Luke Murphy’s Scorched Earth to debut at Brisbane Festival

Luke Murphy’s new production, Scorched Earth, is set to perform at the Brisbane Festival. The show combines crime drama with contemporary dance, drawing inspiration from one of Ireland’s most notorious unsolved murders.

The performance is based on the 1958 death of Maurice “Moss” Moore, a farmer in County Kerry whose body was found near his home following a dispute with a neighbor over land boundaries. The case became a piece of Irish folklore and served as the direct inspiration for John B. Keane’s seminal 1965 play, The Field.

Murphy, who serves as the director, choreographer, and star, uses the historical event to explore themes of land ownership and property disputes within the Irish national character.