Hugely successful piece of theatre in the Watergate Kilkenny on Thursday

Lauded as a piece of  theatrical  genius, Bat The Father Rabbit The Son, written and performed by Donal O’Kelly returns to the Watergate Theatre, Kilkenny on Thursday night.

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 of Irish men that led us to Boom and Bust. Written thirty years ago, ‘Bat the Father, Rabbit the Son’ is more pertinent than ever.

First presented by Rough Magic for the Dublin Theatre Festival in 1988, Bat has toured to New York, Chicago, London, Edinburgh, Australia and New Zealand. Now back again! And according to world-renowned playwright Enda Walsh “A powerhouse in performance and language .. theatrical genius”.

“A prose poem of magical beauties and plunging vulgarities …friends, it is purely brilliant”
- New York Post

“Magnificent script and performance”
- The Scotsman

“Superbly written and performed portrayal of a father/son relationship”
- Irish Times

“As surreal as it is apposite .. a funny, touching and frightening marvel .. O’Kelly’s manic performance is extraordinary” – Sunday Independent

“A wild slapstick tour de force”
- New York Times

“A powerful and unforgettable show”
- The News, Adelaide