“Impeccably delivered by Andre de Vanny, going from strength to strength with a dazzling energy that radiatesthroughout the entire work, you won’t be able to look away.”

Upstaged Reviews

Meet 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 to adulthood in a dog eat dog world. Violent, tragic and hauntingly tender, Swansong is the story of a lost soul from one of the masters of Irish drama. Swansong is an award winning Irish monodrama written by acclaimed writer/director Conor McDermottroe.

Set in the 1960’s Swansong tells the story of Austin ‘Occi’ Byrne, the illegitimate child of a single mother in the Catholic west of Ireland. Shunned by church, state and family, Occi and his beloved Mammy are outcast and ostracized. After childhood bullying leaves him with mild brain damage Occi struggles to control his increasingly violent impulses as Mammy spirals ever further in alcohol abuse.

Occi must fight his way to adulthood in a dog eat dog world. It’s an exhilarating journey that plunges him in to murder and mayhem, love and death, only to return him to the place he began. Tragic, tender and uproariously funny Swansong is the story of a lost soul in search of a home.

Swansong is a taut and gripping read. As a piece of theatre, it speaks to anyone who has ever felt like and outsider, who have ever been denied a voice. Occi, for all his flawed humanity is a symbol of hope. An unlikely hero who faces insurmountable odds and never gives up. His is a timely message. An important story.

By Conor McDermottroe

Presented by: Frankston Arts Centre and Red Hot Productions

This show is handpicked to be in the FAC 2019 Season.