BRUNSWICK — Bowdoin College’s department of theater and dance will stage “The Cripple of Inishmaan,” by Anglo-Irish playwright Martin McDonagh, Thursday through Saturday, March 4-6.

Performances, free and open to the public, will begin at 7 p.m. in Wish Theater, Memorial Hall. Limited seating is available on a first-come, first-served basis.

“The Cripple of Inishmaan” is the painfully funny story of the false hopes and dreams that invade the bleak existence of a small island off the coast of Ireland in 1934. The delightfully flawed group of characters includes “Cripple” Billy Claven, an orphaned teenager who lives with his two eccentric aunts (one talks to stones, the other eats her feelings).

Their small world is shaken by rumors of an American coming to make a film on the neighboring island of Inishmore, setting off a chain of surprising events.

McDonagh, author of the hit plays “Pillowman” and “Beauty Queen of Leenane,” has written a total of eight plays, including “The Aran Islands Trilogy,” of which “The Cripple of Inishmaan” is a part. McDonagh is also an active screenwriter and filmmaker. In 2006, he won an Oscar for his short film “Six Shooter.”

For more information, visit www.bowdoin.edu/theater-dance/calendar/>.