Tonight's fun was The Lieutenant of Inishmore at the Lyceum.

I love Martin McDonagh and I read this script - which I think is the first in a trilogy - a few years back when I was (as ever) on the hunt for scripts.

And although it was almost immediately apparent that I would never be able to direct the finery (I mean, who would choose to do a play with a strong local regional accent, in god's name?) (and it's full of gore), I liked it so much that I gobbled up all three.

(Oh, ok, wikipedia and I'm kind of wrong and kind of right about the trilogy. There is a trilogy but the third one isn't published. So who knows what 'third one' I read? No matter.)

Anyway, this not first in a trilogy was nevertheless excellent fun. The plot is mostly nonsense but bestowed with a little gravitas with the help of faintly political overtones borrowed from recent Northern Irish history.  Maybe I have an immediate affinity with the plot on account of cats.

But I loved it from the moment its beautiful set was revealed. Beautiful slidey trundley front room. Which trundley slid back way back to reveal a prettily lit backcloth behind a fence and artful stone heaps to make a sort of passing place for t'other scenes.

I expected to love the script and not be very impressed by the production. But actually, I much liked both. Maybe it was just perfect Friday night (middle class) non-sensical fodder. But I liked the acting. Bit of a crush on the Lieutenant predictably. Beautifully judged use of sound. Lovely lights. Maybe the pace lagged a tiny portion towards the end. Probably he (Martin) should have abandoned the last scene. But then we wouldn't have had the animal wrangler's nightmare moment. And that accounted for a good deal of the joke.

So. Super fun. Think it's on for another week. I paid the entire highest price for the ticket and don't begrudge a penny.  Enjoy.