The life of Darrel Ascough, a Hull trawlerman, is played out in three acts in the crew's quarters of a distant water trawler: First, at sixteen, Darrel is a deckie learner on the Kingston Jet. Here he meets Hull's "one man circus" Cassidy, and is introduced to his legacy. On the James Joyce, and as a young but skilled trawlerman, Darrel is the only survivor when the trawler capsizes when heavy with ice. In the final act, on the heritage museum ship the Arctic Kestrel, Darrel meets the confused and rootless youth Pat, and is forced to address the meaning of his legacy and his true heritage. A powerful and moving story of fate, choices and men at work, Under the Whaleback opens at the Royal Court Theatre in August 2002.
- ISBN10 0822229560
- ISBN13 9780822229568
- Publish Date 15 September 2014 (first published 5 April 2003)
- Publish Status Active
- Publish Country US
- Imprint Dramatists Play Service
- Format Paperback (US Trade)
- Pages 56
- Language English