The true story of a father, reimagined by a son. Bonny Boys are Few takes you on an epic adventure from Peru to the heat death of the universe via a shut door in Dublin, a time-travelling conquistador, and an ancient eel fed fat on the world’s misery… A captivating blend of myth, history and autobiography, set to a beautiful live score.
Bonny Boys are Few is a lyrical new performance exploring fatherhood and sonliness, using as stimulus the experience of writer and performer Michael John O’Neill. It was performed at Sweet Venues as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe in August 2014.
Michael lived until the age of eighteen in a home shared with a mixture of students, vulnerable adults and migrant workers, many of whom acted as short-term surrogate fathers in the absence of Michael’s biological father.
With Bonny Boys are Few Michael has spent time travelling around Ireland and spoke with some of the men and women who played such vital, if fleeting roles, in his upbringing. Using poetry, storytelling, music and film Enormous Yes have drawn upon these stories and experiences to create a moving portrait of fathers and sons, both absent and present, and the journey from one to the other.
Bonny Boys are Few was previously presented in development at The Arches, Glasgow in September 2013, at The Roundhouse, London in December 2013, and at the Old Courtroom as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival 2014.