of six of his plays. His plays include the historical epic Famine (1968) which deals with the Great Famine of Ireland between 1846 and spring 1847, the anti-clerical The Sanctuary Lamp (1975), The Gigli Concert (1983) and for many his masterpiece, the lyrical Bailegangaire and the bar-room comedy Conversations on a Homecoming (both 1985). His work is characterised by a constant experimentation in form and content from the apparently naturalistic A Whistle in the Dark to the surreal The Morning After Optimism and the spectacularly verbal The Gigli Concert. Recurring themes include the search for redemption and hope in a world apparently deserted by God and filled with suffering. Although steeped in the culture and mythology of Ireland, Murphy's work does not trade on familiar clichés of Irish identity, dealing instead with Dostoyevskian themes of violence, nihilism and despair while never losing sight of the presence of laughter, humour and the possibilities of love and transcendence. His works are often described as being filled with rage, with Murphy himself stating "There is a rage in me which I think is a natural thing. It was in me when I was 24 or 25, scribbling with my stub of a pencil. And it's still there in everything I do. Rage not against the unfairness of life – life is of course unfair – but against the inequalities, the arrogance of power." Younger playwrights whose work shows an indebtedness to him include Conor McPherson, Martin McDonagh and Gary Mitchell. His latest plays include The Wake (1997), The House (2000) and The Alice Trilogy, which premiered in 2005 at the Royal Court Theatre in London with Juliet Stevenson in the eponymous role. In 2006 Murphy directed the Irish premiere of the same play at the Peacock Theatre in Dublin with Jane Brennan in the lead role. In 2009, his play, The Last Days of a Reluctant Tyrant premiered at the Abbey Theatre. His play The Sanctuary Lamp was performed at the Arcola Theatre in Dalston, London from 10 March to 3 April 2010, directed by Murphy himself. He wrote one novel, The Seduction of Morality (1994). List of works Plays On the Outside (1959) A Whistle in the Dark (1961) The Orphans (1968) A Crucial Week in the Life of a Grocer's Assistant (1969) The Morning After Optimism (1971) The White House (1971) On the Inside (1974) The Vicar of Wakefield (1975) The