Swansong, the award winning mono-drama written by acclaimed writer/director Conor McDermottroe, will debut at the Potato Shed 8pm Friday 26 July.
Meet Austin (Occi) Byrne, the illegitimate child of a single mother in the Catholic west of Ireland. Shunned by church, state and family, Occi must fight his way into adulthood in a dog eat dog world.
When he was young, Austin (Occi) Byrne was tormented by the recurring rhyming taunts of the local bullies who were relentlessly cruel in the fact that Occi had no father.
As he grows older, within the closed ecclesiastical communities of 1970’s, those taunts escalate in his delicate mind into a chorus.
Occi’s quest to find his father becomes core to his identity; but his mother – all but shunned by her parents and the local community, keeps this secret.
Narrated through Occi’s wayward world view, his story unfolds as a series of chaotic encounters, tempered by moments of tenderness and longing. Swansong speaks to anyone who has ever been denied a voice.
Critically acclaimed by actors, directors and performers, “Swansong is a mighty tour de force monodrama faultlessly executed, a Masterclass in acting”
Directed by Greg Carroll (MTC, STC, Theatreworks, Red Stitch, La Mama), Green Room Award winning actor Andre DeVanny brings a haunting tenderness to a soul that is lost, in a role that is fraught with violence and tragedy.
Book your tickets online at www.geelongaustralia.com.au/potatoshed or by calling the Box Office on 5251 1998.