London, get ready to rock! Irish writer Roddy Doyle could be bringing Dublin soul music to the West End in a new musical adaptation of his acclaimed 1987 novel The Commitments. Written by Doyle and directed by Jamie Lloyd (Cyrano de Bergerac) the previously announced musical will reportedly begin performances in October at a yet-to-be-announced West End theater, according to the production's Twitter page.
The second book in Doyle’s Barrytown Trilogy, The Commitments tells the story of a group of unemployed misfits who start a soul band in Dublin, Ireland. As the band becomes successful, tension builds between the band members and the group must fight to keep from falling apart. The Commitments was adapted into a film in 1991 starring Once composer Glen Hansard, as well as Robert Arkins, Colm Meaney and Andrew Strong.
The production’s Twitter page only has one tweet so far: “Betcha U2 are shittin’ themselves," a famous line from the book. But if the rumors are true, we can look forward to more hilarious tweets from the wild and crazy Commitments soon!
Watch The Commitments perform "Mustang Sally" below!