Month: October 2019

Nevill Holt Opera wins Stirling Prize
People’s Vote

The 400-seat theatre at Nevill Holt, home of Nevill Holt Opera, by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, has won the Stirling Prize People’s Vote with an incredible 28.8%. This online poll has been open to the public since July when the Stirling Prize nominations were first announced. The huge achievement of winning the People’s Vote shows how receptive the general public have been to this incredible space.

Nevill Holt is also the only opera house to ever be shortlisted for the prestigious 2019 RIBA Stirling Prize – the highest accolade in UK architecture. The RIBA Stirling Prize is judged against a range of criteria including design vision; innovation and originality; capacity to stimulate, engage and delight occupants and visitors; accessibility and sustainability; how fit the building is for its purpose and the level of client satisfaction.

Hidden within an original 17th century stable block, this exquisite opera house has been acoustically crafted to promote young opera singers’ voices and create an intimate audience experience.

Designed by Stirling Prize winning architects Witherford Watson Mann and theatre designers Sound Space Vision, built by Messenger BCR and supported by the David Ross Foundation, the outstanding space at Nevill Holt was completed last year. This permanent theatre has enabled Nevill Holt Opera to grow from strength to strength, showcasing two operas this season, while also providing a stunning home for the company’s Education programme with Schools in the East Midlands, which reaches nearly 1,000 children per year. Since opening the new building, Nevill Holt Opera has been able to stage a growing programme of year-round work; this past season has featured 22 events in the new space including chamber music, song recitals, community events and concerts, as well as a larger summer opera festival

Artistic Director Nicholas Chalmers and Managing Director Rosenna East said, We are thrilled to win the popular vote for the Stirling Prize 2019. Our new theatre by Witherford Watson Mann has enabled us to provide uplifting and inspiring musical experiences to thousands of audience and young people this year alone. While bringing new life to a historic building, the new facility has had real impact on all of the students, artists and audiences for whom it was designed.

David Ross, NHO Founder Patron, commented, Congratulations to the team at Witherford Watson Mann for their outstanding achievement within the stable courtyard at Nevill Holt. Since our first meetings their ideas, sense of space and approach have both enthralled and challenged me. I am personally, as are my Foundation, proud to have supported such a valuable and beautiful addition to the East Midlands cultural scene, and delighted that it has won the People’s Vote.

For more information please see www.nevillholtopera.co.uk or follow @NevillHoltOpera

GLOBAL HIT BROADWAY MUSICAL COME FROM AWAY TO OPEN IN CHINA IN 2020

Global success story, COME FROM AWAY will open in its first non-English speaking country with producers Junkyard Dog Productions, Rodney Rigby and ACOrange today announcing a China tour for 2020.

The critically acclaimed musical will open at SAIC-Shanghai Culture Square on 8 May 2020 for a limited engagement, with further cities in China to be announced.

COME FROM AWAY opened on Broadway to rave reviews in 2017 and has continued its record breaking triumph with a second production in Toronto in 2018, a third production touring North America, the West End production opened in February 2019 and the Australian premiere, which opened in Melbourne in July 2019.

The ground-breaking new musical is based on the incredible real-life events in the wake of the September 11 tragedy when 38 planes carrying nearly 7,000 people from over 100 countries were redirected to Gander, Newfoundland, almost doubling the population of the remote Canadian town.

Capturing the generosity and hospitality of the small community of Gander who invited the “come from aways” into their homes, it is an inspirational story of hope and humanity that resonates around the world.

With book, music and lyrics by David Hein and Irene Sankoff, COME FROM AWAY is directed by Tony Award winner Christopher Ashley, choreographed by Olivier Award winner Kelly Devine (Rock of Ages, Diana), with music supervision by Ian Eisendrath (A Christmas Story, Diana), scenic design by Beowulf Boritt (Rock of Ages, Be More Chill) costume design by Toni-Leslie James (Jelly’s Last Jam), lighting design by Howell Binkley (Jersey Boys, Hamilton), sound design by Gareth Owen (Diana, A Bronx Tale).

