A Whistle in the Dark Everyman Theatre

This powerful Tom Murphy play, produced as part of the DruidMurphy trilogy, is a gripping, unsettling and tragic piece of drama that shines a light on the effects of emigration on a brawling criminal Irish family.

The eldest son, Michael Carney, who is respectable, lives in Coventry with his English wife, Betty. Staying with the couple are Michael’s brothers, Harry, Hugo and Iggy. On to the scene comes Michael’s father, accompanied by the youngest member of the family, Des. There’s a reference to the harsh economic climate in Ireland. However, as far as Michael is concerned, England is no place for his young brother. He tries to shatter any illusions Des harbours about it.

Niall Buggy as Dada gives a brilliant performance. This character is obnoxious and authoritarian. He is also something of a snob, proud of his tribe, and given to boasting that he was once a Garda. He is at his most pathetic when, drunk at the kitchen table, he asks Betty if she ever gets lonely.