A WINCHESTER theatre is set to tackle a gritty comedy where trust and betrayal catastrophically collide.

Not afraid to expose the darker side of drama, the Chesil Theatre will stage The Beauty Queen of Leenane by Irish playwright Martin McDonagh.

Set in a dingy cottage in the mountains of Connemara, County Galway, a plain and lonely woman in her early forties, Maureen Folan, lives with Mag, her manipulative ageing mother.

Her interference in Maureen’s first and potentially last loving relationship sets in motion a sequence of events that is as darkly funny as it is horrific.

It is the sixth show for director Norma York, who is celebrating 25 years with the theatre this year.

She said: “This production has been quite a challenge for me and the cast, partly due to the depth of characters but also due to the difficult subject matter.

“Despite this, I have enjoyed directing Beauty Queen immensely and I am confident that audiences will enjoy the contrasting Irish humour in what is unavoidably a dark and dramatic production.”

Audiences should be aware that the play contains scenes of domestic violence, bad language and sexual references.

The Beauty Queen of Leenane is at the Chesil Theatre from March 21-28, but not on Sunday, at 7.45pm. There is a 2.30pm matinee on March 28.

The run will also include ‘Talk Back Tuesday’, where the audience can meet the director and cast immediately after the performance.