BAT THE FATHER RABBIT THE SON

It’s Dublin in the 1980s. Rabbit is a self-made haulage magnate. But something’s wrong. He cuts a deal with his underling Keogh to help him find his lost moorings. The quest is hampered by his dead father Bat, Citizen Army volunteer and pawn shop assistant, bubbling up. The struggle between father and son, past and present, imagination and reality, spans Dublin. Their voyage out of Howth and up the River Liffey builds to a climax described by The Guardian as “one of the strongest dramatic conclusions I’ve ever seen”.

An explosive exposition of the generation that led us to Boom and Bust. Written thirty years ago, Bat the Father, Rabbit the Son is more pertinent than ever.

It was first presented by Rough Magic for the Dublin Theatre Festival in 1988.

Donal O’Kelly is a playwright and actor. Previous solo plays include Edinburgh Fringe First winners Catalpa and Fionnuala, also Hairy Jaysus, and Jimmy Joyced! Other plays include The Memory Stick, Little Thing Big Thing, The Cambria, Asylum! Asylum! and The Dogs. Recent acting roles include Jimmy’s Hall and Katie Roche in the Abbey Theatre.