Tom Crean - Antarctic Explorer

Synopsis

Aidan Dooley tells the story of the unsung Irish hero of early Antarctic exploration in this dramatic and humorous solo performance. Hear the riveting true stories of Crean's Antarctic explorations as one of the few men to serve with Scott and Shackleton and survive the 3 famous expeditions, Discovery (1901 - 1904), Terra Nova (1910 - 1913) and Endurance (1914 - 1916).

Our Review:

11 February 2008

Quick question: Antarctic – top or bottom? Thus Irish actor Aidan Dooley as Tom Crean, the relatively unknown explorer on expeditions to the South Pole with Scott and Shackleton, in somewhat ingratiating warm-up mode at the top of his one-man show at the New End.

Tom Crean (1877-1938) was a hardy sailor, a real tough nut from a little town near Kerry, who won the Albert Medal for bravery, having made a solitary trek of 36 miles in dreadful conditions during the Terra Nova expedition to rescue two comrades. That was on the second of his three Antarctic expeditions before he returned to Kerry after the First World War and ran a public house. He died of a burst appendix.

Dooley presents a genial, soft-spoken, smiling man who looks as though he’d have trouble running a bath, let alone navigating an ice floe. He comes across as more of a primary school teacher than a national hero, with his neat little examples of what happens in below-zero cold (don’t forget your mittens, ...

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Latest User Review

Brian Mainwaring - 12 February 2008:

Saw this show in Edinburgh and am so glad that London finally gets to see it, and I can tell you after seeing it again it has not lost any of it's incredible impact. You want to hear what true heroism is all about then see this show. Adidan Dooley is a master storyteller and holds you on the edge of your seat as he recounts the true stories of the Antarctic expeditions with Scott and Shakleton. I am glad he didn't write a diary like the others otherwise we would already know Crean's story and that would spoil this fantastic evening. ...

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