Actors perform during “The Pillowman” at the Powerhouse Community Arts Center Sunday. Photo: Alex Edwards, The Daily Mississippian.
“The Pillowman,” a production written by Martin McDonagh, held its last performance at the Powerhouse Community Arts Center Feb. 16. It opened Thursday night and played three more times over the course of the weekend.
“The Pillowman” tells the story of a writer, Katurian, who is jailed when children in his town are killed in the same manners as his work described. Although grotesque and sad, the most terrifying aspect of the play is how realistic it is.
“The play is not about solving the crimes,” director Dave Hanson said. “It is about placing blame. The play really mirrors our own world.”
Despite the show being set in an alternative universe, the play’s themes of good versus evil and violence are not so farfetched after all.
“We pretend these types of things don’t exist,” Hanson said when asked about what drew him to the script. “This is real life where hero and villain aren’t easy to distinguish.”
Zachary Duane, who played the detective Tupolski in the show, agreed with his director, stating that the lines between who is responsible and who should take the blame are nearly impossible to find.
“The writer is and is not responsible for what the characters in the play do,” Duane said. “He didn’t ask for anyone to be murdered, but he wrote how to in his stories.”
Duane further emphasized that the dark turns of the play resonate with the audience and leave them questioning right and wrong.
“This show is brilliant,” Duane declared. “I’d love to work with it again sometime.”
David Mckell, the actor who portrayed Katurian’s mentally challenged brother Michal, thought the audience really brought the play to its full potential.
“This is such an intense show,” he said. “We need an audience to share that intensity with us.”
Of course, such a story could only be told with the talent of the actors. Director Hansen expressed his pride in the actors’ accomplishment, stating that they were willing to discuss with him how best to bring this difficult script to life.
“As a director, I want to hire the best people I can and get out of their way,” Hansen explained. “It is the actors who involve the audience and lure them in to the story.”
For this reason, the play was set on a small stage so that the actors and audience were only a few feet apart. The audience could feel as if they were inside the jail with Katurian the writer.
“The audience almost took on a role in the show,” Hanson said when asked about his decision to allow the audience so close to the stage. “This way they could experience a piece of real life, not just a play.”
As a director, Hanson said words of thanks for the opportunity provided by McDonagh’s play, and said he put out his best for this show so he can let the final curtain fall without any regrets.
“This isn’t a goodbye,” Hansen clarified. “I look forward to working with this playwright again, so this is an ‘until next time.’”
— Ashton Dawes
aedawes@go.olemiss.edu
