The Commitments musical has been adapted from the novel by Booker prize winning author Roddy Doyle. It comes to Dublin following a sell out two year run in London’s West End and is now on in The Bord Gáis Energy Theatre from 12th to 29th October.
The show contains over 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, Mustang Sally, I Heard It Through The Grapevine, Reach Out, and Knock On Wood.
The Commitments musical loosely follows the story line from the hugely popular movie of the same name. It is the story of Jimmy Rabbitte, a young working class music fan, who shapes an unlikely bunch of amateur musicians and friends into Dublin’s greatest soul band.
The humour kicks in as the band get to know each other and their instruments, and proceed through early rehearsals for their first gig. Just as they improve and begin to get a name for themselves they combust.
The musical is a rollicking fun show of hit after hit. The cast are excellent and keep up the high energy and pace throughout. Andrew Linnie (Jimmy Rabbitte) is a likable character that keeps the story in flow, and while all of the cast are extremely talented, it was Brian Gilligan (Deco) and Amy Penston (Natalie) that really stood out with their wonderful voices and energy. A special mention also goes to Kevin Kennedy (Jimmy’s Da) who might be best known to you as Curly Watts from Coronation Street. He gave a superb supporting performance with some hilarious one liners.
If you’re in need of a toe tapping, fun night out then we highly recommend you see this show before it leaves Dublin on 29th October.
