'an unflinchingly honest piece of work'
                                                        — The Times (London)

When Hatchet was first produced in the Peacock Theatre in 1972, it 'startled audiences with its directness and vitality . . . it has moments of rare, sensitive writing and others where Heno Magee lets the tragedy roar through terrible hate'
       — The Sunday Press

Since then it has been presented in The Abbey, in London and on RTE. It was published first by The Gallery Press in 1978.

This work of stark and brutal realism is set in inner city Dublin in the early 1970s. Its central character is Hatchet Bailey, a tough violent creature whose wife strives to escape the poverty of her environment. It offers 'a frightening picture of violence that breeds violence, with dialogue of whiplash intensity' (John Hogan, The Evening Herald).

Heno Magee's powers of authenticity and authority highlight the contemporary relevance of this perennially powerful and popular play.