Commitments for Playhouse

Sep 30 2019 | By More

2020 tour hits Edinburgh in October

The Edinburgh Playhouse is set to host The Commitments musical in October 2020, near the start of a major new UK and Ireland tour.

The 36 date tour kicks off in Bromley at the beginning of October 2020, arriving at the Playhouse for the week beginning Monday 12 October. It will spend December at Glasgow’s Theatre Royal and end up at Plymouth’s Theatre Royal in July 2021.

The Commitments publicity image

The Commitments musical has been adapted from his own novel by Booker prize winning author Roddy Doyle and is directed by Caroline Jay Ranger.

The story of young working class music fan Jimmy Rabbitte, who shapes an unlikely bunch of amateur musicians and friends into the finest soul band Dublin has ever produced, features over 20 soul classics performed live on stage.

The show follows the journey of two members of a frustrated synthesiser band 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.

humour

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.


Doyle self published the original novel in 1987, funded by a £5,000 loan from his bank manager. Despite early disapproval from the music press, an endorsement from Elvis Costello helped create a cult hit and it was picked up by Random House – then made into an Oscar-nominated film in 1991.

Doyle hadn’t originally planned to write the musical adaptation himself but found himself answering all the questions the producers and other writers were asking.

challenge

“The biggest challenge was finding the way to tell a musical story about a group of people who can’t play their instruments and who aren’t a band,” he says. “How do you get music in there from the very beginning?

“I wanted to go for well known songs, but also there to be a few surprises in there. Soul often isn’t about the song itself, it’s about the way it is sung or how it’s interpreted. The songs were chosen because they help tell the story.”

Casting for the tour will be announced at a later date.

Listings

The Commitments
Edinburgh Playhouse, 18 – 22 Greenside Place, EH1 3AA.
Monday 12 – Saturday 17 October 2020
Evenings: 7.30pm; Mats Weds, Sat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.

Glasgow Theatre Royal, 282 Hope St, Glasgow G2 3QA
Monday 7 – Saturday 26 December 2020
Evenings (not Fri 25): 7.30pm; Mats Weds, Sat: 2.30pm.
Tickets and details: Book here.

The Commitments on tour:
28 Sept – 3 Oct 20 2020 Bromley
Churchill Theatre
08448 717 620 Book online
5 – 10 Oct 2020 Sheffield
Lyceum Theatre
0114 249 6000 Book online
12 – 17 Oct 2020 Edinburgh
Playhouse
0844 871 3014 Book online
19 – 24 Oct 2020 Darlington
Hippodrome
01325 405405 Book online
26 – 31 Oct 2020 York
The Grand Opera House
08448 472 322 Book online
2 – 7 Nov 2020 Llandudno
Venue Cymru
01492 872000 Book online
9 – 14 Nov 2020 Nottingham
Theatre Royal
0115 989 5555 Book online
16 – 21 Nov 2020 Bournemouth
Pavilion Theatre
0844 576 3000 Book online
23 – 28 Nov 2020 Milton Keynes
Milton Keynes Theatre
08448 717652 Book online
30 Nov – 5 Dec 2020 Bradford
Alhambra
01274 432 000 Book online
7 – 21 Dec 2020 Glasgow
Theatre Royal
0844 871 7647 Book online
2021
4 – 9 Jan 2021 Peterborough
New Theatre
Book online
11 – 16 Jan 2021 Northampton
Royal & Derngate
01604 624 811 Book online
18 – 23 Jan 2021 Cardiff
Wales Millennium Centre
029 2063 6464 Book online
25 – 30 Jan 2021 Truro
Hall For Cornwall
01872 262466 Book online
1 – 6 Feb 2021 Southend on Sea
Cliffs Pavilion
01702 351135 Book online
8 – 13 Feb 2021 Southampton
The Mayflower Theatre
02380 711811 Book online
15 – 20 Feb 2021 Bristol
Hippodrome
0844 871 3012 Book online
22 – 27 Feb 2021 Dartford
Orchard Theatre
01322 220000 Book online
1 – 6 Mar 2021 Norwich
Theatre Royal
01603 63 00 00 Book online
8 – 13 Mar 2021 Ipswich
Regent Theatre
01473 433100 Book online
15 – 20 Mar 2021 Birmingham
Hippodrome
0844 338 5000 Book online
22 – 27 Mar 2021 Hull
New Theatre
01482 300 300 Book online
29 Mar – 2 Apr 2021 Newcastle
Theatre Royal
08448 11 21 21 Book online
5 – 10 Apr 2021 Leeds
Grand Theatre
0844 848 2700 Book online
12 – 17 Apr 2021 Cork
Opera House
+353 21 427 0022 Book online
19 – 24 Apr 2021 Dublin
Bord Gais Energy Theatre
0818 719 377 Book online
26 Apr – 1 May 2021 Belfast
Grand Opera House
02890 241919 Book online
3 – 8 May 2021\ Reading
The Hexagon
0118 960 6060 Book online
10 – 15 May 2021 Liverpool
Empire
08448 713 017 Book online
17 – 22 May 2021 Aylesbury
Aylesbury Waterside Theatre
08448 717 627 Book online
24 – 29 May 2021 Portsmouth
Kings Theatre
023 9282 8282 Book online
31 May – 5 Jun 2021 Manchester
Palace Theatre
0844 871 3019 Book online
7 – 12 Jun 2021 Blackpool
Opera House
0844 856 1111 Book online
21 – 26 Jun 2021 Wimbledon
New Wimbledon Theatre
0844 871 7646 Book online
28 Jun – 3 Jul 2021 Plymouth
Theatre Royal
01752 230440 Book online

ENDS

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