Watching Martin McDonagh’s The Lieutenant of Inishmore at ion Theatre’s Blkbox on St. Paddy’s day was like realizing that the snakes had crawled back into the Emerald Isle, only in human form. Only, these snakes were funny, at least some of the time. And, it had its own Paddy, too, though he spelled it Padraic.

Mr. McDonagh, Ireland’s finest playwright since Brian Friel, is a young man, only 40 (41 next week), but he has been prolific, producing a Leenane trilogy (The Beauty Queen of Leenane, A Skull in Connemara, and The Lonesome West), as well as an Aran Islands trilogy, of which The Lieutenant of Inishmore is a part. Each of his plays has been showered with critical acclaim, though you might know him as the writer and director of the 2008 film, In Bruges, for which he received an Academy Award nomination.

Mr. McDonagh has a penchant for black comedy, and he loves to create absurdity out of life-or-death situations. In Lieutenant, he starts with the gruesome death of a beloved cat, which is sure to bring a grieving Padraic (Kyle Sorrell), the cat’s owner, back to the island. Padraic has been off fighting for Irish freedom from the British, though he’s taken to leading a one-man splinter group because the IRA has kicked him out for being hot-headed. Having no real British to fight, he has taken to torturing people who irritate him, in particular a man who sells pot to kids (Evan Kendig, who gets to hang upside down for nearly his entire scene).

Arriving home, Padraic finds his father (Walter Ritter) and a neighbor lad (Ryan Kidd) trying to cover up the death of the cat by painting a tabby black with shoe polish. He also finds that the girl next door (Morgan Trant) has grown up but still has a crush on him.

Just as Padraic is about to fly off the handle over the cat, in walks a trio of IRA members (Josh Adams, Mike Jensen, and Reed Willard) with a score to settle. Mayhem and bloody dead bodies ensue, all, believe it or not, to wildly humorous effect.

This sort of work is not everyone’s cup of tea. There is plenty of violence on stage, and lots of guns being waived around, including pointed toward the audience. The firing sounds are not terribly realistic, but if you have an aversion to gun-like noises, I’d read the script (or at least a synopsis – the one on Wikipedia is quite helpful) before seeing the performance.

ion’s production features a lot of clever ideas, particularly in Claudio Raygoza and Matt Scott’s scenic design (imagine a main set that actually moves to create a second playing space in a small, 49-seat, house). As director, Mr. Raygoza gets the most nuanced performances out of his company members (Mr. Ritter and Ms. Trant), as well as his more experienced actors. Mr. Sorrell has the requisite bravado and sexiness for Padraic, though he could use a an additional dose of danger. Mr. Jensen makes for a worthy IRA opponent. Unfortunately, the younger and less experienced performers fare less well and turn in more one-note characterizations, particularly Mr. Kidd, who performed inconsistently and who tended to equate shouting with excitement. Grace Delaney coached accents that were Irish enough but also didn’t lose the gags for American ears.

ion’s production runs through April 9, though Producer Glenn Paris announced that an extension is possible. If you enjoy black humor and can tolerate a good deal of stage blood and choreographed violence, the Lieutenant of Inishmore is an excellent introduction to the work of the most highly-praised young playwright to come along in some time.

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