''A Whistle in the Dark'' is a

play Play most commonly refers to: * Play (activity), an activity done for enjoyment * Play (theatre), a work of drama Play may refer also to: Computers and technology * Google Play, a digital content service * Play Framework, a Java framework * Pla ...

by Tom Murphy that premiered on September 11, 1961 at the Joan Littlewood's Theatre Royal, Stratford East,

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

, having been rejected by the

Abbey Theatre The Abbey Theatre ( ga, Amharclann na Mainistreach), also known as the National Theatre of Ireland ( ga, Amharclann Náisiúnta na hÉireann), in Dublin, Ireland, is one of the country's leading cultural institutions. First opening to the pu ...

Dublin Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...

. It then went on to be a West End hit. Murphy was twenty-five years old at the time. The play tells the story in three acts of the climactic confrontation between Michael, the oldest of the Carney sons, and his father and brothers, a brawling, hard-drinking, criminal gang of

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

immigrants living and working in

Coventry Coventry ( or ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in the West Midlands (county), West Midlands, England. It is on the River Sherbourne. Coventry has been a large settlement for centuries, although it was not founded and given its ...

. A powerful portrayal of tribal violence and the devastation it brings in its wake in spite of attempts to stand against it, it remains Murphy's best known and most performed play.

John Lahr John Henry Lahr (born July 12, 1941) is an American theater critic and writer. From 1992 to 2013, he was a staff writer and the senior drama critic at ''The New Yorker''. He has written more than twenty books related to theater. Lahr has been ca ...

of ''

The Village Voice ''The Village Voice'' is an American news and culture paper, known for being the country's first alternative newsweekly. Founded in 1955 by Dan Wolf, Ed Fancher, John Wilcock, and Norman Mailer, the ''Voice'' began as a platform for the crea ...

'' saw its influence in

Harold Pinter Harold Pinter (; 10 October 1930 – 24 December 2008) was a British playwright, screenwriter, director and actor. A Nobel Prize winner, Pinter was one of the most influential modern British dramatists with a writing career that spanne ...

's ''The Homecoming''. Other plays showing its influence are

Gary Mitchell Gary Mitchell (born 3 May 1965) is a Northern Irish people, Northern Irish playwright. By the 2000s, he had become "one of the most talked about voices in European theatre ... whose political thrillers have arguably made him Northern Ireland's ...

's '' In a Little World of Our Own'', Rod Wooden's '' Your Home In The West'' and Jimmy Murphy’s

The Kings of The Kilburn High Road ''The Kings of the Kilburn High Road'' is a play by Irish playwright Jimmy Murphy first produced by Red Kettle Theatre Company at the Garter Lane Theatre Waterford Ireland in 2000. The first American production was staged by the Rochester Communi ...

Original cast

* Patrick Magee as Michael Carney Sr. (Dada) * Michael Craig as Michael Carney Jr. *

Derren Nesbitt Derren Nesbitt (born Derren Michael Horwitz; 19 June 1935) is a British actor. Nesbitt's film career began in the late 1950s, and he also appeared in many television series in the late 1960s into the 1970s. He is known for his role as Major von ...

as Harry Carney *

Dudley Sutton Dudley Sutton (6 April 1933 – 15 September 2018) was an English actor. Active in radio, stage, film and television, he was arguably best known for his role of Tinker Dill in the BBC Television drama series ''Lovejoy''. Early life Sutton was ...

as Des Carney *

Dorothy Bromiley Dorothy Bromiley Phelan (born 18 September 1930) is a British former film, stage and television actress and authority on historic domestic needlework. Life Born in Manchester, Lancashire, the only child of Frank Bromiley and Ada Winifred (né ...

as Betty *

Oliver MacGreevy Oliver John MacGreevy (25 July 1928 - October 1981) was an Irish actor who appeared in many British films and television series from the mid 1950s until he retired in 1980, often as brutish, shaven-headed villains. Among his roles he played Hou ...