COME FROM AWAY has won numerous awards including the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Musical (Christopher Ashley), Winner of five Outer Critics Circle Awards (New York) including Outstanding New Broadway Musical. On top of this, the musical has received three Drama Desk Awards (New York) including Outstanding Musical, four Helen Hayes Awards (Washington, D.C) including Outstanding Production of a Musical, four Gypsy Rose Lee Awards (Seattle) including Excellence in Production of a Musical and six San Diego Critics Circle Awards including Outstanding New Musical.

In February 2019, the musical added to its international award tally with four Olivier Awards including Best New Musical, Best Theatre Choreographer, Best Sound Design and Outstanding Achievement in Music.

Tickets on sale in China on 10 October 2019 Shcstheatre.com

COME FROM AWAY is produced in China by Junkyard Dog Productions, Rodney Rigby and ACOrange.

The Lowry, Salford – until 12 October 2019

Reviewed by Joseph Everton

5*****

If you’ve never thought to question the findings of the Trojan Horse investigation, you should probably watch this play. If you just accepted the media narrative and Ofsted findings that extremist Islam was being forced upon pupils in schools across Birmingham, you should probably watch this play. If you know nothing about the Trojan Horse investigation, go and watch the play anyway. It was unashamedly political, accusing Michael Gove himself of being the true Trojan Horse, of being corrupt and encouraging an aggressive right-wing media narrative that high performing, majority Muslim schools in Birmingham were breeding grounds of extremism for his own personal gain.

The case was compelling and made for a fast paced, emotional show. The impressive cast told the story of once celebrated governor, Tahir Alam, painted as an extremist by the press, but, in reality, a selfless man responsible for the changing fortunes of the schools he governed and vastly improving outcomes for generations of children. There was a hot- headed pupil living in difficult family circumstances, one of the very pupils who benefitted from the teachers and governors dragged through the mud following the ‘scandal’. The play also told the tale of one of the controversial teachers suspended during the investigation who, although guilty of espousing some extremely questionable views on homosexuality, provided an enthralling defence of his character and the influence he had on children under his charge.

The show moved from the classroom to the courtroom. Under harsh lighting, damning statements by top politicians flashed across the screen in English and Urdu. The script, by Matt Woodhead and Helen Monks, was powerful, laced with humour and punctuated by emotional testimony.

Seventy five minutes of content that will make you laugh, make you angry and make you question, Trojan Horse is a must watch. Some of the rumours and accusations levelled at the subjects of the play were worrying and dangerous, but Trojan Horse did an incredible job in their defence and has to be seen

2020 UK TOUR OF

JONATHAN MAITLAND’S

THE LAST TEMPTATION OF BORIS JOHNSON

Following a sold-out run at Park Theatre, London, The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson, the new political comedy from journalist, broadcaster and playwright Jonathan Maitland (An Audience with Jimmy Savile, Dead Sheep) will tour for the first time in 2020.  Directed by Lotte Wakeham (Artistic Director of the Octagon Theatre, Bolton), it will begin at Festival Theatre, Malvern from 22 January 2020.

It was the dinner that changed history: the night in February 2016 when Boris Johnson decided to vote ‘leave’. Guests included fellow MP Michael Gove, the journalist Sarah Vine and, for Boris at least, the spirits of Prime Ministers past – Margaret Thatcher, Winston Churchill and Tony Blair.

Fast forward to post-Brexit Britain, 2029.  Boris, no longer in power (for reasons that may be fact and/or fiction at time of performance!), roams the political wilderness. But unexpected events see him back in the spotlight and with a chance to “make Britain great again”. This play addresses the big questions: What will Britain look like in ten years’ time?  Is chlorinated chicken really bad for you? And what IS going on inside the head of the most divisive and controversial politician of our time?     

