The Manchester Irish Community were out in force last night to watch the
story of the journey of the legendary band The Dubliners, the world famous
folk group whose career spanned 50 years. It landed perfectly on St.
Patrick’s Day and the Opera House was a sea of green and a cacophony of
accents from the ‘Emerald Isle’ in the audience all of whom seemed giddy
to enjoy something that feels part of their identity. The Dubliners are iconic
and if you think of any popular music with an Irish origin you’ll probably
default to either ‘Wild Rover’ or ‘ Molly Malone’ their trademark tunes.
The stage was set as a bar depicting the pub where The Dubliner’s story
began depicting the seemingly legendary Dublin pub ‘O’Donoghue’s.’ An
open stage setting with detailed pub interior, all those quirky knick-knacks
you see in an Irish pub and this bar came complete with flowing Guinness,
a barman serving it and stools for the players to perform from. Later on, as
the story moved to the Top of the Pops set, the action moved to a rostra
stage left. The lighting and the mood perfectly conveyed the interior of
such an establishment dark and warm, enveloping and inviting where you
feel confused at whether it’s day or night outside. The real essence of a
pub lock in. I’ve only been to Dublin, once and went to the famous Temple
Bar which is where I assume the heart of this setting is.
The ensemble narrating the story were all players and singers of the tin
whistle, fiddle, banjo and guitar and played and sang the music of the band
to perfection. Led by principal narrator Ged Graham who invited us all to
join in his birthday eve celebrations with him, the band were a tight band
and their relationship and cohesion was a joy. Each one, brought to life the
music underpinned with poignant, warm, humorous and entertaining story
telling and thought provoking tale telling; weaving the chronology of the
band’s story, effortlessly. The Dubliners had many changes in line up
starting out as The Ronnie Drew Ballad Group but changing it to The
Dubliners named after the James Joyce book ‘ Dubliners’ and as all the
band members were indeed from the town, it seemed apt. Perhaps their
most famous line-up was: Ronnie Drew, Luke Kelly, Barney McKenna, Jim
McCann, Ciaran Bourke and John Sheahan. The musicians and their
energy and versatility was astonishingly good. They sang acapella in one
song which made the hairs on my neck stand up. The crowd were suitably
appreciative and the light and shade of the narrative kept everyone
engaged. The end of Act one cloud pleaser was the show’s title Seven
Drunk Nights…. “ You’re drunk. You’re drunk ! You silly old drunk !” ( that
one) which had the audience ready for a pint or two of the black stuff in the
interval.
After the interval, the audience couldn’t follow the instruction to clap 1,2…
maybe the interval drinks might be to blame. The mood shifted to a funeral
setting with a moody, rainy backdrop of a crowd sheltering under umbrella’s
which was probably a real image from the funeral of founder band member
Luke Kelly who died in 1984. The audience fell silent for the scene and the
song, ‘ The Town I Love so Well' . It was a fitting tribute and encapsulated the
sorrow at his passing from his bandmates who sang sections of the song
as though eulogising.
The final was of course ‘The Wild Rover’ a real crowd pleaser and had the
audience up on their feet.
Seven Drunken Nights – a homage to The Dubliners is a memorable show.
It is not a tribute show it is a joyous celebration of Irish folk music. Written
and narrated by Ged George and a wonderful ensemble of multi-talented
musicans who shared not just music but banter, eulogy and tribute to this
legendary band.
The show continues its tour around the UK and Ireland and Europe for the
rest of the year.
Reviewer: Kathryn Gorton
Reviewed: 17th March 2025
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