Sawyer Richmond (playing Padraic) and Mel Pearce (playing Mairead) rehearse a scene together for JCCC’s production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore by Martin McDonagh. (Photo by Gregory Jackson)

This week, the JCCC Theatre Department will premier its production of Martin McDonagh’s play, “Lieutenant of Inishmore.” This show is directed by JCCC’s own Artistic Coordinator Scott Stackhouse, and stars a variety of student actors here in the college’s play production program. 

“On one level, it’s about a wild revolutionary named Mad Padraic who rages home from the conflict in Northern Ireland to get revenge on those who killed his cat,” Stackhouse said of the play. “It’s a searing indictment by the playwright on ideological violence and specifically, the troubles in Ireland.”

The showings will be Friday, Feb. 21 through Sunday, Feb. 23, with another four showings happening the following week from Feb. 28 to Mar. 2. The show will be playing at the Bodker Black Box Theatre, housed within the Midwest Trust Center. As it is one of only three productions put on by JCCC’s Theater Department this spring semester, it makes it all the more worth the watch. 

“Beneath the absurdity of this play lies a message about the dangers of extremism and how violence creates more violence,” Sawyer Richmond (Padraic) said. “It is a satire, but it holds a mirror to real-world conflicts and it asks us to look at it from a different perspective. Come for the laughs, stay for the insanity! And if you like cats, you’ll definitely have some strong feelings after the show!”

Like all student productions, tickets are free and shows are first come, first serve. This play is a passion of all those working on it, from all the people working behind the scene to ensure all goes according to plan, to all the actors on stage who have spent weeks practicing lines and ques to give the best performance they can. 

“We’ve gotten so close through all the work we’ve put into character development and discoveries on stage; it’s so special,” Mel Pearce (Mairead) said. “Students should come see this show because it’s just so funny. Martin McDonagh has such a morbid, dry, and ridiculous sense of humor, there’s a little something for everyone.”