“. . . All of what would become hallmarks of McDonagh's career are present in this tale of a lonely middle-aged woman (Nanna Ingvarsson) and the live-in mum who terrorizes her (Linda High): a bleak, rain-soaked landscape, bracing humor and equally bracing moments of horror . . . the stagecraft evokes nostalgia for an earlier period of playmaking, when gripping characters and well-told stories were the rule rather than the exception. . . "Beauty Queen" spins gold out of an economy of means. . . “

Full Scott Vogel article, The Reigning 'Queen of Leenane' in The Washington Post (June 24, 2005, page WE24)

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