For those unaware, Oisin is a warrior-hunter-poet in Irish mythology. His mom is a deer, and his dad was a hunter. There are druids involved. (More on that if you see the show.) He falls in love with a fairy who has a terrible curse of having a pig’s face (ew), gets whisked off to fairy land, defeats his wife’s oppressive father in an epic poetry battle (a highlight of this production), realizes his love isn’t really in love, and journeys home to discover 300 years have passed.
According to historians, it’s a metaphor for the end of the Bronze Age. Here, it feels like a metaphor for falling into the trap of loving a story over reality for too long. I wish we could have gotten to the main action sooner; the opening backstory about Oisin’s mother and his father could be more condensed. But the pacing picks up because the Storyteller is a fun narrator, with sassy remarks like “My mom was a deer, I’ll explain later,” “She had a pig face, cover your ears if you don’t want to hear the story of why,” and “Fairies are bad at math,” as well as an environment of poetry slam snaps.
In this minimalist staging, Ellbogen uses their body, voice, a simple plaid shirt and pants, two black chairs, a white board, a marker, a “Happy Birthday” balloon, and nothing more. It’s a classic Fringe way of telling a story of epic proportions on a shoestring budget, with a performer who brings it to life through full commitment and emotion. You see and hear every gasp and breath, and Ellbogen carries the full journey beautifully.
It’s an interesting form of escapism because it feels dramatic and intimate, but there’s also a “dark whimsy” to it. Oisin leaves a family that wasn’t the greatest, survives a life-threatening situation with humor on his side, and still comes home to a different world. “When someone tells you to stay, stay; when someone tells you to leave, leave” is a recurring motif in this play. Yet all the humor makes the overall feel funny in a sad way.
Prey Most Difficult
A solo retelling of Irish mythology by Sad Druid Productions
Running Time: 60 minutes
Dates and Times:
- Wednesday, July 16, 8:00p
- Friday, July 18, 6:00p
- Sunday, July 20, 2:30p
- Saturday, July 26, 5:45p
- Sunday, July 27, 3:45p
Venue: Phoenix – UDC Lecture Hall (44A03)
Tickets: $15
More Info and Tickets: Prey Most Difficult
Genre: Solo performance, storytelling
Directed by: Corvin Kevlihan
Playwright: Corvin Kevlihan
Performed by: Erin Ellbogen
The complete 2025 District Fringe Festival schedule is online here.
The 2025 District Fringe Festival program is online here.
