A Life is a bittersweet comedy by Irish playwright Hugh Leonard. The primary character is Desmond Drumm, a highly intelligent but bitterly cynical civil servant who must try to make sense of his life after learning that he has a terminal illness.
A major subplot involves Drumm's feeling for Mary (once known as Mibs), the only woman he ever truly loved. Drumm alienated Mary years earlier, and she married a lazy, callow, layabout who represents everything Drumm dislikes in lower-class Irish culture. Drumm was a secondary character in Leonard's earlier Tony Award-winning play Da.