Martin McDonagh’s ‘The Pillowman’ Comes to LTV

Martin McDonagh’s dark and viciously funny comedy “The Pillowman” will be presented by Kassar Productions in association with Playwrights’ Theatre of East Hampton at LTV Studios from April 25 to May 4.

McDonagh is an Academy Award-winning playwright, screenwriter, director and producer known for his absurdist humor. His recent films include “The Banshees of Inisherin” and “Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri.” His plays, many of which have been produced on the West End and on Broadway, include “The Beauty Queen of Leenane,” “The Cripple of Inishmaan,” “The Lonesome West,” “The Lieutenant of Inishmore,” “A Behanding in Spokane” and “Hangmen.”

“The Pillowman” is set in a fictional totalitarian state and tells the story of a writer of gruesome tales who becomes a suspect in a series of bizarre murders. After its 2003 premiere in London, the play received the Olivier Award for Best New Play and was called “Brothers Grimm rehashed by Quentin Tarantino” by London’s Daily Herald. It transferred to Broadway in 2005, where The New York Times called it “a spellbinding stunner” and “this season’s most exciting and original new play.”

The East End premiere of “The Pillowman” will be directed by Stephen Hamilton, co-founder of Bay Street Theater, and will feature Edward Kassar, John Kroft, Joe Pallister and Sawyer Spielberg in the cast.

“For me, the joy of McDonagh’s work springs from the jagged contrast between the deep love and the dark brutality between his characters,” said Hamilton. “Somewhere there in the middle lies the truth of being alive in this world.”

“LTV Studios is a terrific space to explore, develop, and present the craft of theater,” said Josh Gladstone, LTV’s creative director. “I’m delighted to welcome Kassar Productions’ cohort of gifted actors and designers to come play in our sandbox.”

“This is perhaps one of McDonagh’s funniest, sharpest pieces for film or theater,” added Edward Kassar of Kassar Productions. “We’re excited to bring a fully-realized production of this hauntingly beautiful play to Studio 3 at LTV, the new ‘downtown, Off-Broadway’ of the Hamptons.”

Performances of “The Pillowman” are Thursday, Friday and Saturday, April 25, 26 and 27, at 7:30 p.m. with a Sunday matinee on April 28 at 3 p.m., and the following week on Wednesday, Thursday, Friday and Saturday, May 1, 2, 3 and 4, at 7:30 p.m. Due to the graphic description of violence in “The Pillowman,” children under age 16 will not be admitted. Tickets are $25 in advance at ltveh.org and $30 at the door ($15 for students). For more information call LTV Studios at 631-537-2777. LTV Studios is at 75 Industrial Road in Wainscott.