By Tom Murphy
Directed by Garry Hynes
It’s summer in 1950s Ireland and Mrs de Burca can sense the beginning of an end. With her health failing and her three daughters making their own way in the world, it’s time to sell the family home.
‘As always with this remarkable company, the acting is of a quality to leave you dumbstruck with admiration’ The New York Times
Down the town, a generation of young men have returned from the building sites of England to haunt the streets for a few weeks. Among them is Christy Cavanagh, a man with cash in his pockets, fond memories of a childhood spent with the De Burca family, and a plan to buy their house.
‘Druid remind you that no one has articulated the legacy of dispossession as eloquently or unflinchingly as Murphy … a staggering achievement’ The Irish Times
In Tom Murphy’s classic play, the hopes and dreams of Christy and the De Burca family entwine as they battle with their pasts and fight for their futures, in a tense drama of desire, belonging and possession.
‘Garry Hynes directs with wisdom and feeling … Murphy is, I suspect, the greatest dramatist writing in English’ Financial Times
Tony Award winner Garry Hynes directs a large ensemble cast including fellow Tony Award winner Marie Mullen as Mrs de Burca and Marty Rea as Christy Cavanagh, alongside Jessica Dunne Perkins, Darragh Feehely, Amy Molloy, Rachel O’Byrne, and Donncha O’Dea, with further casting to be announced.
No one wrote 20th-century Ireland like Tom Murphy. Druid’s long history with the late writer began in the 1980s when he became the company’s writerin-association and their work together includes the world premieres of Conversations on a Homecoming, Bailegangaire and Brigit, as well as the internationally acclaimed play cycle DruidMurphy.
‘staged by Hynes with a breathtaking poetic realism … I emerged astonished both by Murphy’s historical awareness and Druid’s ensemble vigour’ The Guardian
‘It is a privilege to watch theatre of such indelible quality … a remarkable theatrical achievement’ Irish Independent ‘a fantastic tear-sodden blast of the very best in Irish theatre’ What’s On Stage
Duration: 2 hours 30 minutes plus interval