The House by Tom Murphy

12 June 2024

Druid Theatre today announced a major new production of The House, the late Tom Murphy’s masterpiece. The House will premiere this September at the Town Hall Theatre in Galway and then transfer to the Gaiety Theatre for Dublin Theatre Festival. Tickets for Galway go on sale Wednesday 12 June at 10am; tickets for Dublin go on sale Friday 14 June at 10am.

Written in 2000 but set in the 1950s, The House is a tense drama of desire, belonging and possession. 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. 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.

Garry Hynes directs a large ensemble cast including Druid Ensemble members Marie Mullen as Mrs de Burca and Marty Rea as Christy Cavanagh, alongside Jessica Dunne Perkins, Darragh Feehely, Liam Heslin, Colm Lennon, Andrew Macklin, Amy Molloy, Rachel O’Byrne, Donncha O’Dea and Cathal Ryan. Druid are delighted to announce that 6 of the 11 actors in the cast will make their Druid stage debut on The House.

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 writer-in-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.

DruidMurphy earned rave reviews from critics: ‘as always with this remarkable company, the acting is of a quality to leave you dumbstruck with admiration’ The New York Times; ‘Druid remind you that no one has articulated the legacy of dispossession as eloquently or unflinchingly as Murphy … a staggering achievement’ The Irish Times; ‘Garry Hynes directs with wisdom and feeling … Murphy is, I suspect, the greatest dramatist writing in English’ Financial Times.

The House will be produced in Druid’s home city of Galway, with costumes created at the company’s Nuns’ Island Costume Department and sets constructed in its Ballybane Set Workshop, in line with Druid’s commitments to sustainability and local employment.

Garry Hynes, Director of Endgame and Druid’s Artistic Director: ‘Directing the work of Tom Murphy is always an immense privilege and I’m lucky to have had that honour many times since the 1980s, including the world premieres of Conversations on a Homecoming, Bailegangaire and Brigit. The contribution of Tom Murphy to both Druid and to Irish theatre in general is inestimable. I can’t wait to share this great work with audiences in Galway and Dublin this autumn.’

Jane Brennan, Actor and Wife of Tom Murphy: ‘Druid brought Tom Murphy and myself together in the early 1980s when he was writer-in-association with the company. It was an exciting time. But it’s always an exciting event when Druid produces a play of Tom’s. Having worked closely with him over the years, Garry and the company bring an authenticity and depth of understanding to the world of his work which is unrivalled. I wish them all the very best with this new production of The House.’

Willie White, Artistic Director and Chief Executive of Dublin Theatre Festival: ‘A new production of a Tom Murphy play directed by Garry Hynes is a major event and will be a highlight of this year’s Dublin Theatre Festival. It will be thrilling to see the Druid ensemble interpret this great later work. In The House, Tom Murphy is at his most brilliant, mining the Irish experience of power, shame and violence, with language that crackles and bruises.’