As befits the fastest moving story of our time, the script will be updated – nightly, if necessary – to reflect events…

Jonathan Maitland says of his play, “It’s nice to have written something which unites Leavers and Remainers: the audiences so far have laughed, gasped and occasionally cried throughout!  It’s quite a brew: politics, power, sex, sovereignty and more re-writes than any withdrawal agreement! But it seems to work. Who’d have thought?”

Casting is to be announced.

The Last Temptation of Boris Johnson will be directed by Lotte Wakeham, with set and costume design by Louie Whitemore, lighting design by Christopher Nairne and sound design by Andy Graham.

This project was co-funded by Art50, a scheme commissioned by Sky Arts and produced by Storyvault Films to explore the notion of British identity in the wake of Brexit, and originally produced by Glynis Henderson Productions at Park Theatre London 2019.

2020 UK Tour Schedule

22 – 25 January                           Festival Theatre, Malvern                               01684 892277

                                                    www.malvern-theatres.co.uk

3 – 8 February                             Nuffield Southampton Theatres                      023 8067 1771

                                                    www.nstheatres.co.uk                                    On sale in October

10 – 15 February                         Theatre Royal Windsor                                   01753 853 888

                                                    www.theatreroyalwindsor.co.uk                                          

18 – 22 February                         Northern Stage, Newcastle                             0191 230 5151

                                                    www.northernstage.co.uk                               On sale mid-October

24 – 29 February                          Yvonne Arnaud Theatre, Guildford                 01483 44 00 00

                                                    www.yvonne-arnaud.co.uk                            

2 – 7 March                                 The Lowry, Salford                                         0343 208 6000

                                                    www.thelowry.com                                                                                      

9 – 14 March                               Devonshire Park Theatre, Eastbourne            0132 341 2000

                                                    www.eastbournetheatres.co.uk  

THE UK’S LONGEST RUNNING IMMERSIVE PRODUCTION

THE GREAT GATSBY

TRANSFERS TO BRAND NEW WEST END VENUE

FIRST PERFORMANCE FRIDAY 18 OCTOBER

TAKING LONDON INTO THE TWENTIES

The Guild of Misrule’s THE GREAT GATSBY, created and directed by Alexander Wright, will transfer to its brand-new West End venue IMMERSIVE | LDN this month, with preview performances from Friday 18 October. ‘The Guild Of Misrule’s The Great Gatsby is a co-production with Immersive Everywhere, Gavin Kalin Productions, and Glynis Henderson Productions in association with Theatr Clwyd’.

It’s the roaring twenties – an era of bootleg liquor, red hot jazz and hedonistic pleasures. Jay Gatsby has invited you to one of his infamous parties and that’s not an invite you want to turn down…

THE GREAT GATSBY allows audiences to fully immerse themselves into the world of Jay Gatsby and the glamour of the Roaring ‘20s. With cocktails, dancing and scandal, this heart-racing adaptation of the seminal jazz-age story puts the audience at the heart of the action.

Directed and adapted by Alexander Wright, The Guild of Misrule’s THE GREAT GATSBY company features with cast members Oliver Towse as ‘Gatsby’, Lucinda Turner as ‘Daisy’, James Lawrence as ‘Nick’, Prince Plockey as ‘Tom’, Humphrey Sitima as ‘George’, Jessica Hern as ‘Jordan’, Hannah Edwards as ‘Myrtle’, Charlie Cassen as ‘Rosy Rosenthal’, Lizzie Grace as ‘Lucille’ and Louis Sparks as ‘Joey’.

First conceived in 2015 when director Alexander Wright and producer Brian Hook were running The Fleeting Arms – a pop arts and community pub in an abandoned building in York, the show then ran in York in 2016 with a parallel production in Sheffield in partnership with Theatre Deli. The Great Gatsby first came to London as part of VAULT Festival in 2017 and sold out before the show opened. Since then the show has run in Wales in co-production with Theatr Clwyd, at Halifax’s Square Chapel, and at Castle Howard in North Yorkshire. All the while the show has played night after night at Gatsby’s Drugstore in London SE1, inviting audiences into the hedonistic world of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s extraordinary tale, and in 2018 it became the UK’s longest running immersive production.

