DruidMurphy – Plays by Tom Murphy opened at the weekend (Sunday July 8th) at New York’s prestigious Lincoln Center Festival and the New York Times review said, “…as long as the theater produces artists like Ms. Hynes and her collaborators… his (Tom Murphy’s) will remain a voice worth attending to.” and commenting on the acting said “As always with this remarkable company, the acting is of a quality to leave you dumbstruck with admiration”.

This follows on from the outstanding success of the London opening last month, which was attended by President Michael D. Higgins and enjoyed rave reviews from British and Irish theatre critics alike. (See below)

DruidMurphy concludes its run at the Lincoln Center Festival on July 14 and will then return to Galway Arts Festival (July 23-28), where the entire run is already sold out. The tour continues to Oxford, Cork, Clifden, Tuam, the Aran Islands and Dublin, and will conclude its five month tour in October when it performs at the Kennedy Center in Washington D.C.

Speaking from New York, Garry Hynes, Druid’s Artistic Director said:

“Tom Murphy is one of the greatest writers in the English language and I am absolutely thrilled that his work is being so unequivocally celebrated from Galway to London and as far as New York. Audiences can now experience first hand how these three great plays deal with the issues of Irish identity in a global context. It has been an absolute privilege to work with such a wonderful writer and company, and I’d like to thank the Arts Council, Culture Ireland, and our co-producers – Quinnipiac University Connecticut, NUI Galway, Lincoln Center Festival and Galway Arts Festival – for helping make this possible.”

WHAT THE CRITICS SAY ABOUT DRUIDMURPHY

NEW YORK TIMES – Click here to read the full review

“visceral, precise and saturated with raw wit and honest feeling, it represents ensemble work of the highest order.”

THE DAILY TELEGRAPH – 5 STARS ★★★★★
“thanks to productions so faultless they’re no effort to sit through – even in one marathon day”

THE FINANCIAL TIMES – 5 STARS ★★★★★
“Murphy is, I suspect, the greatest dramatist writing in English.”

THE GUARDIAN – 4 STARS ★★★★
“richly rewarding event”

THE IRISH TIMES
“a riveting, shattering and deeply necessary journey.”

THE SUNDAY INDEPENDENT
“extraordinary, overwhelmingly magnificent undertaking.”

IRISH INDEPENDENT
“It is a privilege to watch theatre of such indelible quality.”

DruidMurphy – Plays by Tom Murphy – the biggest Irish touring theatre production of 2012 – is a major celebration of one of Ireland’s most respected living dramatists. It features three of Murphy’s most influential plays: Conversations on a Homecoming, A Whistle in the Dark and Famine which are performed by an ensemble cast of 16 including Niall Buggy, Marie Mullen, Aaron Monaghan and Eileen Walsh. The plays can be seen individually or as a three-play cycle in one day.

To coincide with DruidMurphy in New York, Fordham University’s Institute of Irish Studies will host an all-day symposium on July 11 – Druid & Tom Murphy: A Celebration. This symposium will discuss Tom Murphy’s major influence on Irish Theatre and the impact of his writing on Irish and American cultural memories of immigration and famine.

DruidMurphy is a co-production between Druid and Quinnipiac University Connecticut, NUI Galway, Lincoln Center Festival, and Galway Arts Festival. Druid acknowledges the continuing support of the Arts Council and Culture Ireland without whom this production and tour would not be possible.

To visit the production page, click here.

Further Media Information

Kate Bowe / Mary Folan
Kate Bowe PR
Tel: +353 1 652 0143