The Commitments musical debuted in London’s West End and was quickly embraced as a smash hit show that captures the spirit of the book and Oscar winning movie that provided its inspiration. There’s some nods to the social commentary of the 1987 novel by Booker prize winning author Roddy Doyle but the story is propelled along swathed in a deep Dublin sense of humour. Set in the Northside of the city, Jimmy Rabitte, a young music fanatic brings together a disparate group of working-class musicians to form a soul band.
The formation and unraveling of relationships in the band are footnotes between a soundtrack that’s truly outstanding, some anthemic standards delivered with personality.
Highlights include 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 and Reach Out. It’s a cavalcade of classics. The momentum moves towards the finale where the band perform a raucous last burst of feel-good musical theatre.
Ian McIntosh is a brash and outstanding frontman as Deco – brought up in the East Wall area of North Dublin, his mother’s family are from Glasgow so this was a homecoming of sorts. James Killeen does a lot of the heavy lifting in terms of dialogue and exposition throughout the show, delivering Roddy Doyle penned soliloquys on soul music, youth culture and relationships as Jimmy. Ciara Mackey, Eve Kitchingham and Sarah Gardiner bring joy, laughter and bold vocals to their roles as Imelda, Natalie and Bernie, coming closest to the film versions of their characters in their portrayals.
The Commitments musical has been adapted from the novel by Booker prize winning author Roddy Doyle himself and is directed by Andrew Linnie.
Mon 5 Dec – Sat 10 Dec 2022