Druid Theatre

Theatre company in Galway, Republic of Ireland, founded in 1975 by Garry Hynes, Mick Lally, and Marie Mullen, members of the Irish-language theatre company, An Taibhdhearc, and University College, Galway's student drama society. The theatre developed a reputation for fresh and original productions of Irish and continental classics, notably the 1982 staging of J M Synge's The Playboy of the Western World, taken on tour to New York, USA, in 1986.

Originally the company performed at the Coachman Hotel, but in 1978 an old warehouse was converted into the Druid Lane Theatre. More recently the company has promoted the work of upcoming playwrights. At the Black Pig's Dyke (1992) by Vincent Woods (1960- ), inspired by the mumming tradition and by Northern Irish politics, and The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1996), a tragi-comedy of rural Ireland by Martin McDonagh (1971- ), became landmarks in Irish drama. McDonagh's play won the company four Tony Awards after its successful run on Broadway in 1998.