"DA" A Play by Hugh Leonard

This is a wonderful play in which Leonard explores his relationship with his Da (a Dublin boys name for his father, pronounced with an "a" as in "at" and not as in "all") It was made into a film starring Martin Sheen, and that is best avoided. The character of Leonard as a boy with his father, and as an older man, returned for his father's funeral are played on stage by the same actor, who switches cleverly between the two roles. At one moment he is a wide eyed child who hangs on every word of his father, believing without question and revering his Da. Then he is the cynical and jaded older man, who cannot fathom the limitations and stupidity of both his younger self and his father. In the end however, we see a picture of a man who needs to reconcile himself with his father and does so through this play in a way that is passionate and personal.