Eoin Ryan, a wellness coach and motivational speaker, follows up his book and TEDTalk to bring Trawled, “where adventure becomes survival” to the Edinburgh Fringe stage.
“In the summer of 1999, twenty-four-year-old Irishman Eoin Ryan was following the well-beaten path through Australia’s backpacker haunts and hostels. In a search for the road less travelled, he blagged his way onto a prawn trawler, plying the tropical waters of the Coral Sea.”
Where: theSpace
When: 9-10, 12-17, 19-24 Aug
Eoin tells us more about the show.
What are you looking forward to the most at Fringe?
I guess I should say standing on stage on the first night. That too! But what I’m really looking forward to is being on the Royal Mile and breathing in the atmosphere.
I’ve never been to the fringe before but I’ve watched videos of it. I try to imagine myself there handing out fliers and selling my show on the best of sunny days.
Ok – I might be stretching the weather part…
I’m also looking forward to the reviews. Trawled is a new play and I welcome reviews and feedback.
Tell me about Trawled. It’s billed as true-life storytelling – so what’s it all about?
It is a true story that happened to me 25 years ago. I blagged my way onto a prawn trawler that fished between Australia and Papua New Guinea.
I was actually becoming a decent fisherman until we almost sank.
From that point onwards (I don’t want to give away too much) things and the crew conspire against me.
It changes from an adventure into survival for me. It becomes so bleak that I almost take my own life.
Obviously, it has a happy ending, but how we get there is nuts.
This is your own personal story – was it an easy task to draw on your memories and experiences to put the shoe together?
No, it wasn’t easy at all. But I’d kinda made my peace with the story when I wrote the book back in 2019. It was much easier to write the book.
I do have to be careful on the stage not to be triggered too much by any subconscious memories. A little bit is ok as it adds authenticity to the performance.
Once or twice I had to really pull back and gather myself on stage.
Are there any other shows that take your fancy at Fringe?
I like storytelling, so I’m looking forward to seeing Sinead O’Brien’s play No One Is Coming at Venue 30.
I heard it is very good so I’m sure lots of people are coming…
What’s next after this run?
I have a good few shows booked in Ireland. Then the hope is that Trawled will tour the UK.
I wouldn’t say no to Australia either if they asked!