The Pillowman review: A dark, twisted triumph despite lightweight Lily Allen’s one-note turn

The atmosphere is Kafkaesque and the stories like the Brothers Grimm on the heavy sesh. Lily Allen is frustratingly flat throughout, writes Jessie Thompson, but this extraordinary and troubling play from Martin McDonagh is a modern classic in waiting

Lily Allen and Paul Kaye in Martin McDonagh’s ‘The Pillowman’ at the Duke of York's Theatre (Johan Persson)

Is it finally The Pillowman’s time? Martin McDonagh may now be the Oscar-winning writer and director of films such as Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri and The Banshees of Inisherin, but there’s always been a sense of unfinished business with his dark 2003 play. Reviews were lukewarm when it opened at the National Theatre 20 years ago; even so, plenty today describe it as their favourite play without ever having seen it, and McDonagh thinks it’s his best work. This major West End production, starring Lily Allen in a gender-flipped lead role, is – surprisingly – the first major London revival since the premiere. What we find is a modern classic in waiting, ready to meet our current moment.

Katurian (Allen), a writer of twisted, violent short stories, finds herself being questioned by the police – without knowing why. In designer Anna Fleischle’s seedy backroom office, bruiser policemen Tupolski (Steven Pemberton) and Ariel (Paul Kaye) physically threaten and rage at her. Yes, the atmosphere is Kafkaesque, the stories like the Brothers Grimm on the heavy sesh. But these are knowing references in a play fascinated with the question of how we keep storytelling alive. Soon, we discover that a string of horrible child murders have recently taken place, closely resembling Katurian’s stories – a girl who had to swallow razor blades, a boy with all his toes chopped off – and the officers believe she and her brother Michal (Matthew Tennyson) are responsible. They both face execution, something she is prepared to accept if they assure her that her stories will be saved.

Paul Kaye, Lily Allen and Steve Pemberton in ‘The Pillowman’ (Johan Persson)