THE STORY: Inspired by the biblical story of Isaac, AMPHIBIANS is a dark, elegiac tale of the sea. Eagle, the last fisherman on the river, is about to give up the ghost and go to work in the soulless Menapia Seafood Plant. Before he does, though, he decides to unearth a long-dead ritual: to bring his ten-year-old son, symbolically named Isaac, out to Useless Island and leave him there alone in a solitary rite of passage. This act sparks off a fire beneath the caldron of scorn, envy, resentment and plain heartache that has been festering all around him, which ends in a blistering climax of violence. Originally commissioned for The R.S.C., AMPHIBIANS is a richly weaved tapestry of stories, subplot and song—a sad, lovely lament for a dying culture.
“What Wessex was to Hardy, Wexford is to Roche: an inexhaustible source of myth…a beautifully written Irish Western.” —The Guardian (UK).
“AMPHIBIANS leaves no doubt that Roche is one of the finest and most humane dramatists of his generation.” —The Telegraph (UK).
“AMPHIBIANS is a treasure triumphantly reclaimed from the past.” —Sunday Tribune (London).
“Worth traveling many miles to see.” —Irish Times.
