Dean's Dad's Ducks

Winter 1992. A consignment of 30,000 ducks were sailing across the North Pacific when their cargo vessel was bombed by a US fighter jet – a helpless case of friendly fire.

The crew made for the lifeboats, the ship sunk, the ducks bobbed up and were left to fend for themselves. That’s 30,000 ducks: enough to cover eight football pitches! And if you picture all those ducks, Dean’s Dad’s ducks, floating around out there and you think of each one as a lie, you’ll have some idea of Dean’s Dad’s life...

A mix of stories, poems and songs, this is the tale of the amazing voyage of this duck armada and the closer-to-home shenanigans of the man who made them: his ducks and toys and the double life he led between two families. It’s a story about truth and secrets and how all this taught Dean to become a fantastic liar, but how he now uses these powers for good....

Dean takes you on a bittersweet off-the-map excursion – via lemon trees on trains, swan machines and bubblewrap – with one dodgy Dad and his flotilla of plucky ducks.

A wryly intelligent and mischievously told debut show by an offbeat, funny and tender poet and performer.

An exuberantly eccentric imagination.

Christopher Reid, Costa Book Award Winner

Delightful, funny and poignant – just around the corner from left-field.

Matt Harvey, Radio 4, Saturday Live

Dean Parkin’s Dean’s Dad’s Ducks has been selected for Escalator East To Edinburgh 2010. Each year Escalator, East to Edinburgh helps artists and arts organisations to raise their profile and perform to new audiences as part of the Edinburgh Festival Fringe.