Benbo Productions presents Ailliliú Fionnuala,
written and performed by Donal O’Kelly,
directed by Sorcha Fox, designed by Robert Ballagh.
Ambrose Keogh works for Shell. When the Tunnel Boring Machine he named Fionnuala sinks into the bog in Erris Co. Mayo, he is magically confronted by Fionnuala of the Children of Lir. Fionnuala puts a geas on him – he’s bound to tell what he knows about Shell’s operations, such as mysterious attacks on local opponents of the gas project. During his ordeal, Ambrose meets his school classmate, Malachy Downes, a Shell-to-Sea activist, and echoes from the past resound.
'Cuts a swathe through Shell/State propaganda, allowing audiences to access the truth of what’s happening in North Mayo' Hot Press
'O’Kelly performs superbly' Sunday Independent
'Digs for truth beneath the controversies' Irish Times
'A stirring piece of theatre' Irish Theatre Magazine
'Highly entertaining while packing a punch' Exeunt Magazine
Donal O’Kelly’s award-winning solo plays include Catalpa, Joyced! and Bat The Father Rabbit The Son. Other plays include The Cambria, Jimmy Gralton’s Dancehall, The Adventures Of The Wet Señor, Vive La, Operation Easter, Farawayan, Asylum! Asylum! and The Dogs. He has performed his shows all over the World, including New York, Chicago, Los Angeles, Melbourne, London, Paris, Rome, Helsinki, Warsaw, Harare and Lusaka.
Donal O’Kelly played the lead role of Bimbo in Roddy Doyle’s The Van, and Jap in the award-winning bilingual film Kings. Other screen roles include Spin The Bottle, Paths To Freedom and Fair City. He has recently written, directed and produced a three-part music-drama for radio, Francisco, with music by Kila, about Spanish Armada survivor Francisco De Cuellar in Ireland. In 2007 he was elected to the Irish arts academy Aosdána from which he resigned in 2010.
