s script weaves intrigue with some possible red herrings. Just when you think you may have a grip on the story, a new fact unravels that theory. Is Mick capable of being a killer. His actions surely lead the viewer down that path.. temporarily. The cast of 4 each adds a unique characterization that fully succeeds in making for an intriguing evening of theatre. Beggs adds a fifth character, as Camilla Maxwell portrays the dead wife Oona, who lurks slowly around the set prior to each act, without uttering a word.

The simple set design by Collin Ranney consisting of a square elevated playing area that worked beautifully as part home, part grave yard,  as trap doors became grave sites. The overhead rafters were a nice touch, as well as exterior niches below the platform. Derek Heckler’s ICTC debut as lighting designer was intimate in it’s darkness, with under stage lighting eerily complementing the foggy mist.

THE SKULL IN CONNEMARA plays at Buffalo’s Irish Classical Theatre through March 1, 2026. Contact Irishclassical.com  for more information