Five Lamps Arts Festival and Co-Motion Media present the new stage work by Roddy Doyle, an adaptation of a story from the ‘Life Without Children’ collection by Roddy Doyle published in 2021. Adapted and directed by Joe O’Byrne, the action of the story, starring Eoin O’Sullivan, takes place just after the beginning of the Covid lockdown, and is about a man who makes the irrational decision to come to Dublin to look for his son, whom he has not seen in four years. His search takes him on an odyssey through inner city Dublin, and small acts of kindness light up his search as he hopes against hope to find his son in the deserted city. The story is a gentle hymn to the inner city, and as in all of Roddy Doyle’s writing about Dublin, his stories explore the humour and emotions of people on the edge - despite this, The Five Lamps becomes a truly life-affirming story.
Roddy Doyle is one of Dublin’s most famous and popular writers and has published many important novels such as The Commitments, The Snapper, Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha, and The Woman Who Walked Into Doors. Many of his books have been filmed, or adapted for the stage. He recently also wrote ‘Kellie’ along with Kellie Harrington. The animated film of his children’s book Greyhound Of A Girl recently premiered at the Berlinale Film Festival.