Hangmen is a wonderful work by playwright Martin McDonagh, who also directed and wrote the
screenplay for the Golden Globe award-winning movie Three Billboards Outside Ebbing Missouri. Directed by Matthew Dunster, it’s an entertaining and enthralling show that holds the audience’s interest with dark humor and twists and turns, a tribute to Martin McDonagh as a master storyteller.
Mark Addy plays Harry Wade, the second-best hangman in England, who was left without a job when Great Britain outlawed capital punishment in 1965. Most of the action takes place in the pub he co-owns with his wife, particularly his encounters with Peter Mooney (John Flynn), who challenges the morality of a hangman’s role. Flynn plays the part with great aplomb, bringing it a creepy, menacing presence.
The remaining performances at the Atlantic Theatre are sold out, but the play will move to Broadway before the April 26 deadline to be eligible for a Tony award. Its only rivals for a Tony might be the productions of Harry Potter and Angels in America.
