The big subject of “Hangmen” is the uses and abuses of vengeance, a theme evidently much on Mr. McDonagh’s mind. But as you laugh, you may feel the walls of Anna Fleischle’s clammy pub set closing in on you. If that doesn’t sound scary to you, then you don’t know Mr. McDonagh, who understands that the most profound shock effects are often rooted in life’s most mundane elements. Niggling arguments about words abound in Mr. McDonagh’s world. In any case, he’s a happy-creepy reminder that Mr. McDonagh can still work his double-edged, sinister magic on a stage, making breathless, alarmed and deeply satisfied dupes of us all.

Source: New York Times February 06, 2018 02:37 UTC