An Abbey Theatre production

A Whistle in the Dark


4 October - 5 November 2022

Written by Tom Murphy

Directed by Jason Byrne

Booking Information


Dates: 4 October – 5 November
On the Peacock stage

Previews: 4 – 6 October

Times: Mon – Sat 7pm, Sat matinee 1.30pm

Tickets: €18 – €30 / €16 – €25 Conc.

Running time: 2 hours and 45 minutes, including an interval.

Content advice: Please note this play contains violent scenes and portrays people using racist language.

Sign language interpreted performance: Thursday 20 October, 7:00pm

“Honest to god, Dada, I tried to love you. What do you want to keep this up for?”

Settled in Coventry with his new wife Betty, Michael Carney is attempting to lead a new life. But leaving Ireland couldn’t set him free, and once the Carneys descend there’s no way out. 

One of Ireland’s greatest playwrights, Tom Murphy’s A Whistle in the Dark is a powerful portrayal of tribal violence and the devastation it brings in its wake. It remains Murphy’s best known and most performed play to this day. 

Directed by Jason Byrne, with Seán Mc Ginley in the role of Dada, this fiercely intense production of Tom Murphy’s early masterpiece will be experienced up close in the intimate Peacock theatre, giving the audience a front row seat in the Carneys’ living room. 

#AWhistleInTheDark

Digital Programme 

For more information on the show, download the digital programme here.

Show Trailer 

Reviews

★★★★
A 'blistering new production'
The Irish Times

★★★★
'Retains its menacing power'
Irish Examiner

★★★★
'The most impressive work in this year's Dublin Theatre Festival'
Financial Times

★★★★
'A sterling cast... a powerhouse production'
The Arts Review

★★★★
'Brilliantly done'
The Irish Mail on Sunday


'A brilliant company of actors, complete with inspired directing and design team, deliver a knockout of a show'
Irish Independent


'Mc Ginley is magnificently psychotic in Murphy's epic'
Sunday Independent

Production Images 

 

Meet the Cast 

The cast of A Whistle in the Dark

Top row: Brian Gleeson, Peter Claffey, Timmy Creed | Middle row: James Doherty O’Brien, Seán Mc Ginley, Peter Coonan | Bottom row: Sarah Morris, Ruairí Heading | Image: Ste Murray

Credits

  • Iggy Carney: Peter Claffey
  • Michael Carney: Peter Coonan
  • Hugo Carney: Timmy Creed
  • Des Carney: James Doherty O'Brien
  • Harry Carney: Brian Gleeson
  • Mush: Ruairí Heading
  • Dada: Seán Mc Ginley
  • Betty: Sarah Morris


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