Killian Donnelly is currently celebrating after winning rave reviews for playing Deco in the West End premiere of The Commitments, a role he has played since the early workshop stages of the production.
Adapted for the stage by Roddy Doyle, who wrote the original novel, and directed by Jamie Lloyd, The Commitments opened at the Palace Theatre last month where it is currently booking until October 2014.
Killian is no stranger to the West End stage. Since moving to the capital from Ireland he has played many iconic roles including: Tony in Billy Elliot (Victoria Palace) and Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera (Her Majesty’s Theatre). Killian was a ‘swing’ in Les Misérables at the Queens Theatre and went on for Jean Valjean and Javert before eventually taking over as Enjolras.
His other theatre credits include: Collins in Michael Collins (Cork Opera House), Sweeney Todd (Gate Theatre, Dublin), Ethan Girard in The Full Monty (Olympia Theatre), Tony in West Side Story (The Solstice), Declan in The Wireman (Gaiety Theatre) and Rod in Singin’ in the Rain (Olympia Theatre).
Killian took part in The Phantom of the Opera’s 25th Anniversary concert at the Royal Albert Hall and played Courfeyrac in Les Misérables’ 25th Anniversary concert at the O2 Arena. On screen he recently played Combeferre in the film adaptation of Les Misérables directed by Tom Hooper.
I recently spoke to Killian about working with Jamie Lloyd, living like a nun and life after The Commitments...
The past few months have been absolutely crazy for you with rehearsals, previews and opening the show, not to mention all the press you’ve been doing. Have you had a chance to stop, breathe and take it all in?
It has really been go go go! And we’ve been doing interviews and rehearsing during the day for various TV slots so it has been a bit mental. But we get Mondays off, and on a Monday I literally sit and do nothing, that’s when I’ve been able to take it all in. My mam, dad and sister came over for the opening night, I guess because during previews we were still chopping and changing the show – making big changes, taking away songs, adding in songs – and it wasn’t until the Monday after opening night that my Dad sent me a text saying “It’s brilliant.” It wasn’t until then that I actually realised that it had been quite a rollercoaster ride! And since then we’ve been doing lots of promo so it has been manic, but I absolutely love it!
Despite the show only recently opening, it has lots of fans who have seen it numerous times already, and not just fans of the film. Why do you think so many people have fallen in love with The Commitments?
I think the story isn’t a life-changing story but it is for the kids in the show, so as a piece of theatre people are taken on a journey, and I think that is what is appealing to the young audiences. It’s about these kids who just want to escape their lives for a while and to become the biggest thing in their little city. I met a girl at the stage door a couple of weeks ago and it was her fifth time seeing the show, she was about sixteen and had brought all her friends and told me that she just loves the music. That is the best compliment you can get because she had never heard any of the songs before! I was oblivious to ‘Papa Was a Rollin' Stone’ before rehearsals started, I had never heard the song before and now it’s one of my favourite songs! So I love the way the music, despite it being years old, is still coming across and sounding fresh to a new generation!
You’re teaching the next generation!
Exactly! And despite what they listen to now, that girl I met said “I can’t believe that song is sixty years old.” This is making me sound old [laughs]!
What was the whole rehearsal process like, especially working with Jamie Lloyd?
I knew friends who had worked with Jamie before, and they had told me that he is a genius and brilliant to work with – so I was really looking forward to working with him. First of all, he was so down to earth that it wasn’t like working with a director, it was like being told “stand there and do that” by a really good friend. I think that came across instantly to every single member of the cast and crew. We were rehearsing in a parish hall for about nine weeks so those four walls became a second home and he could offer up anything. In previews we completely changed a scene from being set in a garage to being set in a pub. Very calmly he said: “Ok so we’re going to change the garage scene, it’s now going to be set in a pub.” Obviously that entailed a huge set change, but it was done so smoothly and at no point did Jamie raise his voice, it was a gift to work with him.
What was it like originating the role?
I’m used to going into other West End shows where I have to slip into somebody else’s shoes and I have to learn to walk where they walked and exit where they exited but this was making it up as we went along. There were no wrong or stupid questions to ask, from day one we just offered something and Jamie would say: “I like that, keep it”. Jamie works in a way that makes you feel like an incredible actor. He fine tunes and tweaks everything and can be the eyes of the audience. I would love to sit down and watch the show because some of the greatest things are happening with the ensemble up in a corner, or an argument happening up on the balcony or window pane. The detail is what I love about the show, and Jamie is all about detail.
What’s the atmosphere like backstage? Many of the cast are making their West End and professional debuts, is the vibe different to Les Mis, Phantom etc?
