Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments to open at the Palace Theatre later this year

It has been announced that The Commitments will open at the Palace Theatre on Tuesday 8th October 2013 (with previews from 21st September). Tickets are on sale now! This news comes twenty five years after the publication of Roddy Doyle’s best-selling novel. The show has been adapted for the stage by Roddy from his original novel. 

The production will be directed by Jamie Lloyd, who most recently directed Macbeth as part of Trafalgar Transformed at Trafalgar Studios. The show will be packed with classic soul songs including ‘Mustang Sally’.

All tickets for preview performances will be half price, a tradition which has not been seen in the West End for nearly 25 years. The cast will be made up of new, fresh and exciting talent, many of whom will be making their West End debuts  Three quarters of those already cast hail from Ireland, several being cast from open auditions. Casting will be announced soon.

The Commitments is the story of Jimmy Rabitte, a young working class music fan, who shapes an unlikely bunch of amateur musicians into an amazing live act, the finest soul band Dublin has ever produced. The show follows the journey of two members of a frustrated synthesiser band – the opening scene has them playing but ignored in a shop window - who turn to Jimmy, the local music expert, for help.

Placing a classified advert in a music paper, Jimmy auditions a number of wannabes before finalising the new line up who he names The Commitments. 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 backing singers are all getting off with the middle aged horn legend, the singer has entered Eurovision and the saxophone player has dangerous leanings towards a jazz career.

Roddy Doyle says: “I’m extremely excited by this, which is great because I’m nearly 55 and I feel a bit giddy about it. I hadn’t planned to write it myself but then I did and I really enjoyed it. After meeting a number of impressive writers I told my wife “I’m thinking I might have a bash at the script myself” and she said “You took your time.”

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