Director and Adaptor Alexander Wright said, “Our production of The Great Gatsby started life in the back of an empty pub in York back in 2015. Now, over three years and 1000 performances later we couldn’t be prouder that the UK’s longest running immersive show finds a new home in London’s West End. The show is made by a brilliant family of performers, artists, makers, collaborators and week by week we get the joy of inviting thousands of audience members into our sparkling world. F Scott Fitzgerald is the absolute voice of the Jazz Age. To be able to create such a thrilling immersive theatrical version of his story in the centre of one of the world’s theatre capitals is an absolute dream come true. We hope a lot of people will come join us as we see in the 20s.”

IMMERSIVE | LDN is a 32,000sq ft historic building in the heart of Mayfair, which was home to the Queen Victoria’s Rifles Association until 2017. It includes three floors of immersive theatre and event spaces designated for performance, live gaming, events, escape rooms and private parties. For information about programming and venue hire visit www.immersiveldn.com

Producers Louis Hartshorn and Brian Hook, who are currently co-producing the forthcoming immersive production of THE WOLF OF WALL STREET – have just launched a new company IMMERSIVE EVERYWHERE, entirely dedicated to developing and staging theatre-led immersive experiences, and IMMERSIVE | LDN is the newest of their network of venues, which will house cafes, bars and rehearsal and workshop spaces to help the development of new work.

Brian Hook and Louis Hartshorn said, “We’re very excited to be adding to the rich world of immersive experiences in London and providing a unique platform for new forms of entertainment. By building a hub for immersive events in London’s most prestigious location we are creating opportunities for a network of the best immersive artists and producers in the world to collaborate. We are thrilled to be opening one of our performance spaces with such a magnificent production. The Great Gatsby is a trailblazing example of what can be achieved by tearing up the rulebook. It has been seen by around 150,000 people in its first 3 years and we are so excited to welcome it to its new home.”

Amie Burns Walker and Oliver Tilney are Associate Directors and Fiona Kingwill is Resident Director. Choreography is by Holly Beasley-Garrigan, design by Casey Jay Andrews, sound design by Phil Grainger and lighting design by Rachel Sampley. The original production was created by Holly Beasley-Garrigan, Amie Burns Walker, Hannah Davies, Phil Grainger, Michael Lambourne, Thomas Maller and Oliver Tilney. This new production of The Guild of Misrule’s THE GREAT GATSBY is produced by Immersive Everywhere, with co-producers Gavin Kalin Productions and Glynis Henderson Productions, with Theatr Clwyd and We Culture Connects as Associate Producers.

VENUE SOCIAL @ldn_immersive

SHOW SOCIAL @immersivegatsby

www.immersivegatsby.com

COULD YOU GET PANTOMIME TICKETS FOR 50P? 

OH YES YOU CAN!

The great British tradition of Pantomime is being commemorated with the release of a limited number of festive coins from the Guernsey treasury. In celebration of their inaugural season, Prime Pantomimes is offering the first five people lucky enough to find themselves in possession of one of the new 50p’s, to opportunity to trade this in at box office in exchange for a family ticket to the opening night in any of their venues.* Oh yes they are!!

Prime Pantomimes launch this year with a season of family favourites full of song, dance, fun and lashings of panto magic! The season includes The Wizard of Oz at Peterborough New Theatre starring Strictly’ s Katya Jones, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs at Queens Theatre, Barnstaple with Bucks Fizz favourite Jay Aston, Peter Pan at Stafford Gatehouse Theatre with Ian Reddington, and Aladdin at Harrow Arts Centre.

