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The Beauty Queen of Leenane
The Beauty Queen of Leenane
by Martin McDonagh
by Martin McDonagh
Set in the bleak, unforgiving hills of Connemara, Ireland, Martin McDonagh's "The Beauty Queen of Leenane" is a darkly comedic exploration of the dysfunctional relationship between Maureen Folan, a lonely and embittered woman in her early forties, and her manipulative, aging mother, Mag. As Maureen's chance at love and escape emerges, the play delves into the depths of familial resentment, desperation, and the devastating consequences of unfulfilled dreams.
Starring beloved Australian actors Noni Hazlehurst and Michala Banas, the costume design transformed these recognisable television personalities into the bleakly ordinary, distinctly 1990s characters. The set design sought to emphasise the hothouse-like claustrophobia between mother and daughter, with a forced perspective interior placed on a diagonal, thrusting out into the audience and emerging from a watercolor backdrop of peat-stained fog. This visceral and immersive environment drew the audience into the characters' suffocating world, underscoring the play's themes of isolation and familial dysfunction.
Presented as one installment of The Leenane Trilogy, a repertory season of all three Martin McDonagh Leenane plays at fortyfivedownstairs, the set featured a revolving show deck and modular flattage that could be reconfigured into distinctive and bespoke configurations for each play with an economy of time. This adaptable design allowed for seamless transitions between the plays during the ambitious 7+ hour-long event on Sundays, when all three plays were presented back-to-back, showcasing the ingenuity and practicality of the design in service of the trilogy's unique presentation format.
Role
Set & Costume Designer
Producer
Kin Collective
Venue
Fortyfive Downstairs
Collaborators
Director: Declan Eames
Lighting Designer: Kris Chainey
Sound Designer: Nick McCorriston
Design Assistant: Alexandra Hiller
Set Construction: Samuel O'Donnell, Colin Orchard
Photography: Lachlan Woods


















Reviews
"A masterful domestic interior, in which the minutiae of daily life plays against the distressed aesthetic of decay, rain and cold."
– Australian Stage
"Fantastic, gritty and lived in."
– Time Out
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I acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, the traditional custodians of the unceded land on which I work. I pay my respects to Elders, past and present, and acknowledge their connection to creativity, culture and storytelling. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
Subscribe to my newsletter
Occasional notes on new work and whatever else has caught my eye.
I acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, the traditional custodians of the unceded land on which I work. I pay my respects to Elders, past and present, and acknowledge their connection to creativity, culture and storytelling. Sovereignty has never been ceded.
Subscribe to my newsletter
Occasional notes on new work and whatever else has caught my eye.
I acknowledge the Wurundjeri people of the Kulin Nation, the traditional custodians of the unceded land on which I work. I pay my respects to Elders, past and present, and acknowledge their connection to creativity, culture and storytelling. Sovereignty has never been ceded.


