The Pillowman NYC Reviews and Tickets

86%

(8 Reviews)

Positive

88%

Mixed

12%

Negative

Members say

Absorbing, Thought-provoking, Great writing, Clever, Ambitious

About the Show

The Seeing Place Theater presents Martin McDonagh's Olivier Award-winning drama about the role and responsibility of the artist.

With echoes of Stoppard, Kafka, and the Brothers Grimm, "The Pillowman" centers on a writer in an unnamed totalitarian state who is being interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a series of child murders. The result is an urgent work of theatrical bravura and an unflinching examination of the very nature and purpose of art.

Member Reviews (8)

Profound

See it if You trust the theater that is putting this on. I have seen this play done a bit better but I’ve also seen it done much worse

Don't see it if You don’t like plays that are very different unusual and scary at times. It’s also very long

100

Absorbing, Great acting, Great writing, Resonant, Thought-provoking

See it if If you like to be challenged.

Don't see it if you're looking for a funny show, or one that echoes your own beliefs. Read more

Ambitious, Disappointing

See it if you love "The Pillowman", a classic McDonagh piece.

Don't see it if you love "The Pillowman". It doesn't do the text justice, and completely misses the mark on it being a "dark comedy".

100

Absorbing, Intelligent, Thought-provoking, Masterful, Great writing

See it if You appreciate intelligent writing, and deep subject matter that will spark meaningful conversations.

Don't see it if You get easily disturbed by bad things happening to children.

Absorbing, Clever, Entertaining

See it if A must see show.

Don't see it if You are not into drama.

Clever, Original, Hilarious, Thought-provoking, Profound

See it if You have a dark sense of humor and enjoy a good tragedy.

Don't see it if You are squeamish or offended by sacrilegious themes.

Absorbing, Ambitious, Entertaining, Great acting, Edgy

See it if You like boundary-pushing dramas that explore the darkness of humanity.

Don't see it if You are sensitive to images of torture.

Absorbing, Funny, Great writing, Masterful, Thought-provoking

See it if you enjoy haunting, thought provoking and challenging plays that might make you slightly uncomfortable.

Don't see it if you are squeamish or easily disturbed.

Critic Reviews (6)

"The tight-knit company appears to be having a ball...Fortunately for us, 'The Pillowman' is not unrelentingly bleak. Instead, it offers up just enough sarcasm, gallows humor, irony, and snarky observations, divvied out at just the right times with just the right tone, so that we surprise ourselves by periodically laughing at the surrealistic absurdity of it all, the way we laughed nervously at the ghost stories we told each other as children."
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"Presented by humble means, 'The Pillowman' makes up with raw, memorable performances from its central characters, for what it lacks in production value. Initially, it’s a challenge to overlook the sparse, rather dated surroundings. However, it’s almost startling how effective the performances are in whisking you away from a small black box theater, to smack-dab in a grim and menacing interrogation room."
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"The Clarion Theater’s intimate performing space totally connects the audience to the performers. The play’s eerie past, present and future villainy is ably co-directed by Erin Cronican and Brandon Walker who also stars as Katurian. Their spooky result sent chills up my spine. Daniel Michal Perez’s Michal was just amazing...Two other equally impressive 'Pillowman' performers were Logan Keeler as the frantic bad cop Ariel."
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"It is no surprise that McDonagh, whose work has a long and rich history of mixing the darkest humor with death, murder, mutilation, dismemberment, violence and shock, reveals nothing for the first twenty minutes. The audience, like Katurian, are left to piece together what has happened as the detectives go about their ambiguous questioning...'The Pillowman' is a complex play that merges the realism of the interrogation and murders with the imagination of the storyteller."
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"In the hands of The Seeing Place Theatre, the story gets a great performance albeit the technical limitations provided by the space...It’s brilliant of McDonagh and it was fiercely tackled in this production by directors Brandon Walker and Erin Cronican, who put on a strong showing...Despite one weak link in the ensemble, the production still captivated me mostly through the interactions with these characters."
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"'The Pillowman' is a frightening, deliciously disturbing piece of theater. It has the power to baffle and intrigue you, urging each watcher to piece together horrible pictures while sending a chill right up their spine. And while the cast may still be getting comfortable, the script will no doubt leave lingering visions of carnage dancing in your head."
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