Der einsame Westen

In the organizer's words:

"It seems as if this town is not under God's jurisdiction," sums up Pastor Welsh when looking at his small Irish town of Leenane. Unsolved deaths are occurring with increasing frequency, minors are selling booze and the local girls' soccer team is setting a world record for foul play. At the center of this setting appear the brothers Valene and Coleman Connor, who despise each other as much as they are attracted to each other. When they return to their small farmhouse from the funeral of their father, who has been shot dead, they don't sink into mourning, but immediately sort out the last things: Who owns the oven, the alcohol, and which chips are actually the best? The brothers' quarrels are accompanied only by Welsh's futile attempts at mediation and Girleen's sale of homemade spirits. When Welsh goes to extremes to reconcile the brothers, a sudden dynamic is set in motion that culminates in a series of unpredictable events.

In THE LONELY WEST, Oscar-winning playwright and screenwriter Martin McDonagh paints a darkly humorous and macabre picture of human community. Nevertheless, moments of humanity, hopes and desires flash up again and again in this farce, and understanding and forgiveness seem to be within reach - at least for a moment.

In his first production at the Staatsschauspiel Dresden, director Kilian Bauer sheds light on the ambivalences and fragile foundations of human coexistence.

You can find a trigger warning about the production here.