Yes – I think with a show like Les Mis everyone is trying to live up to the expectation of the previous cast. But with The Commitments we’re all new and hoping that what we do each night will work! I love the way it is coming across and appealing to the audiences. We just love what we are doing and the atmosphere is amazing. All the people who are making their West End debuts are so full of excitement and backstage it’s mental with lots of smiles.
Up until now theatre fans have seen you in more ‘traditional’ musicals, but have you always had this incredible soul voice hidden away? Or was it something you had to find for the role?
I did a few pub gigs before I ever moved over here to do West End musicals and I sang music like Mustang Sally and Brown Eyed Girl, anything that got an audience in a pub going. So when I moved over here the weird thing was how my voice sort of changed for Les Mis and Phantom type shows. With regards to the growling, moans and whines, they came throughout rehearsals through scratching and screaming to see how far I could go. Everything was really fine tuned in my diaphragm so I could project when I needed to. Also after ten weeks of constantly going over every song over and over again my muscle had built up a little bit more. However, I do wake up every morning feeling like a broken backfired car engine! I just have to have twelve cups of tea.
I imagine you have to live like a nun?
[laughs] Yes, after the show if there are people at the stage door I talk to them and then I don’t speak until I wake up the next morning. I go home, have a steam, drink some honey glycerin and lemon. I literally do live like... like a monk.
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| Killian in the Les Mis Movie |
I recently re-watched the Les Misérables film and you feature in it a lot, what was the whole experience like for you?
The best thing is when people say that to me! I remember my mam phoned me after she saw it in the cinema, and I was at home just playing on the computer, and she said “Killian I’ve just seen the movie... you’re in it!” and I was just like “yeah” and she said “no, you’re really in it” and I said “I was shooting it for two months, of course I was in it” and she said “but I can see you on the screen.” It was the cutest thing she could have said! I was in Phantom at the time and went to Pinewood, actually we shot in Greenwich for a week and a half and then we went over to Pinewood. We rehearsed for six weeks which is longer than you rehearse for the West End show itself. I was lucky because I had been a swing in the show which meant I covered the entire ensemble so I knew all the parts. So when I was cast as Combeferre I knew what the character was about and could put more of the book into the movie which was exciting. We worked with Tom Hooper and I knew some of the other guys who were in it. It was an amazing process to see how a movie is put together from scratch and how the blink of an eye lid is actually seen, I could see what works on screen versus what works on stage. I had an absolutely fantastic experience – I’d be up for the sequel!
Imagine you had to go to a desert island and could only take three musical theatre songs with you... which three would you take?
Ahh ok! Erm... one would have to be Bring Him Home (from Les Misérables) just because I love playing that song (I’m assuming I would have my guitar with me because these are songs I play on my guitar). Try A Little Tenderness (from The Commitments) is in there now and, it’s a weird one, but my third song would be Pirelli's Miracle Elixir (from Sweeney Todd) because it was the first song I performed in my very first audition for Les Mis... and I got every single word wrong! I am adamant I can learn that song and perform it once with every single lyric correct because I remember standing in front of the Les Mis production team and saying “Ladies and gentlemen! May I have your attention, please! Mutter mutter mutter...” and I just stopped! They asked me to try it again but the same thing happened so they eventually just said “skip that section Killian” and I was like “oh god.”
Killian in Billy Elliot the Musical
Have you dared to think yet about what you would like to do next? Where do you go from playing such a huge role like Deco?
I don’t know. I really don’t know because when I was doing other shows there was usually something else that I wanted to try. One part I always wanted to do was Tony in Billy Elliot, so when I got it I was like “where do I go from here?” And then when The Commitments came up, it wasn’t an established show but it was opening an original musical which is kind of at the top of what you can do in musical theatre in the West End. I have to ask myself how old I will be when I finish The Commitments - I’ll be thirty - because I think I’m going into the older roles rather than the younger, handsome leads. It’s a weird time but thankfully that’s what casting directors are for: “You’re this.”
“Ok grand.”
You have incredibly dedicated fans who closely follow your career. What is it like having so much support behind you?
Amazing... it’s amazing! Because you go out of the stage door after doing a show and could be thinking “that wasn’t my best” but then you’ll see someone who follows you on Twitter or something and they’ll say “you were absolutely amazing, please can I have a picture with you?” or “will you sign this?” and it’s a lovely feeling! Especially if I’ve been off sick from a show and write on Twitter something like “Gutted to be off the show tonight” and then I get loads and loads of support from people when I’m sitting on the couch feeling sorry for myself. That really, really is genuinely amazing. Someone came over from Mexico the other day to see the show and it was beautiful, she said “I’ve brought you something from Mexico” and it’s a lovely little memento to have. Everyone is brilliant!
Interviewed by Andrew Tomlins (Editor)
The Commitments is currently booking at the Palace Theatre until 19th October 2014.
Click here to book tickets.
Read West End Frame's review of The Commitments here.
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