The Lieutenant of Inishmore Revival 2018

I'm sure there's an old showbiz credo somewhere that says never work with children or animals - and never ever volunteer to organise a gala charity performance. But here I am with just days to go, putting the finishing (ha!) touches on all the arrangements for a very special performance of The Lieutenant of Inishmore on 6 September at the Noel Coward Theatre in aid of Michael Grandage's charity MGCfutures.

Ever wondered what goes into creating your favourite productions? Those moments of magic (or macabre) where you go 'How did they do that?!' In our new Special Effects series, we'll be discovering how the worlds on stage come to life by exploring the worlds off stage, talking to the creatives and crews from some of the UK's biggest shows and theatre companies. This month, we're looking at stage blood and effects in two infamously bloody shows. We spoke to the Company Stage Manager on Michael Grandage's The Lieutenant of Inishmore and the Designer of the Royal Shakespeare Company's Tamburlaine, who shared their practices (and a few secrets).

BWW chatted to Chris Walley from The Lieutenant of Inishmore about his time at RADA and how it feels to make his professional stage debut in the Michael Grandage directed play.

I didn't know it was possible for a play this bloody to be so funny. Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a dark comedy about terrorism and violence set in Ireland in 1993. When Irish National Liberation Army member Padraic finds out his beloved cat is poorly, he immediately heads home only to find the cat already dead and violence ensues. It's an enthusiastically gory piece that isn't for the faint of heart.  

MGC today announce the full casting for Michael Grandage's production of Martin McDonagh's The Lieutenant of Inishmore which opens at the Noel Coward Theatre on 4 July, with previews from 23 June and runs until 8 September. Joining Aidan Turner (Padraic) completing the all Irish cast are Denis Conway (Donny), Will Irvine (Christy), Brian Martin (James), Daryl McCormack (Brendan) Julian Moore-Cook (Joey), Charlie Murphy (Mairead), and Chris Walley (Davey).