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Spool presents

The Science of Flann O’Brien

  • en anglais

A two-man show in which chemist Professor Dermot Diamond explores Flann O'Brien's writings by way of slide show to convey how progressive his scientific theories were. Actor Fergus Cronin provides readings from the work, primarily from The Third Policeman.

Flann O’Brien is a literary genius and scientific fantasist. The theories of fictional scientists De Selby, life, death, bicycles and much more. His comic world, inhabited by policemen who become more bicycle than man, where night is an accumulation of black sooty substances in the atmosphere, where travel is an illusion and a pint of plain is your only man, is prised open.

2011 marks the centenary of Flann O’Brien, also known as Myles na gCopaleen, real name Brian O’Nolan, a unique genius whose writings are a combination of reflexive playfulness and formal experimentation.

Image : Fergus Cronin Photo ©Colm Hogan