Declan Gorman’s much-anticipated new play will come to Riverbank Arts Centre following its world premiere at the 2016 Drogheda Arts Festival. With original sound design by ex-Waterboys composer, Colin Blakey,The Big Fellow is a non-stop, edge-of-your-seat theatrical adventure, laced with humour and scenes of daring and intrigue. It presents the compelling story of Michael Collins, but also the story of his biographer, the literary genius Frank O’Connor.

As The Big Fellow is conjured to unruly and mischievous life by his writer, the epic tale of the birth of a nation is re-lived by both men: the one who survived it and came to understand the disappointment that inevitably follows the dream, and the tragic hero who perished in his effort to broker a waking compromise.

“Declan Gorman writes and directs with an innate knowledge of theatre and a mastery of vernacular language” The Irish News

A play by Declan Gorman
based on Frank O’Connor’s biography of Michael Collins
Original music by Colin Blakey
Script developed with the support of the Abbey Theatre