25 years since the novel’s publication Roddy Doyle’s The Commitments arrives in the West End, bringing with it a host of soul classics including Mustang Sally, I Heard It Through The Grapevine and (I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.

The show, which has been more than two years in the making, has been adapted from the novel by the Booker Prize-winning author and is directed by the award-winning Jamie Lloyd, the director behind the hugely successful Trafalgar Transformed seasons.

The Commitments is the story of Jimmy Rabbitte, a young working class music fan who shapes an unlikely bunch of amateur musicians and friends into an amazing live act, the finest soul band Dublin has ever produced. The show follows the journey of two members of a frustrated synthesizer band who turn to Jimmy, the local music expert, for help.

Placing a classified advert in a music paper, Jimmy auditions a number of wannabes before finalising the new line-up, which he names The Commitments. The humour kicks in as the band get to know each other and their instruments, and proceed through early rehearsals for their first gig. Just as they improve and begin to get a name for themselves they combust. The backing singers are all getting off with the middle aged horn legend, the singer has entered Eurovision and the saxophone player has dangerous leaning towards a jazz career. 

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