Find out more about Prime Pantomimes at www.primepantomimes.com

Stephen Joseph Theatre, Scarborough – until 19 October 2019

Reviewed by Sara Garner

4****

The Monstrous Heart is a new play by Oliver Emanuel and is directed by Gareth Nicholls.

The single act play is set in a log cabin in the Canadian wilds and as the lights go up we get an idea that this may not be a comfortable ride. We meet Beth (Charlene Boyd) with a malevolent grin on her face, her mother Mag (Christine Entwisle) looking crestfallen and a dead Grisly Bear on the kitchen table.

Having just been released from prison Beth manages, with some help, to track her mother, Mag, down in Canada. Mag ‘escaped’ her previous life and started afresh with her young granddaughter, only now to be confronted by Beth. So slowly Mags past demons come back to haunt her.

The interaction between an apparently fearful Mag and an aggressively confrontational Beth gives us an insight into their past lives and relationship.

Ingeniously though, because we garner more knowledge throughout the play, the audience’s interpretation of this information changes. This leads to a bit of a perceptual roller-coaster and can be distractingly confusing.

There is very little respite from this, apart from the appearance of the silent and unnamed young granddaughter which briefly calmed the storm.

Speaking of which, the coming storm outside the cabin with its crescendoing wind, added to the volatile atmosphere.

There are questions that run through our heads throughout the play. The main one being ‘who really is the monster, Mag or Beth?’. We are also guided to consider the idea of nature versus nurture as it seems critical in explaining Beth’s behaviour throughout her life.

I personally found this play at times quite uncomfortable and horrendously disturbing viewing, but at the same time fascinating and engrossing. The fact that I found myself analysing every moment of this play and will be thinking about it for some time is a marker for how good the writing, acting and direction was.

There was the suggestion that this play was witty at times. Yes there were the occasional moments, but they felt out of place in such an intense piece of work.

There was also quite a surreal part involving the dead bear which I presumed was representative of the wider story. Whilst an interesting tool, I was not completely convinced of its effectiveness.

The acting by the two leads was brilliant throughout with both portraying their turbulent personalities exceptionally well.

To create and maintain such chilling and uncomfortable atmosphere is a credit to the director, sound engineer and set designer.

This play may not be for everyone because of its ‘adult’ subject matter and language, and shockingly chilling nature. I would still highly recommend going to see it though because it is such a well made and thought provoking play.

Tabard Theatre relaunches as Chiswick
Playhouse with exciting first season
Chiswick Playhouse, 2 Bath Road, London W4 1LW

In honour of the area’s illustrious theatrical heritage, the Tabard Theatre is reopening as Chiswick Playhouse. The Tabard brought important and innovative theatre back to Chiswick after a gap of over twenty years following the 1959 closure of the much-loved Chiswick Empire. A popular local venue, Chiswick Playhouse may be a small space but it has big ambitions and promises a fantastic opening season to mark its exciting relaunch.

Chiswick Playhouse will produce new work as well as reimagining classic stories. It will create its own in-house productions and bring shows of West End calibre to West London at a fraction of the ticket price!

Mark Perry, Executive Director of Chiswick Playhouse, comments, Having been a Chiswick resident myself for over 15 years, I’m aware of the remarkable history of artists and theatre practitioners that have lived and worked in the area. By changing the name, we want to demonstrate our pride in our local heritage and ensure that the local community recognises the venue as Chiswick’s local theatre.

We also want the wider London theatregoing audience to recognise our reputation as an exciting producing theatre, creating shows that will start in Chiswick and move on to other London venues and beyond. Lots of venues focus on types of work – new writing, musicals etc. Rather than genres, we want Chiswick Playhouse to be the breeding ground for the next generation of top creatives. As part of our first season we’re delighted to have rising stars Charlotte Westenra, Lucy Jane Atkinson and Phoebe Barran directing our in-house productions.

