The Beauty Queen of Leenane by four-time Oscar nominee Martin McDonagh is being staged at the MADC Playhouse next month.

Touted by The Guardian as “the blackest of comedy that is both hilarious and horrific”, the play has won four Tony Awards on Broadway and received a nomination for a Laurence Olivier Award.

MADC’s production, which stars Isabel Warrington, Andrea Pace, Nicholas Jackman and Alex Weenink, will take to the stage at the MADC Playhouse over two weekends on February 23, 24 and 25 and March 1, 2 and 3.

Directed by Adrian Buckle, The Beauty Queen of Leenane features costume design by Nicole Cuschieri, set design by Marco Mallia and lighting design by Chris Gatt.

Equal parts funny, sad and unsettling, The Beauty Queen of Leenane is a timeless and relatable play

The story follows a plain and lonely spinster in a run-down cottage in the Irish village of Leenane, amid her first, and possibly final, chance at love – and her demanding and manipulative mother who will stop at nothing to derail it.

Combining thrilling elements of farce and melodrama with a searing critique on the sanctity of family, the play explores the tension of isolation and desperate conflict.

“Equal parts funny, sad and unsettling, The Beauty Queen of Leenane is a timeless and relatable play that has become a modern classic with a long list of prestigious awards,” MADC chairman Stephen Casaletto says.

“Such an extraordinary play... promises to be an unforgettable event in Malta’s theatrical calendar this year.”

MADC’s The Beauty Queen of Leenane, certified 16+, will be performed at the MADC Playhouse, Santa Venera, on February 23, 24 and 25 and March 1, 2 and 3, with all performances at 7.30pm. Booking is open at www.madc.com.mt. The production is supported by the Embassy of Ireland in Malta and presented by arrangement with Concord Theatricals Ltd on behalf of Samuel French Ltd (www.concordtheatricals.co.uk).