The Commitments, quite possibly one of the best British/Irish films in recent years, is being brought to the stage by it's creator Roddy Doyle a quarter of a century after it was first published in 1987. The story of protagonist Jimmy Rabbitte's efforts to create the greatest soul act Dublin has ever seen was made into a movie in 1991, with the idea of turning the story into a stage production long being an achievable possibility that is finally being realised.
The story, which won the Booker Prize when it was first published, follows a group of young, unemployed people living in the north side of the Irish capital who, under the influence and tutelage of their budding manager Rabbitte and a enigmatic old trumpetteer (Joey "The Lips" Fagan), decide to start a soul band. Speaking to BBC Radio 5, Doyle explained that the real reason why The Commitments was never made into a stage show was simply because he didn't like musicals. However, once he began to broaden his horizons and actually went to go see a musical, his opinion on the genre changed.
He said, "I think the first was The Producers. It was quite a revelation because the film is terrific and I was wondering why would you want to do a musical? And actually it was great, it was very funny and sharp and you forgot about the film quite quickly."
Continue reading: The Commitments To Be Brought To The Stage At Long Last!