News: 'CATALPA' DRAMA COMES TO ATHY - SUNDAY 30TH OCTOBER
Based on the true story of the daring whaleship rescue of six Irish prisoners from Fremantle penal colony in 1876, Catalpa is a story in the great epic tradition of Moby Dick and Gone With The Wind - with a passing glance at The Great Escape. Donal O’Kelly plays over thirty characters in this one-man epic, including the mastermind of the Catalpa mission - Kildareman John Devoy.
Written and performed by Donal O’Kelly, with live music by Trevor Knight.
Donal O’Kelly is a writer and actor. His much-travelled solo plays include the award-winning Catalpa (Edinburgh Fringe First, London TimeOut Critics’ Choice, Best Event Melbourne International Festival), Bat The Father Rabbit The Son (Best Writer and Best Actor nominations Irish Theatre Awards), and Jimmy Joyced! (Best Actor nomination Irish Theatre Awards). He has twice been awarded an Irish Arts Council literature bursary, and in 1999 was awarded the Irish American Cultural Institute Butler Literary Award.
His film roles include leading roles in Roddy Doyle’s The Van. On stage, he has played the Lincoln Centre, New York , Toronto Winter Gardens, The Abbey & Peacock as well as touring the UK, Europe, US, Canada and Australia .
He is an associate director of the peace and justice organisation Afri. In 2007 he was elected to Aosdana.