"Something electrifying is coming your way," is the tagline for this new musical from the producers of Riverdance. Well, I'm certainly shocked. Ireland's most successful commercial theatre company is displaying either a complete lapse of taste or utter cynicism.
The story, set in 1950s Mayo, concerns the arrival of a crew of workmen to install the first electric lines in a tiny town. The Dublin lads (the "lightning jacks") flirt with the local lassies and meet opposition in a bullchested farmer named Paidí. The head of the crew falls instantly in love with Paidí's sister Kate, and wins her over with his idealistic belief that rural electrification is "the most profound thing to ever happen in Ireland".
Every move in the plot is utterly predictable, characterisation is one-note, and there is not an ounce of tension or real conflict in the story. Shay Healy's music is as uninspired as his book and lyrics - most of the songs have a simple, repetitive and forgettable melody line and weave in something Oirishy towards the end.
Several others, belying what appears to have been the primary musical model, are Lloyd Webberesque power ballads; the two leads, Alex Sharpe and Michael Sands, came up through the mega-musical ranks and have the strong voices to show for it.
Director Matt Ryan also has a history in the Mackintosh and Lloyd Webber industries, and stages the action with sweeping, automaton-like efficiency. But who is River Productions' intended audience? To suggest that this country needs another rural/urban "Ireland is changing" story is to ignore the last 40 years of theatre, film and literature. The other possibility is that Dublin is being treated as an out-of-town tryout for material intended for Britain or the US. Either way, a talented cast and local audiences are having their time wasted.
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