Launching Chiswick Playhouse’s inaugural season, from 30th October to 30th November, is the UK premiere of the revamped, brand-new version of I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change. After playing over 5,000 performances off-Broadway, this hilarious and poignant musical comedy was substantially re-written in 2018 to reflect the challenges facing the romantics of today. It is now presented for the first time in the UK with a stellar West End cast and direction from Charlotte Westenra (Kiss of the Spiderman, Donmar Warehouse; Frost/Nixon, Michael Grandage Company as Associate Director).

The course of true love never does run smoothly and with wonderful songs, outrageous comedy and heart-rending emotion, I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change is for anyone who’s fallen in, or out, of love. Following the joys and tribulations of first dates, marriage, and growing old, it will star George Rae (Joseph and the Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat and The Lion King, West End; Annie, UK tour) and Dominic Hodson (War Horse and Beautiful: The Carole King Musical, West End; West Side Story, UK tour), alongside Laura Johnson (Hair 50th Anniversary, The Vaults and Hope Mill Theatre; Madagascar, UK tour) and Naomi Slights (Mamma Mia, West End; Priscilla, Queen of the Desert and Saturday Night Fever, UK tour).

Also coming to Chiswick Playhouse:

From 4th December to 4th January, Chiswick Playhouse will present an irresistible reimagined take on the classic Christmas tale Hansel and Gretel, directed by Lucy Jane Atkinson (A Hundred Words for Snow, Trafalgar Studios; Vespertilio, VAULT Festival). This children’s adventure will take audiences far from city life, gaming and social media into a world of lollipop houses and tap-dancing cockroaches. Here lives a witch with a penchant for single-use plastic and the only remaining sustainable food source: children.

Another festive option, Christmas at Chiswick Playhouse is a series of Sunday evening concerts throughout December featuring a host of the UK’s leading musical theatre talent. With free mulled wine, songs from hit shows and Christmas classics, these concerts are sure to raise Christmas spirits.

Blowing away those January blues, the New Year will see exciting emerging artists across comedy, magic and new writing come to Chiswick Playhouse for a run of week-long engagements. Paul Aitchinson’s unique mix of mind-melting magic and bonkers character comedy in Could It Be Magic is followed by the hilarious subversive take on Tudor History, Great British Mysteries: 1599. To conclude the month, Get Over It Productions present The Scene, a festival of new writing with 30 short plays across five nights.

Running from 5th to 29th February, the gripping revival of Tryst will return following a sell-out run in 2017, once again directed by Phoebe Barran (Four Days In Hong Kong, Orange Tree Theatre; award-winning short film Snapshots). Based on a true story, this tense, passion-fuelled thriller is about the serial fraudster, George Love, who encountered a naïve and vulnerable shop-girl, Adelaide Pinchin, in Victorian London. What follows shocks them both as Love’s elaborate heist begins to unravel in frightening and unpredictable ways.

Chiswick Playhouse will continue The Tabard’s strong reputation as a comedy venue, with numerous emerging and high-profile comedians, including Love Island’s Iain Stirling who will perform in March. Harry Baker, the youngest ever Poetry World Slam Champion in 2012, will also come to Chiswick for two nights with his inimitable spoken word.

The Playhouse Theatre, Edinburgh – until 12 October 2019

Reviewed by Siobhan Wilson

5*****

This is sci-fi style story of how the internet and a software company takes over the world in the future. Whilst a small band of rebels refuse to be downloaded and go in search of live music in order to break the internet. Not only is it a great show but it has the incredible score based on arguably one of the most iconic Rock Bands in History – QUEEN. This is a show that it is impossible to dislike.

There was an electric atmosphere from arrival in the theatre. As soon as the show started everyone was engrossed. There were feet tapping, hand clapping and even some audience singing along. Having seen this show before I can say the reimaging is second to none. From the updated cultural references, including the #metoo movement, to the phenomenal light show which adds an extra dimension. This is a must see!

Every single member of the cast was incredible. Scaramouche (Elena Skye) and Oz (Amy Di Bartolomeo) gave me goosebumps with the amazing singing talents.

