I'm not usually one for musicals but I'm much taken with this new stage show: The Bloody Irish. Directed by Michael Barker-Caven, written by Barry Devlin, arranged by David Downes and produced by Ned O'Hanlon all esteemed and high calibre creatives in their own fields, their coalescing is greater than the sum of their parts. With the centenary around the corner, the production takes the unusual perspective of British General Sir John Grenfell Maxwell to narrate the events of the Easter Rising. The large cast includes Lorcan Cranitch as James Connolly; Gavin O'Connor as Padraig Pearse; Malcolm Sinclair as General Maxwell; Lisa Lambe as Elizabeth O'Farrell and my old mate Fiachna Ó Braonain of Hothouse Flowers. There's a rousing version of Óró sé do Bheatha 'Bhaile. Also watch out for By the Rising of the Moon; The Foggy Dew, The Minstral Boy; Monto; Mo Ghile Mear, The Rocky Road to Dublin and The British Army. The once-off performance was filmed in August and aired last Saturday on PBS in America with a view to touring next year. It's gonna be only massive.
