THE Bermuda Musical and Dramatic Society next tackles The Beauty Queen of Leenane, the first in a trilogy of plays by Oscar-winner and noted playwright Martin McDonagh.

Set in Leenane, a remote, small town in Connemara, County Galway, north of the Aran Islands, it focuses on the lives of Mag Folan and her 40-year-old daughter, Maureen, a virgin resigned to tending to her mother's needs for the rest of her life.

A noted Broadway hit and winner of four Tony Awards in 1998, its audiences have praised The Beauty Queen of Leenane for its dark humour and superb grasp of life.

At Daylesford Theatre it will be directed by Carol Birch. Well known to Bermuda theatre, she has played several diverse roles, notably Shirley in Shirley Valentine and Mrs. Cratchit in Scrooge.

She wrote and directed the 2005 pantomime Sleeping Beauty and her play Just Reward was produced in Toronto at the Alumni Theatre. "I saw the play in New York and had to go back to see it a second time," she explained. "It just has got everything a good play should have. It's very funny and it has really well-drawn characters that you can identify with and have sympathy for.

"It's a drama, but it's told in such a way that it never gets maudlin. As with most of Martin McDonagh's scripts, the most awful things happen and you find yourself laughing even though you know you shouldn't. He has a way of touching on the black humour we all have. I think it's going to be one of the best performances of the year."

It took Mr. McDonagh eight days to write the play in 1996. It was produced in 1997, one of four plays written by the then 27 year old, which were showing in London.

As described by BMDS: "The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Martin McDonagh is an absolute cracker. The extraordinary achievement of this play is that it is wildly funny and deeply affecting all at the same time.

"During its most potent scenes you don't know whether to laugh, cry or gasp. The action is set in the Connemara home of Mag Folan, a malevolent old boot you'd cross the street to avoid. She's attended by her hapless daughter Maureen, a virgin at 40, who is endlessly nagged and bullied by her mother. The relationship is charted with the blackest of humour, and the baleful silences, festering resentments and moments of virulent spite are all wickedly enjoyable."

According to Ms Birch, that relationship is especially enjoyable to watch onstage.

"They're stuck in a symbiotic relationship," she explained.

"They snipe and quarrel but they get on in a real way. The daughter is 40 and a virgin. She's there looking after this cranky old woman and feels life has passed her by when suddenly she gets a chance at love.

"It starts the old woman wondering what's going to happen to her and she works to scupper the relationship."

Asked if she was at all nervous about tackling such a well-known and received play, the director said not at all.

"We have such a wonderful cast and crew. We absolutely have a dream team and the set is actually better than the one I saw in New York.

"When I saw it performed in New York, it was on a massive stage and I think the play was really written for a smaller one. Daylesford is perfect."

Mr. McDonagh was born in Camberwell, London to Irish parents.

His plays have been produced all over the world including extensive runs on London's West End and Broadway in New York.

He won an Academy Award in March in the category of Best Live Action Short Film for Six Shooter, a film he wrote and directed.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane will be performed at Daylesford from May 15 through 20 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $20. The box office at Daylesford will be open from May 8 through 12 between 5.30 p.m. and 7 p.m. and 5.30 p.m. through 8 p.m. on performance nights except for May 20 when it will open 7 p.m. through 8 p.m. Telephone bookings may be made during box office hours, on 292-0848. Tickets may also be booked online, at www.bmds.bm or www.boxoffice.bm.