The Commitments

Malaka Chowdhury reviews

The Commitments 

Tuesday 25-Saturday 29 April at Birmingham Hippodrome 

"Dublin soul. Working people's music, brought to the people."  Repeatedly declared with the earnest passion of a man standing by his dreams,  James Killeen's charismatic performance of title character Jimmy Rabbite breathed a lovable energy into this uplifting production. 

Adapted from the iconic Roddy Doyle novel, The Commitments is based on the 1991 BAFTA- award winning film, this time boasting Coronation Street legend Nigel Pavaro as Jimmy's dad and caretaker. After a five-year record-breaking run in the West End and a sell-out tour, I was thrilled to experience surely one of the finest celebrations of soul music this side of America. Now as something of a soul music stalwart with strong opinions to match, I was more than ready to nitpick, but the excellent live band performed a crowd-pleasing set of over 20 soul classics! And I'm a tough crowd:)

We follow. the story of our working-class hero Jimmy Rabbite who dreams of 'doing something with his life,' so he rounds up a bunch of misfit musicians to set up the finest soul band in Dublin! The initial round of auditions were hilarious ('Don't you want me, baaaaby?'), the actors bouncing off each other with a wacky confidence and revelling in the raucous laughter. And the bawdy gags came as thick and fast as the Irish accents, with the energetic cast wielding an earthy charm as they navigated their new band dynamics (band brawls and relationships, the usual). 
 

Stuart Reid as Joey the Lips delivered a cool-cat performance, and Ryan Kelly's Billy was the lovable fool of the piece. But it was the lead singer Deco (Ben Morris) who had the audience in stitches, even partially stripping off at one point! It was his superb vocals though that really impressed me,  especially during Marvin Gaye's I Heard It On The Grapevine, hitting those high notes with ease. Indeed, his central performance gave the band liftoff, commanding the stage with a bulletproof confidence and 'va-va-voom!.' Other favourite classics included Jimmy Ruffin's 'What Becomes of the Broken-hearted,' Otis Redding's 'Try a Little Tenderness,' and The Temptations' , 'Papa Was A Rolling Stone.' 

And the audience loved it, clapping and singing along, and it was easy to see why this production was a West End smash. I'm a toe-tapper myself, singing the songs (brilliantly, of course) in my head!

Andrew Linnie's assured direction coaxed a charming camaraderie from the cast, with Corrie star Nigel Pavaro lending a gruff gravitas in his role as Jimmy's Da/caretaker. The packed auditorium were pleased to see him, and there were clearly more than a few Corrie fans in attendance! A special mention to the three female cast members, more than holding their own in a male-dominated cast. Ciara Mackie's soaring vocals as Imelda drew extended applause, and their little jigs as a vocalist trio had me recalling a long held dream to sing backup for Jackson Browne (if you're reading this Jackson...). 

This is the true gift of the character Jimmy Rabbite, and my favourite performance of the entire night by James Killeen. Blending an everyman relatability with the zeal of a young Bono, he is your average working-class Irish guy with the audacity to dream big dreams, and then go after them with a single-minded ferocity. Who amongst us has not had a big dream? Dreams are what make us human, and definitely what made me root for him and the cast to achieve a rags-to-riches tale. But no spoilers here: this was a marvellous show from start to finish and a perfect way to spend a gloomy Monday evening!

Special mention to the musical director, George Francis for directing immaculate performances for us humble theatre-goers. Soul music is exactly that: music of the soul. It possesses the power to move and amaze you, making you smile and cry and sing, all at the same time, infusing every note with deep emotion. That is soul music's true superpower. It is the reason why these songs are called 'timeless classics', because real heart never goes out of style. We all feel it, every one of us. The Commitments has it in spades, and it is why it will delight audiences for generations to come. You don't want to miss this!

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