We take a look at what has been said about Caitríona McLaughlin’s production of JM Synge’s play.
WhatsOnStage: *** “This is a sumptuous production, rich in detail, craft and spectacle. It’s impressive but dramatically inert, ultimately not really proving why Synge’s tale of romantic disappointment and the ludicrousness of putting people on a pedestal, is worthy of a major revival at the present time.”
London Theatre.co.uk: **** “McLaughlin’s production takes a scene to settle into. Accents are thick and conversation is heavily localised. But once acclimatised, it’s transfixing. You sense how deeply religion is entrenched through the many “god bless you”s, as characters enter and exit the pub, and through expressionist touches, folkloric traditions – from women mourning head-to-toe in black, to strawboys strumming instruments – are woven into the background. Erin Hennessey’s fiddle playing, which travels through lilting jigs to mournful airs, adds further atmosphere.”
The Guardian: *** “Staged in its original, melodic Hiberno-English dialect, it is authentic but hard to follow at times, at least for this critic. Some may not catch the nuance of the dialogue although the beauty of the language is abundant enough to enjoy. A character’s “whole skin needs washing like a Wicklow sheep”, another hears the cows “breathing and sighing in the dark” before coming into the light of the pub.”
Time Out: “The Bridgerton megastar looks right at home as the feisty barmaid Pegeen, who falls suddenly and deeply under Christy’s charms. Coughlan’s Derry Girls co-star Siobhán McSweeney makes Widow Quin flirtatious yet purpose-driven; her rich, cackle of a laugh closes act one and rings with genuine menace. And it is sometimes a struggle to understand every word of Lorcan Cranitch as Pegeen’s alcohol-fuelled father, he gives a convincing, powerhouse interpretation.”
The Arts Desk: ** “Coughlan has a sunny vibe which negates the lonely misery of Pegeen, although her sharp tongued responses to Widow Quin, played with beautifully manipulative wit by fellow Derry Girl Siobhán McSweeney, are just right, and her final howl of desperation chills the blood. Éanna Hardwicke’s Christy is more convincing as the childlike milksop turned idol, though he lacks savagery, and he gets excellent support from Declan Conlon as his father.”
British Theatre Guide: “Artistic Director Indhu Rubasingham, formerly of Kiln Theatre (Tricycle Theatre as was) in Kilburn, has hopefully brought its Irish community with her to the National. I hear lots of Irish voices and lots of laughter. I may be missing some lines. I reread the text and not too many… A piece of music, in three acts or movements, played by a brilliant ensemble with vivacity, rhythm, fine timing and tone. And understated humour… Synge called it a comedy, but there’s something epic about his dark satire. A classic and a precious relic of the past…”
The Standard: *** “There’s a disjunction between the comic content of the play and McLaughlin’s attempt to root it in the folk culture of the “western world” of Edwardian County Mayo. Designer Katie Davenport gives us a weird mishmash of strenuously authentic and anachronistic costumes on a basic corrugated-iron set, while groups of mummers and mourners in menacing corn outfits and enveloping veils periodically process behind, playing arcane instruments and keening.”
The Stage: *** “Strong performances from Nicola Coughlan and Declan Conlon hold together this uneven, oddly paced study of rural insularity.”
The Telegraph: JM Synge’s poetry was not well served in this staging of The Playboy of the Western World.”
The Reviews Hub: ** 1/2 “Sometimes this version of Playboy of the Western World is a doomed romance between Pegeen and Christy, sometimes a musing on the dangers of first impressions and a social commentary on Irish rural life in the early 1900s. You can feel the writing straining to be released from its confines, and there is a wittier, sharper version still trying to get out. And while McLaughlin’s approach is full of well-researched detail, the play itself and the allure of the playboy get lost along the way.”
The iPaper: **** “Hardwicke cleverly crafts a fundamentally unknowable character whose attractiveness comes with a repellent undertow as the drama twists and twists again. This treat of a play leaves its characters, not to mention its audience, asking themselves some long, hard questions.”
All That Dazzles:*** “Coughlan is a star turn, magnetic without overstatement, and Hardwicke’s trajectory from meek to mythic is properly seductive. If the production were bolder in explaining its ritual scaffolding and crueller in its final reckoning, it might have matched the brutality Synge smuggles beneath the music. As it stands, it’s a richly textured but jumbled and uneven production that leaves you musing on the speed with which we crown, and cancel, our playboys.”
London Theatre 1: **** “Where McLaughlin indisputably succeeds is in bringing to life the central ridiculousness of Synge’s satirical premise with the right amount of trust in the audience’s capacity to understand it. She also has a killer cast worth the ticket price alone. Unsurprisingly, Siobhán McSweeney as the Widow Quin brings her full comic genius to the party. Declan Conlon as Old Mahon shines and Hardwicke’s rendition of Christy Mahon is playful and convincing in the satire and earnestness it must straddle.”
Broadway World: *** “As a whole, McLaughlin’s vision is rooted in ritual and tradition. She employs mumming and keening in the background to spice up the scene and add mystery to the mix. It reinforces the geography that Synge wanted to challenge and establishes the idea of a land that doesn’t fully conform to earthbound rules. Katie Davenport’s design furthers this take, opening up the Flaherty tavern into a crude landscape of grey skies and yellow straw. County Mayo looks expansive and desolate: fertile ground for erratic behaviour and the trappings of societal insulation.”
West End Best Friend: **** “It is a rare feat to create such a real world on stage. It is rarer again to have an older play successfully comment on today. With certain scenes’ dialogue being clearer, this production would be astounding.”
The Upcoming: *** “Ultimately, it’s Coughlan and McSweeney who steal the show – weaving nuance into characters who might otherwise blur into the broader comedic chaos that surrounds them. In the end, charm, humour and strong performances carry the play through a journey of self-discovery, but it never quite reaches a deeper level with lasting impact.”
The Playboy of the Western World continues to play at the National Theatre until the 28th February 2026.