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The Daily OrangeThere will be blood
'Lietenant of Inishmore' promises buckets of blood onstage
By Shayna Meliker
Posted: 1/17/08, 11:36 PM EST Section: Feature
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What: "The Lieutenant of Inishmore"
Where: Syracuse Stage
When: Jan. 16-Feb. 3
How Much: $9 with student ID, $15 and up without
"The Lieutenant of Inishmore" might be the bloodiest play to debut at Syracuse Stage this season.
The comedic production uses approximately two quarts of stage blood for each gory performance. That is a lot of blood, considering the human body only contains five to six quarts of blood.
The Tony Award-nominated production is set in the Aran Islands off the coast of Ireland, and tells the story of a terrorist with an obsessive attachment to his cat. Hilarity and chaos ensue when the cat mysteriously dies and drives the man even more insane than he previously was.
Director Bob Moss selected this play due to its comedic value and playwright Martin McDonagh's current popularity in the theater scene. Moss is in his 12th year of working at Syracuse Stage, and is now stepping down as artistic director of the venue.
"It's the funniest play I ever read, and when I saw it in New York, it was the funniest play I ever saw," Moss said. "The excessive violence in the play owes more to 'Monty Python' and 'Saturday Night Live' than Quentin Tarantino."
This is the fourth production for Syracuse Stage this season, with prior performances including "Les Liaisons Dangereuses," "Misery" and "Fiddler on the Roof." The comedy stars seven actors and five cats.
Moss believes the production will appeal to many types of audiences, especially students.
"For people who love theater, this is a play for them. For people who love video games, some of the violence is very much like video games," Moss said. "I do think college students are going to particularly love it, because it's very funny and involves a lot of blood."
Moss said there is a post-performance question-and-answer with the cast on Jan. 20 at 9:30 p.m.
"However farcical the play is, it's about terrorism, and it has something important to say about terrorism and how useless it is," Moss said. "Come see the play early, 'cause you're going to want to see it again."
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