Druid Presents A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O'Neill

Tuesday, 9 June 2026:  Druid today announced the continuation of its 2026 season – Strange Country: Ireland in America – with A Moon for the Misbegotten by Eugene O’Neill.  

Over the course of one day and night in 1920s rural Connecticut, Josie Hogan, the last of her immigrant Irish family left at home with her alcoholic father, and their anguished landlord, James Tyrone, long for escape - she from her life, and he from his loss.  

One of the great canonical works of the 20th century, this production will run at the Town Hall Theatre, Galway from Monday 14 to Saturday 26 September. Tickets go on sale Thursday, 11 June at 11am on druid.ie and tht.ie. 

Directed by Garry Hynes, with set and costume design by Francis O’Connor, A Moon for the Misbegotten sees Druid return to the work of Pulitzer, Nobel and Tony Award winning playwright Eugene O’Neill for the first time since 2007. The cast is Lorcan Cranitch, Rory Nolan, Marty Rea, Cathal Ryan, and Eileen Walsh.  

The sequel to Long Day’s Journey into Night, and the last of O’Neill's trio of largely autobiographical plays which reflect his complex relationship with Ireland, in A Moon for the Misbegotten we find common threads between the opening play of the season, The Shaughraun by Dion Boucicault.  Two very different stories, set in rural landscapes on either side of the Atlantic Ocean, that share themes of what it means to be Irish, negotiating for your place in the world, and love – familial, as fraught as it may be, and romantic. 

Garry Hynes, Director of A Moon for the Misbegotten and Druid’s Artistic Director: “O'Neill is one of America's greatest playwrights, but he is also the son of Irish emigrants, and many of the questions that animate his work — belonging, displacement, family, memory and inheritance — are deeply connected to the Irish experience. 

Druid is drawn to plays that place complex, flawed and resilient human beings centre stage, and few playwrights understand human contradiction as deeply as O'Neill.” 

As with all Druid productions, A Moon for the Misbegotten will be produced in Galway at the company’s two workshops – costume in Nun’s Island and set design in Ballybane. Druid remains the only theatre company in Ireland with its own set workshop, preserving and developing theatre crafts. Druid is committed to its home in Galway, generating employment for local theatre professionals and creating entertainment for local audiences and visitors alike. 

Druid gratefully acknowledges the generous support of its Friends, Supporters and Funding Partners in Galway, throughout Ireland and around the world, and in particular the Arts Council / An Chomhairle Ealaíon, Smurfit Westrock, McDonogh Capital Investments, University of Galway, Culture Ireland and Galway City Council.