Scorched Earth
Co-Produced by Galway International Arts Festival, Dublin Dance Festival and Attic Projects
A murder, an interrogation, and a clouded world of fantasy and fear. Scorched Earth is part crime-drama, part thriller that plumbs a dark, but fundamental part of the Irish psyche.
Murphy, creator of the multi-award-winning Volcano, blurs the lines of dance and theater to ask: What right do we have to the land beneath our feet? What are we willing to do to keep it? Or take it.
Inspired by the John B. Keane’s seminal work The Field, Scorched Earth imagines a detective reopening a cold case, an unsolved crime twelve years after the fact. As stories are revisited and old wounds are opened, The Detective and Suspect fall into a world of memory, fantasy, ambition and resentment.
PErformances:
April 3-19 2026 St Ann’s Warehouse, Brooklyn New York
July 15-19 2025 Blackbox Theatre, Galway International Arts Festival
May 24-25 2025 Abbey Theatre, Dublin Dance Festival
*****- RTE ARTS ARENA
A form of total theatre, unlike anything else.
****- THE IRISH EXAMINER
Murphy’s vision is singular, and realised expertly in the show’s rich, multifaceted design- Alan O’Riordan
****- THE IRISH TIMES
Tight narrative and clever design are central to the success of Scorched Earth, but the immutable physical bond between the human body and land is what lingers after the curtain falls- Michael Seaver
****- THE ARTS REVIEW
Choreographically, as is always the case with Murphy’s movement sequences, be they solos, duets or group, Scorched Earth is visceral and sensational.- Chris McCormack
****- REVIEWS HUB
The final act is superb. As is the athleticism of the ensemble in their flailing, sliding and rolling attempts to overcome and crest its peak- Louise Tallon
Credits:
Direction, Writing and Choreography: Luke Murphy
Set and Costume Design: Alyson Cummins
Lighting Design: Stephen Dodd
Composition and Sound Design: Rob Moloney
Audio Visual Design: Patricio Cassinoni
Rehearsal Director: Stephen Moynihan
Produced by: Gwen Van Spyk
Cast:
Ryan O’Neil, Sarah Dowling, Tyler Carney, Will Thompson, Luke Murphy
Production of Scorched Earth is funded by a 2025 Arts Council of Ireland Arts Grant Award with co-production support from Dublin Dance Festival and Galway International Arts Festival and residential support through Dance Cork Firkin Crane as part of the 2024/2025 DAIR Award.
Development of Scorched Earth was supported through the following organisations and awards:
Arts Council of Ireland Arts Grant Awards 2022-2024. 2022 DanceCorkFirkinCrane Ceist Residency. 2023 Greenwich University, Bathwat Theatre Artist in Residence Award. Townhall Theatre Galway- Black Box Theatre Residencies 2023 and 2024. Cork City Council Arts Office R&D Project Award 2022. Cork City Coucil Arts Office- Residency Crypt at St Luke’s 2024. Shawbrook Residential Company Space Award 2024, Uillinn West Cork Arts Centre DAIR 2023.
Scorched Earth is created in collaboration with the cast with additional creative contributions through R&D periods with Conor Dougherty, Ursula Robb, Orla McCarthy, Kath Duggan, Knut Vikstrom Precht, Sharol McKenzie, Will Thompson, Gina Moxely, Ray Scannell, Diarmuid Armstrong, Ed Mitchell, Seirian Griffith, Theo Arran and Rosie Stebbing.