A man's love for his cat, Irish brogues, terrorism and rebellion will all become intertwined this weekend in No Refund Theatre's (NRT) production of The Lieutenant of Inishmore.

"It's basically an Irish Spring commercial directed by Quentin Tarantino," said director Dan Thompson (senior-English and philosophy).

This traditional farce, as Thompson calls it, by Martin McDonagh, is the second in a trilogy. The first play, Cripple of Inishmaan, was performed by NRT last semester.

The plot centers around a man called Padraic who's an Irish terrorist, and obsessed with his cat, Wee Thomas.

"My [character's] only passions are Irish freedom and my cat," said Mike Richards (junior-theatre and English), who plays Padraic.

The story begins when Wee Thomas is killed, and characters Donny, played by Mike McBurney, a Penn State alumnus, and Davey, played by Matt Brewster (sophomore-film and video), have 20 hours to find a replacement cat so Padraic doesn't kill them.

The plot is complicated by three Irish terrorists who want to kill Padraic because he plans to form a splinter group from the Irish National Liberation Army.

On top of all this, a love story is also involved. A woman named Mairead, played by Casey Cunningham (sophomore-theatre) is in love with Padraic and aspires to be a terrorist.

Cunningham, who said there are references in the show to her character looking like a boy, cut her hair for the production. "I just couldn't have long flowing hair," Cunningham said.

The cast said that putting on this play is a great responsibility, because it is the American premiere of the show.

Nate Kushner, a 2002 Penn State graduate, plays James, a drug dealer who is threatened by Padraic. Kushner directed Cripple of Inishmaan.

"It's the first important play of the century. Above all else, it's entertaining as hell and one of the most deftly and well done statements about terrorism and rebellion," he said of The Lieutenant of Inishmore.

Kushner said that although the play is fun to watch, it's also very true to Irish history. "It's an amazing thing because it says exactly and in exquisite detail what was wrong with the rebellion," he said.

Thompson said the cast will be performing using two different Irish accents. Four characters will speak in a West Coast Irish accent, and the rest will be using northern dialects. He hopes the audience will notice the difference.

The Lieutenant of Inishmore will be performed this Friday and Saturday at 8 p.m. in 111 Forum.