Michael McKell’s take on Buddy was light and refreshing, reminding me at times of Harry Enfield.

Brit (David Michael Johnson) managing to maintain his composure and succeeding in making it look like part of the routine when he lost his wig, was expertly executed.

The choreography was flawless and was a real struggle not to get up and dance along.

The band played their hearts out and did not let Queen down – the soul of their music lives on and you could feel the music reverberating through you whilst you were enjoying the on-stage action.

The sections which Queen were played is a beautiful tribute to the incredible group.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute and there was not a single weakness in the whole performance – I wish I could give it more than 5 Stars. The promise of ‘We Will Rock You’ Was 100% achieved, I was well and truly rocked.

2020/21 UK & IRELAND TOUR

“The Commitments is the musical we’ve been waiting for.

So good, our critic almost weeps”

The Sunday Times ★★★★★

“This hugely enjoyable show touches the sublime. Wonderfully funny”

Daily Telegraph ★★★★

“Unstoppable fun. A big-hearted, big-night out”

The Times ★★★★

Over 30 years since The Commitments first burst from the pages of Roddy Doyle’s best-selling novel, the world’s hardest working and most explosive soul band are set to return to embark on a brand new 2020/2021 UK & Ireland tour, kicking off in September next year.

This new nine-month tour will see the show perform in front of fans all over the UK & Ireland in Bromley, Sheffield, Edinburgh, Peterborough, York, Llandudno, Nottingham, Bournemouth, Milton Keynes, Bradford, Glasgow, Blackpool, Northampton, Cardiff, Truro, Southend, Southampton, Bristol, Dartford, Norwich, Ipswich, Birmingham, Hull, Newcastle, Leeds, Cork, Dublin, Belfast, Reading, Liverpool, Aylesbury, Portsmouth, Manchester, Darlington, Wolverhampton, Wimbledon and Plymouth. Casting announcements will be made in the coming months.

The Commitments musical has been adapted from the novel by Booker prize-winning author Roddy Doyle and is directed by Caroline Jay Ranger. Featuring an electric playlist, The Commitments showcases more than 20 soul classics performed live on stage, including Night Train, Try A Little Tenderness, River Deep, Mountain High, In The Midnight Hour, Papa Was A Rolling Stone, Save Me, Mustang Sally, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Reach Out, Uptight, Knock On Wood, I Can’t Turn You Loose and many more!

In 2013 The Commitments musical received universal critical acclaim while enjoying a record-breaking two-year residency at the Palace Theatre in London’s West End, after which it hit the road for a major tour, invigorating audiences up and down the country throughout 2016 and 2017.

Roddy Doyle says: “I’m delighted that The Commitments is coming back. I’ve been saying for years that ‘Mustang Sally’ is a traditional Irish song and this new tour will help prove my point.”

The Commitments tells the story of Jimmy Rabbitte, a young working-class music fan, who transforms an unlikely bunch of amateur musicians into an amazing live act, which becomes the finest soul band Dublin has ever produced. Placing a classified advert in a music paper, Jimmy auditions a number of wannabes before finalsing the members of his new band, which he names ‘The Commitments’.

Humour kicks in as the band get to know each other and their instruments, grappling with inter-group differences as they muddle their way through early rehearsals for the band’s first gig. Just as they improve and begin to get a name for themselves, they combust. The backing singers are more interested in the middle-aged horn playing legend, the singer has entered Eurovision, the drummer has walked out mid-gig and the saxophone player has dangerous leanings towards a jazz career.

Featuring an electric playlist, The Commitments showcases more than 20 soul classics performed live on stage, including Night Train, Try A Little Tenderness, River Deep, Mountain High, In The Midnight Hour, Papa Was A Rolling Stone, Save Me, Mustang Sally, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Thin Line Between Love and Hate, Reach Out, Uptight, Knock On Wood, I Can’t Turn You Loose and many more!

A guaranteed “fabulously-fun night” (Daily Mail) you will simply never forget.