Billy Roche's Amphibians have made a bit of a splash in their American debut. The play, which ends its scheduled run at San Francisco's New Conservatory Theatre Center Oct. 24, is sold out (with a heavy waiting list) for its remaining performances.

The show began Sept. 17 in a joint production with NCTC and the D.E.O. Ireland Theatre Company.

On St. Martin's Eve when "no fishing boat shall sail," Amphibians finds the small village of Wexford, Ireland, so strapped by economic strife that all the fishermen except one have left the sea for factory work. Eagle, the last one to leave the sea and tied to the old traditions of the town, decides to revive an old rite of passage for his son Isaac. He must spend a night alone on an uninhabited island.

Roche, born in Wexford and currently residing there, is the author of the three play Wexford trilogy, A Handful of Stars, Poor Beast in the Rain and Belfry. A former writer in residence at London's Bush Theatre, he is currently under commission to write for both the Royal Shakespeare Company and the Royal Court.

Tickets are $18-$16 from the New Conservatory box office at (415) 861 8972. The New Conservatory Theatre is located at 25 Van Ness Avenue near Market. Upcoming shows at NCTC include the gay-themed Dream Boy, starting Nov. 10, and a revival of the musical The Grass Harp, Oct. 29-Nov. 14.

-- By Christine Ehren and David Lefkowitz