There’s a moment at the start of this show where you can be forgiven for questioning your life choices. The guy on the front row certainly is, because there’s a giant rooster on the stage and it’s heading his way. But fear not. The chook in question is actually Don Murphy, proud Irishman, ketamine addict and the rising star of his generation. He is, in his own words, Ireland’s biggest cock. So that’s OK then. Egg-cellent, in fact (sorry).

Eva O’Connor packs an awful lot into this brilliant solo hour, and the themes come thick and fast: privilege, power, who gets to perform, animal rights, self-loathing and naked Michael Fassbender all weave in and out of Don’s rise, fall and glorious last stand. O’Connor’s bird work (if that’s not a thing, it should be) is perfect and her costume deserves a moment of appreciation too. 

But it’s the writing that takes this from a clever piece of clownery and comment to something even more special. It would be easy for the script to be little more than a stream of chicken jokes (don’t worry, they are there) but there’s a cleverness and a logic to the world-building that’s entirely satisfying. Of course, Don Murphy’s going to have a sexual penchant for vets. Of course, he’s a cocksplainer. Of course, his K-hole is ‘a hazy, ketty cloud’. And of course, at the end, he’s more than a piece of meat. Bonus points for the dance break and the puns, but this is a thing of beauty that will make you laugh, make you think, and maybe even have you questioning some of your choices long after you’ve flown O’Connor’s coop. 

Chicken, The Courtyard Of Curiosities At The Migration Museum, until Sunday 9 March, 8pm.