Tom Murphy shot to fame with the London production of _A Whistle in the Dark_ in 1961, establishing him as the outstanding Irish playwright of his generation. The international success of DruidMurphy, the 2012-13 staging of three of his major plays by the Druid Theatre Company, served to underline his continuing appeal and importance. This is the first full scale academic study devoted to his theatre, providing an overview of all his work, with a detailed reading of his most significant texts. His powerful and searchingly honest engagement with Irish history and society is reflected in the violent _Whistle in the Dark_, the epic _Famine_ (1968), the often hilarious _Conversations on a Homecoming_ (1985) and the darkly Chekhovian _The House_ (2000). Folklore and myth figure more prominently in the spiritual drama of _The Sanctuary Lamp_ (1975), the Faustian _Gigli Concert_ (1983) and the women's stories of _Bailegangaire_ (1985). The range and reach of Murphy's theatre is demonstrated in this informed reading, supported by key interviews with the playwright himself and his most important theatrical and critical interpreters.