The explosive contradictions of life in Northern Ireland ignite this drama of suspense and violence.

Kyle is loyal to his wife, his best mate and his boss in the Ulster Defence Union and they love him as a husband, a brother and a son but, with changing times and the emerging peace process, Kyle finds himself lost in the shadows of transition, uncertainty, and betrayal. In a world turned upside down, peace and brutality walk side-by-side, while love and loyalty are sacrificed to the new order.

Gary Mitchell's play As the Beast Sleeps was first performed at the Peacock Theatre, Dublin, in 1998.