as Iggy Carney *James Mellor as Hugo Carney *Sean Lynch as Mush O’Reilly

Canadian productions

In 2005,Toronto's The Company Theatre (TCT) chose ''A Whistle in the Dark'' for its debut production at Canadian Stage's Berkeley Street Theatre. Helmed by Irish director Jason Byrne, the show played for three weeks in Toronto with an all-star cast of Canadian actors: * Joseph Ziegler as Michael Carney Sr. (Dada) * Jonathan Goad as Michael Carney Jr. * Allan Hawko as Harry * Philip Riccio as Des * Sarah Dodd as Betty * Oliver Becker as Iggy * Aaron Poole as Hugo * David Jensen as Mush Stage Manager Robert Harding joined the creative team as stage manager, with Kinnon Elliott as his assistant stage manager. Set and costume designer John Thompson and lighting designer Andrea Lundy rounded out the team. Thompson would go on to work extensively with TCT, designing sets for ''Marion Bridge'' (2007), ''Festen'' (2008), '' Through the Leaves'' (2010), '' The Test'' (2011), and Speaking in Tongues (2012/13). ''A Whistle in the Dark'' was named "Best of 2005" in multiple Canadian newspapers, including ''

The Globe and Mail ''The Globe and Mail'' is a Canadian newspaper printed in five cities in western and central Canada. With a weekly readership of approximately 2 million in 2015, it is Canada's most widely read newspaper on weekdays and Saturdays, although it ...

'', ''

National Post The ''National Post'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet newspaper available in several cities in central and western Canada. The paper is the flagship publication of Postmedia Network and is published Mondays through Saturdays, with ...

'', '' Now Magazine'', and ''

eye weekly ''Eye Weekly'' was a free weekly newspaper published in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It was owned by Torstar, the parent company of the ''Toronto Star'', and was published by their Star Media Group until its final issue on May 5, 2011. The following ...

''.

Richard Ouzounian Richard Ouzounian (born March 8, 1950) is a Canadian journalist and theatre artist. He was the chief theatre critic for the ''Toronto Star'' and the Canadian theatre correspondent for ''Variety''. Early life, family and education Ouzounian was b ...

of the ''

Toronto Star The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...

'' called it "the most muscular piece of theatre we've seen in Toronto in some time," going on to add that " he Company Theatre'schoice of a worthy play, a first-class director and an excellent cast show it knows what it takes to make good drama." The production received two 2005

Dora Mavor Moore Award The Dora Mavor Moore Award (also known as the Dora Award) is an award presented annually by the Toronto Alliance for the Performing Arts which honours theatre, dance and opera productions in Toronto. Named after Dora Mavor Moore, who helped estab ...

nominations in the Independent Theatre category: Outstanding Production and Outstanding Lead Performance Male for Joseph Ziegler. In 2007, TCT remounted ''A Whistle in the Dark'' with Jason Byrne directing. Much of the cast remained the same, though

Richard Clarkin Richard Clarkin is a Canadian actor. He is most noted for his performance in the 2017 film ''The Drawer Boy'', for which he won the Canadian Screen Award for Best Supporting Actor at the 7th Canadian Screen Awards in 2019.LSPU Hall The LSPU Hall is a large wooden structure in St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador. Located on 3 Victoria Street, it is currently the home of the Resource Centre for the Arts (RCA). The name comes from a previous owner, the Longshoremen's Protect ...

St. John's, Newfoundland St. John's is the capital and largest city of the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador, located on the eastern tip of the Avalon Peninsula on the island of Newfoundland. The city spans and is the easternmost city in North America ...

in March and at Toronto's

Young Centre for the Performing Arts The Young Centre for the Performing Arts is a theatre in the Distillery District in downtown Toronto, Canada. It is a brand-new theatre built into 19th-century-era Victorian industrial buildings. It is home to the Soulpepper Theatre Company and th ...

in April of that year.

Radio adaptation

BBC Radio 3 BBC Radio 3 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It replaced the BBC Third Programme in 1967 and broadcasts classical music and opera, with jazz, world music, Radio drama, drama, High culture, culture and the arts ...

gave the first radio broadcast on 20 December 2009, directed by Roland Jaquarello.

References

1961 plays Plays by Tom Murphy Plays set in England {{1960s-play-stub