Catalpa

written and performed by
Donal O’Kelly

with live music by
Trevor Knight

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. From New Bedford, USA to Fremantle, Australia, across the high seas on the whaling ship Catalpa. Based on the true story of the daring rescue of six Irish prisoners in 1875, culminating with the first ever ticker-tape parade in New York City.

Catalpa is about heroes and visionaries, political intrigue and personal loyalty, with hot romance and battles at sea. An epic adventure story that challenges the nature of heroism. Lyrical and passionate, satirical and very funny.

Catalpa has played all over the world – Kennedy Centre Washington DC, Melbourne, London, Chicago, New York, Toronto, Paris, Copenhagen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Geneva .. always to enthusiastic audiences and rave reviews.

• Scotsman Fringe First Award, Edinburgh
• Best Event Award, Melbourne International Festival
• Maximum four star rating, Washington Times

“A masterpiece … searingly satirical, comic, tragic, profoundly sensitive”
The Scotsman

“Exuberant, exhilarating, magical … it’s a triumph, a joy, a delight”
Irish Times

“Marvellous feat … wonderfully varied and passionate”
Herald Sun Melbourne

“Brilliant writing, bravura performance”
Sunday Times

“A soaring, theatrical Catalpa … a rip-roaring one-man adventure”
Washington Post

“A marathon of dazzling theatrical storytelling”
The Times

“ … standing ovation … extraordinary play, outstanding performance”
Sunday Tribune

“As it ends, one can imagine the film producer slumped in awe at Catalpa’s magic”
Critics’ Choice, Time Out, London

“A brilliant unravelling of the heroic epic”
Irish Times

“If ever there was a play you should see, this is it. A true event in Irish theatre”
The Examiner

“A triumphant feat that makes for a ferocious night of imaginative theatre”
RTE Guide

“Donal O’Kelly is Ireland’s Robin Williams and he can be yours in this one-man tour-de-force”
The Herald Glasgow

“A magical voyage of the imagination”
Sunday Age Melbourne

“Donal O’Kelly truly commands the stage with his rollicking, absorbing epic”
**** (Maximum rating) Washington Times