Birthright Tickets
The first London production in more than 90 years
Date & Time
Show ended
About Birthright
Rural Ireland just before the First World War. Bat and Maura Morrissey have two fine sons. Hugh is idealistic and accomplished: an altar boy, poet, captain of the hurling team, and pride of his mother. Shane is a born farmer: diligent, obedient, and hardworking. Much to Bat’s frustration, tradition dictates that Hugh is set to take over the farm, whilst Shane will be forced to emigrate to America. Over the course of one day, family ambition collides with Hugh’s birthright, and the close-knit family is torn apart forever… Inspired by the biblical story of Esau and Jacob, Birthright is a forgotten masterpiece of Irish theatre. Birthright was first performed in the Abbey Theatre, Dublin, in 1910 and was playwright T. C. Murray’s Abbey Theatre debut. It was subsequently seen in both the West End and on Broadway, and toured the USA alongside Synge’s In the Shadow of the Glen where it caused huge controversy among Irish-American audiences. It was last seen in London at the Everyman Theatre, Hampstead, in 1931, and is now rediscovered by the Finborough Theatre for the first time in over 90 years.