Perched on a small wooden stool, woolly hat pulled warm over his smile-creased brow, waistcoat hugging a sturdy jumper and feet housed in soft leather boots, Tom Crean looks dressed for a brisk stroll along our typically wet and windy May seafront.

But what begins an astounding tale of epic adventure and almost insane bravery, is the revelation that these humble clothes were his only protection against 180mph winds and minus 80 degrees conditions during three Antarctic expeditions with the legendary Scott and Shackleton.

What continues during this utterly compelling, 80-minute monologue are stories of astonishing courage and extreme endurance which see Crean rescuing a friend from the jaws of a deadly crevice, hurtling down monstrous glaciers on a fragile wooden sledge, sailing into the world's roughest seas on a tiny wooden lifeboat and returning to the icy grave of his ill-fated friends.

Crean may not have written the seemingly crucial diaries which secure history book prominence but after watching this compelling, funny and fascinating one-man show, Aidan Dooley makes sure no one leaves the Pavilion Theatre without a place in their heart for this heroic farm boy from County Derry.

  • Until Saturday, May 12. Tickets £12.50. Call 01273 709709