Review: Hangmen at People’s Theatre

“…powerful…Craig Fairbairn stole the show…”

Hangmen by Martin McDonagh, People’s Theatre

By Lauren Powell

The name of Martin Mcdonagh, a British/Irish playwright, might ring some bells. He’s produced some really powerful work in his time, The Banshees of Inisherin,Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri to name but two. He’s known for his dark humor and biting social commentary. If you are a Mcdonagh fan you will not be disappointed by this production.

Isn’t it strange to think that within living memory we were a country that had capital punishment? No less than something as brutal as hanging for a range of crimes often significantly more trivial than murder or rape. To me hanging always invokes the fantastical settings of cow rustlers in westerns or pirates subject to summary justice in more barbaric times. I certainly never thought about hanging from the perspective of a professional hangman: how might this barbarism seep into your soul and percolate out into your life? What kind of a man not only wants this job but revels in it? I don’t think I’m unusual in being unable to summon much empathy for the position of an executioner who finds himself a new career as king of the barflys, landlord of an un-named pub in the gloomy North of England.

If you go see Hangmen you will be treated to an evening that flows between laughing out loud at the antics of a pompous, callous man and his cronies drinking their lives away, and knitting your brows and wringing your hands over the fate of his family. The play takes inspiration from several real people and circumstances, it is by no means a biography but also far from pure fiction, which gives it a really grounded feel for a play that treads such a dark and provoking path.

I should warn you that rape jokes, casual homophobia, racism and misogyny abound in this play, so you might find the language a little jarring. The author has clearly made some linguistic choices to reflect the time it is set in – 1965.  

I must say the set was phenomenal – I swear I could smell stale beer and imagine my feet sticking to the carpet. The attention to detail was exquisite, from the coasters trimming the walls, to the old dart board and Guinness advertising posters it was the quintessential old English pub. The oxblood walls and the dated furniture were the icing on the cake, I could not get over how authentic it looked. This was a blessing and a curse, because the opening scene was a little confusing to me. Harry Wade and his colleagues come to execute a man. Perhaps it was a lack of imagination on my part, but it very much looks like they are imprisoning and then hanging someone in the venue, mere steps from the beer pumps. 

Another highlight were the props and costumes, adding to the reality of the play no end. At one point Alice (Alison Carr), the landlady, brings out some cloth and I squealed with joy internally, recognising the fabric pattern from one of my gran’s dresses from her youth, it’s the little touches that made it feel like another time. Heather Allan and Tricia Rutter in the wardrobe department worked some magic. They must have been given the brief of “I need you to outfit five men, they need to be bland, beige, aging, losers, but they must all be distinct from each other” – and by Jove, they did it. What could have been confusingly similar became a masterwork of the subtle art of character dressing. 

One thing let this production down, for me: they frequently refer to heavy rain outside the pub. People carry umbrellas, shake off coats and grumble about being wet. The lights even flash at one point to indicate lighting. All I ask for is a little sound to support the atmosphere or heavy rain and maybe some water sprinkled on the umbrella to be shaken off and it would have been the icing on the cake.

That aside, the acting was powerful. Ian Willis as Harry, the titular Hangman, had a real Winston Churchill vibe, so familiar, as British as roast beef and, as I said before, overwhelmingly pompous.  His long suffering wife, Alice, played by Alison Carr, had a simmering resentment and quiet defensive hostility that tickled me. The villainous Mooney, Craig Fairbairn, is the answer to the question ‘what would it be like if Rodney Trotter was actually evil?’, which may sound like a back-handed compliment, but I assure you, it is 100% sincere – Craig Fairbairn stole the show.

Without going into spoiler territory this play does a phenomenal job of exploring the kind of justice hanging is. It does a really good job of getting you to dislike a character – all the characters in fact – but enjoying them and rooting for them anyway.  

Hangmen plays at People’s Theatre until Saturday 08 March. Tickets are available here.

Lauren Powell is a recovering academic from the North East of England. Currently residing in South Shields with her partner and two malevolent gerbils. Lauren is a short form writer who writes fiction as well as reviews. She has loved the theatre since childhood, and many years ago volunteered back stage with an amateur group, Stage Focus.  From one man readings to musical and beyond, Lauren can not get enough! You can find her on Twitter/X here.