Darren Kennedy (Padraic) and Elana Kepner (Mairead) at the Unicorn Theatre.

Dead Irish cat, live Irish terrorists on stage in dark comedy

By: Laura Katzer

Posted: 10/22/07

Don't mess with an Irish cat. You may come to regret the deed after feeling the wrath of its owner, who is hell-bent on revenge.

This absurd premise unravels in "The Lieutenant of Inishmore," a very dark comedy written by Martin McDonagh. It is playing at the Unicorn Theatre until Nov. 1l.

This production is a hybrid of the UMKC theatre department and the Unicorn Theatre. It blends students, professors and equity actors. Director Joseph Price is an assistant professor who teaches acting and directing at UMKC. Theodore Swetz, who plays Donny, holds the Patricia McIlrath Endowed Chair in Theatre Arts.

Price described the play as a comedy that tackles some interesting issues about Irish terrorism and how terrorists see their actions as a war for freedom.

He explained how the lead character (Padraic) forms a splinter group out of a splinter group that splintered off the IRA (Irish Republican Army). It is hard to clearly see what the factions are fighting for, Price said. In the play the reasons become personalized and all the violence is over a dead cat.

"He is willing to torture a human being but he loves this cat," Price said.

There are eight characters and a beloved but unfortunately decapitated cat called Wee Thomas. The owner of the cat in question is Mad Padraic, an unhinged idealist and factional Irish freedom fighter played by Darren Kennedy.

When his only friend (the cat) is dead, anyone nearby could follow the feline to the grave. The list of potential victims of his rage include his father Donny, two local teenagers named Davey (David Graham Jones) and Mairead (Elana Kepner), some INLA (Irish National Liberation Army) thugs with a leader named Christy (Bruce Roach) and cohorts Brendan (Patrick DuLaney) and Joey (Anthony Vaughn Merchant).

The play started slowly and was rather flat but it soon found a blisteringly funny pace.

I was initially offended by the stereotypical Irishness that was portrayed and the violent image of the first torture scene. As the play progressed the characters became more human, despite their inhumane actions.

The repartee between Donny and Davey is especially humorous. They become a bickering odd couple and the play's closest approximation to sanity. They provide the audience with clownish remarks and lightness amidst the violence. Swetz (Donny) is particularly good at playing a very contradictory character.

Mairead is a ferocious 16-year-old rebel desperately seeking a cause. Kepner, who is a second-year MFA acting student, describes her character as sort of a vague idealist.

She says her character is infamous for shooting out cows' eyes with an air rifle as a protest against the meatpacking trade. She deftly portrays Mairead with raw adolescent energy. Kepner recounted how she shot a gun with another cast member to understand her character.

"We went to the gun range, it was not enjoyable. I did understand how you could disconnect from yourself and the gun," Kepner said.

Padraic is a somewhat overdone character. He is oddly goofy. He is funny and intense but his character does not make a very strong emotional connection with the audience.

The play is simultaneously terrifying and hilarious. Kepner succinctly describes the experience of the play.

"It's all this absurd violence daring you to laugh at it, [then] when you laugh it's like 'I can't believe I laughed at that,'" she said.

The play is not just about the death of a cat; it carries a point about the senselessness of violence.

The bitter irony of the play is in the life of a cat being revered and protected, but human life is easily expended. The bloody cat pelt becomes a wickedly funny symbol of the out-of-kilter principles and unrealistic ideals for which the factional terrorists fight.

lkatzer@unews.com