The Pillowman (West End) London Reviews and Tickets
Show-Score Member Reviews (45)
See it if You like dark plays
Don't see it if You may be triggered
See it if you like very dark comedies, like other Martin McDonagh plays, and if you like plays—to some degree—about the freedom of speech.
Don't see it if the discussion of dark topics (like murder of children) makes you very uncomfortable, or if you're squeamish & don't like any blood/violence
See it if you're in for McDonagh finest play, an intelligent, dark and imaginative twisted fable about art & storytelling that's hilarious & shocking.
Don't see it if you've a hard time with themes involving graphicly-described cruelty, implied torture, infanticide and murder, and boring production design. Read more
See it if you want to be shocked and totally intensely watching
Don't see it if your fainthearted very serious subjects and ptsd possible subjects mentioned
See it if you like talky theater and dark comedy, or you're a big Martin McDonagh fan (like me!)
Don't see it if intense depictions of child suffering will bother you (even though the style is generally fairy-tale like) Read more
See it if Great production of.a chilling play about stories that go bump in the night. Wonderful acting. Kept me laughing and on the edge of my seat
Don't see it if Dark tales & sordid stories ruin your sleep. This is a well crafted intelligent piece. Great direction. Not for those who want light comedy
See it if you like Martin McDonagh's films and/or plays; his unique style and off-beat humor are fully present in this production.
Don't see it if you don't like McDonagh's work. This is a very black comedy that includes violence and discussions of horiffic acts.
See it if You like black humour like me especially being a huge fan of Martin Mcdonagh's films. The actors who played the cops were simply brilliant
Don't see it if You are easily offended as it deals with many difficult topics. It's quite long too at 2:15 with the break coming after close to 1.5 hours
Critic Reviews (14)
"The complexity of the play could result in disaster, but Dunster’s impeccable directing means the audience can’t help but remain gripped throughout."
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"Allen... is compulsively watchable: drawn, intense, angular. But this show requires a juggling of emotional states she can’t quite muster... [regardless] McDonagh’s play remains brightly hilarious even at its darkest moments."
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“There is a potentially explosive brilliance in this play, but its many ideas do not make a coherent whole here.”
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“For all its rhetorical flourishes, ‘The Pillowman’ is a shallow exercise in Grand Guignol, laced with spurious meditations on the nature of art and creativity.”
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“Martin McDonagh’s ‘The Pillowman’ is dark as ink, a fascinating defence of the power of the imagination and the freedom of the writer that shocks and unsettles with virtually every word...I’d never seen ‘The Pillowman’ before but had been assured by admirers of its quality. On this showing, it emerges as a clever, resilient piece of writing but less profound than perhaps it hopes to be.”
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“Sharply funny, gasp-inducing and richly thought-provoking, this is a bold, uncompromising drama that startlingly interrogates its own artistic medium.”
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“It is gut-twistingly arresting and morbidly funny – McDonagh’s hallmark queasy combination – but it also feels naggingly glib.”
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Matthew Dunster’s production of The Pillowman, is a masterpiece of dark comedy. It may not always be an easy watch but it serves up a delicious take on what it means to be a writer, and to believe in your own abilities above all else
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