The creative method of Martin McDonagh

This study examines the creative approach of Martin McDonagh, focusing on key aspects of his dramatic works and screenplay writing, including: the compositional and structural methods used to create tension and dynamics; the relationship between different forms of art; the integration of cinematic and literary conventions within an interdisciplinary framework; the deconstruction of traditional dramatic principles; the use of detective and western tropes as part of a contemporary playwright's poetics; the expansion of intertextual references and allusions to prior texts through engagement with contemporary media culture and societal experiences. Martin McDonagh’s creative approach has not been sufficiently explored in contemporary academic discourse. Previous research has addressed the distinctive features of his poetics, considering the issue of intertextuality, the presence of historical references and biographical background (Lonergan, 2012; Rees, 2013; Doyle, 2007). However, many significant aspects of McDonagh’s dramatic works and scripted plays remain unexplored. For instance, the transformation of traditional dramatic genres and their interaction with filmic elements in McDonagh’s texts has not been investigated, features in the typology of characters’ ways have not been identified, and a commentary on his constructed language system has not been provided. Additionally, previous studies have not taken into account such essential components of McDonagh’s drama as its heterogeneous intermedial space and polyvalent dramatic structure. The poetics of Martin McDonagh's works in literary studies do not constitute a stable typology. Therefore, it is essential to emphasize the diversity of genres in his body of work, considering his texts as a unified literary and cinematic complex. In this paper, we address a gap in the existing research field on the work of Martin McDonagh. Additionally, our study takes into account the dialogic nature of McDonagh's texts in relation to media discourse. Therefore, the research touches upon issues such as reportage narrative, postcolonial theory, and historical representation. The research material includes the trilogies "The Leenane Trilogy" and "The Aran Islands Trilogy", as well as the plays "The Pillowman" and "Behanding in Spokane", and the films "In Bruges", "Three Billboards Outside Ebbing, Missouri", and "The Banshees of Inisherin". The scientific novelty of our work lies in the comprehensive analysis of McDonagh's dramatic and cinematic works, which has not been done before. We aim to consistently describe the key features of his creative approach. The purpose of this study is to consider the theatre and films of Martin McDonagh as the unified system of interconnected motifs, images, narratives, semantic and intermedial codes. The research will be conducted with the use of the close-reading method, comparative and semiotic methods of analysis. The present study expects to explore the specificity of McDonagh’s theatre and films, which have contributed to the worldwide success of his works. It is significant to examine this phenomenon within the Russian-speaking context, which interprets McDonagh’s works in light of its own unique dramatic tradition. The subject of this research is the distinctive features of Martin McDonagh's artistic approach as a complex semiotics-based whole. The focus of the study is on how Martin McDonagh utilizes these characteristics to develop his unique creative method.As a result of the conducted research, a study on the creative method of Martin McDonagh has been completed, revealing the specific features of the semantic organization of his texts, taking into consideration their intermediary and semiotic structures. In the first phase of the research, the compositional and syntactical structures of McDonagh's dramas and scripted plays were analyzed. Plays, scripts, and film texts were all examined, establishing their genre nature and identifying the features of their dramatic structures. The second phase of the study focuses on conceptual features within McDonagh's writings, such as the psychosymbolic fear of archaic maternal power, the transformation of the victim's image through the blasphemous figure associated with self-destructive tendencies (the challenge of thanatos), and the portrayal of desire and violence in his works.Furthermore, an essential aspect of the research was the creation of a glossary of vocabulary from the linguistic system developed by McDonagh. This system incorporates Irish, English, and hybrid English words, as well as erratics and neologisms, which are used to translate untranslatable linguistic and cultural elements in the author's works. The study also identified a range of historical and media allusions in McDonagh's writings, through which he addresses issues such as globalization, immigration, colonization, war, racial prejudice, and nationalism.