Thomas Keegan in The Lieutenant of Inishmore. Photo: Constellation Theatre

By DCist Contributor Rachel Kurzius

Rumors have been swirling about Constellation Theatre’s Lieutenant of Inishmore ever since the company’s blood drive fundraiser this fall had people wondering whether they would see their donated platelets on stage. After all, this Martin McDonagh show is about as bloody as they come, especially for a comedy.

The show takes place on an isle off the coast of Ireland in the early 1990s, as politicians lumber towards the beginning of a peace process. It focuses on Padraic (Thomas Keegan), an Irish liberation fighter who loves only two things: torture, and his cat, Wee Thomas. When someone kills Wee Thomas, Padraic’s neighbors try to find a replacement, lest he use his former love to avenge his latter.

Constellation Artistic Director Allison Stockman assured DCist that the fundraiser in the fall was a way to help underwrite the costs of the many special effects the production uses, not to collect the liquid props directly from people’s veins.

“We’re only using stage blood, a variety of different recipes,” Stockman says— 20 pints of the stuff. Different mixes serve different purposes: a recipe for blood that might be ingested by an actor will vary from a recipe designed to easily wash off props after each show.

Casey Kaleba*, the co-fight director and blood designer (that Lieutenant of Inishmore even has a “blood designer” should tell you something about the show), explains how the team worked to bring the gore to life:

“There are three parts to the whole process,” Kaleba says. “First, you have to stage the violence itself. In this show we brought the actors into the creative process and asked ‘How far would your character be willing to go?’ Then we deal with the guns. Then we deal with the blood.”

As all of the actors are juggling the logistics of a bit of the old ultra-violence, they’re also speaking with an Irish accent. And don’t expect them to sound like the Lucky Charms leprechaun, either. With the help of dialect coach Gary Logan, the company learned the specific accent for people who live on the island of Inishmore.

One character needs to do all of this while he is literally suspended upside down for roughly 10 minutes. Director Matthew R. Wilson (also the co-fight director along with Kaleba) personally tried out the rig used to keep the character hanging from an ankle harness.

“I don’t want to ask people to do something I wouldn’t try,” he says. He describes the experience as, “oddly disorienting. A little moment of panic. It’s like, ‘I’m hanging upside down and there’s nothing I can do about it.’”

Then, of course, there are the non-human actors. Wee Thomas and his replacement are played alternately by puppets and live cats, depending on the scene.

“People joke, ‘You’re such an egoist for thinking you can direct a cat,’” Wilson says. “No one can direct a cat, but you can steer it towards a realm of choices through actors, set and props.”

While the hyper-realistic play undoubtedly has its technical challenges, Wilson says that it remains grounded by its humanity. “Take this terrorist, for example, who has a deep love for his cat. This play is about the moment a person says, ‘I believe in my ideology so much that I am willing to hurt anyone who doesn’t see it my way….for the good of the world.’ It’s a smart script that gives a sense of how extremists function in an over-the-top way.”

The dark humor, Artistic Director Stockman adds, “points out the absurdity of violence,” with a sprinkle of situational comedy.

Kaleba and Wilson worked to find a balance in making the violence laugh-worthy without glorifying it. “Most of the time we draw a simple spectrum,” Kaleba says. “On one end there’s Looney Tunes, more comic action. On the other side there’s violence that is upsetting, with permanent damage. This show doesn’t let you make an easy breakdown, which is really fun.”

While The Lieutenant of Inishmore has all the ingredients it needs to make its cast bleed night after night, Constellation Theatre has planned another drive in cooperation with the Red Cross, set for Tuesday March 3 at Source. It will take place on the very same stage as the production. No word yet if donors will be strung up by their ankles.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore opens for previews tonight at Source. Tickets, $20-45, are available here.
*Corrected.