The play opens as we see the lead character named Harry, England’s second most famous executioner, hang to death a man for the raping and killing of a woman, though the inmate fervently protests his innocence. Fast forward two years to the date when capital punishment is abolished by Parliament, and Harry finds himself running a pub from his home while contemplating what to do with himself now that his career has been outlawed. In speaking to a reporter, Harry expresses his opinion matter-of-factly that some people commit crimes which deserve the death penalty, and his hanging them is simply the most efficient way he can serve his country. No twisted enjoyment of his acts but also no creeping doubt in his mind about the morality of possibly killing someone innocent. But this play doesn’t get bogged down by addressing the capital punishment debate head on, it seeks to tell a story.
On the 2nd anniversary of the hanging we witness to open the play, a man from London named Mooney drops in the pub. The play instantly shifts into high gear with this gentleman’s fast talking, quick wit, and mysterious intentions. It’s unclear who this man really is, why he traveled so far north, and why he initiates private conversations with Harry’s wife Alice and his daughter Shirley. Late in Act I we’re pondering a heap of questions, some of which are answered in Act II and some aren’t answered at all. McDonagh has in the past ended his works with ambiguity, and Hangmen is no different.
The cast is top notch, delivering clever dialogue through fairly thick Manchester accents. Harry is played by David Threlfall, most known for playing the lead in the British series Shameless, later adapted for the US with William H. Macy. Threlfall commands the setting in his character’s pub, domineering his family and his patrons. His wife Alice is played with excellent emotional balance by two-time Olivier Award winner Tracie Bennett. Mooney is typically played by Alfie Allen of Game of Thrones fame, though our performance saw his understudy Sebastian Beacon deliver a stellar performance. The moment his character enters the Oldham pub, you can’t help but be captivated by his every move.
Hangmen doesn’t provide any sweeping monologues on the age-old debate of the death penalty, especially when it’s made clear that ending a life can be done extrajudicially. But through all the entertainment this play provides, it does get you thinking about those who deliver a permanent punishment without the shadow of a doubt that their condemned may be innocent.