irish redneck mayhem, with cats!

Bathed in red light, the stage foretold the spillage of blood to follow.
And, oh! What a great spillage there was!
More than six gallons of sticky crimson was spilled during the one-act comedy.
Yes, my dear, you heard correctly: comedy. Specifically, this was an Irish black comedy, as dark as they come - and it was fabulous!
I do so love dark comedies! "Pulp Fiction" and "The War of The Roses" are two of my favorite films in that genre. Now, I do believe that "The Lieutenant of Inishmore" will be the forerunner for plays!
Full of rednecks it was! All gun-toting, of course, and easily enraged, with Padraic the maddest of them all. In fact, he was such a lunatic that the INLA (an IRA splinter) had deemed him too bloodthirsty for them. So, did they attack him directly? Of course not. They killed his cat, Wee Thomas, instead, to lure him back home.
Padraic's hard-drinking dad didn't know that last part. When the bike-riding hippy (Davey) had brought in the dead cat, Donny only knew that his son might well kill them all for not taking care of his "only friend in the world". Yikes! Time for 'operation substitute cat", involving black shoe polish and an orange tabby. And the hilarity ensued!
There was even a bit of romance.
Seriously, this ninety-minute show had it all - new love, consuming love, and love betrayed.
Here's how that worked.
The hippie had a teen sister, Mairead, determined to be a warrior, not a pacifist like her brother. With shaved head and rifle in hand, the sharpshooting lass met Padraic on his return to town, determined to show him her worth. After getting over how much she had grown, he became enchanted with her patriotism and the kissing began! Ooh la la! Partners they became, to avenge the death of Wee Thomas!
Then things get complicated when Padraic, in a rage over the attempted deception, shoots the soot-smeared cat in his dad's kitchen...
the cat that Davey had fetched at the last minute...
Sir Roger, Mairead's beloved kitteh.
I can't help but associate "Righteously" with Mairead, upon learning of the death of her precious cat by the hands of her new love.
Oh, what glorious rednecks they were!