Irish actor Killian Donnelly is currently wowing London audiences as Deco in The Commitments at Londonās Palace Theatre.
The show is an adaptation of Roddy Doyleās novel of the same name which was turned into a film in 1991. Directed by Jamie Lloyd, the new stage production brings the iconic novel to life on stage packing in all the music you know from the movie.
We caught up with Killian to find out more about the show, talk about his fearless performance and discuss how the role compares to his impressive past West End roles.
What have you been up to other than the show this week?
Yesterday we went to Children in Need at Elstree Studios and we went there on the bus. Iāve never seen The Commitments so excited in all my life than getting a big bus to take us to the BBC Studios. We were all saying āweāre a real band! Weāre on a tour bus!ā When we got there we did a soundcheck for about an hour and half and sang Mustang Sally and Try a Little Tenderness about six times. Then we got back on the bus and were brought to the Palace Theatre where we all got burgers into us. We did the show last night and got a standing ovation! After youāve had a day like that youāre a bit like āoh god Iām so tired for the showā and then you get the buzz of the audience and go āthis is going to be a cracking night, I love thisā. Today Iāve been back at BBC Radio centre doing interviews again.
Pretty busy then?
Yeah! I love it though. Itās go, go, go! Itās really good.
For those that havenāt seen The Commitments yet tell us in a nutshell what itās about.
The show itself is about a group of about 10 unknowns in Dublin in 1986. A young man called Jimmy Rabbitte takes them all and puts them into a soul band to bring soul to the people of Dublin. These kids have never heard soul, donāt know who James Brown or Otis Redding is, Marvin Gaye or any of these, and this music just hits and touches them. It takes them away from their humdrum lives in Dublin and they just play to the people of Dublin and become little superstars in their own little town. Before you know it thereās record producers interested and they get contracts being offered. Itās a beautiful little simple comedy story about the clashes that happen when putting a band together, especially the character I play Deco who is the catalyst for all of the fights really because his egoās too big for the stage. Itās just a lovely, lovely little story.
Deco really is the livewire of the band. What attracted you to that role?
Exactly that! (laughs) I guess as an actor itās something Iāve never done before. I was always put in as Enjolras in Les Mis or Raoul in The Phantom, these handsome leading men so Deco was the complete opposite; an arrogant, rude, crude soul singer. I absolutely love the book and I love the movie. Roddy Doyle is a household name in Ireland and this is so iconic that I would literally have done anything to get it. Happy days that it came along.
I remember the final audition singing with different bands because they had three Joey the Lips, three drummers and be alternating all the time. Iād go in and sing Soul Man with the band and Iād leave and another man would come in. Iād come back and sing Soul Man again with another band. Hearing that music played live by actors on stage in the final audition I was like āI really want this partā. Then I thought āIād actually really want to see this show as wellā. Luckily I got it.
Your performance in the show is completely fearless and energetic. How do you not just collapse by the end of it?
I do! We added two new songs in the last two days in to the encore. As we were choreographing that I just fell on the floor for a laugh and the choreographer loved it. She said āI love this, keep it inā and I was so happy to be able to sing a song lying on the floor because I was absolutely shattered. You just have to perform and you get a buzz off the audience, which gives it the energy. Yesterday I ran up a wall and it wasnāt until the musical director said ādid you run up a wall?ā and I said āoh yes I did!ā It wasnāt like Iād planned to do that. I just ran up the wall for the craic. Itās the buzz and the cheer you get from the audience. The next thing I want to do is stage dive so Iām planning that for some point. Iām hoping I have the right crowd to stage dive on.
You could have done that during the performance last night as the crowd were on their feet for most of the showā¦
Argh! I know, I know! Iāve got to take my moment and shout ācatch me!ā
We were incredibly impressed how you kept up the energy throughout the performance. It must be very vocally demanding too?
It is, it is! Itās like anything. If I was a runner Iād be looking after my feet and with your voice you just have to look after yourself. I donāt go out, I donāt drink, I donāt smoke, Iām eating a lot of healthy food and drinking a lot of water. I do warm-ups just before the show and after the show I do a warm down. I have a lot of honey and hot drinks. When itās your job you have to just look after your instrument.
Thereās a scene in the show where you strip down to your underpants at the front of the stage. Were you nervous about that?
Do you know how that happened? It was always in the script and the line says āDeco changes into his suitā and that was it. I was thinking āoh Iāll just go somewhere or go off stage and changeā. When we were rehearsing Jamie Lloyd, the director, would go āok Killian youāll just change into your suit at thisĀ pointā and Iād go āyeah, yeahā and everyone would do their own thing and change. I said āwhere am I changing?ā and he said āright here, front and centreā. I said āright here?ā and he repliedā yesā. I was like āIām going to be down to my underwear right here?ā and he goes āyesā. I remember he had these smiling eyes looking at me as if to say āgo on, do itā. I said āIāll get one up on you. Can I get Superman underwear?ā and he went āyes you canā. That was amazing and thatās how we have Superman underwear at that point. I was thinking itās 1986 so he will have Superman underwear so I love that they got that in. That gives me the confidence to do it I think.
In the show The Commitments bicker and fight a lot but itās clear that thereās a love and a fondness for each other. Is that how it is with the cast as well?
Yeah absolutely. Weāre all friends and weāre all getting on a bus and doing these promo gigs. Weāre all doing it together whereas with other shows like The Phantom of the Opera, the Phantom would be doing the promo. With us itās the 10 members of the band so we are being kept together and hanging out a lot. A lot of these people are making their West End debuts so itās lovely to see how excited and how happy they are just going on this journey. If there were ever bickering backstage the gorgeous thing about this show is that we get to vent onstage. If you donāt like anybody then you can just save it for the stage. We just shout anything at each other and thatās how we get it all out (laughs).
We loved the bickering scenes on stage where it all descended into a loud, raucous messā¦
Thatās the thing that people are absolutely loving. Thatās all improvised. In the script it just says āthey argueā and at that point the whole band just tear into each other and start shouting things like ādonāt point your finger at me, I swear to God Iāll put your head through a wallā. We say anything to each other. Myself and Joe Woolmer ā people say he headbutts me at one point and itās so real ā but every time we get that reaction from the audience we give each other a high five and say āthat was an amazing headbuttā whilst Iāve got fake blood all over my face.
You mentioned earlier that youāre a fan of the book and the film. How much did you refer back to those when you were preparing to play Deco?
I read the book two weeks before I started the workshop which was two years ago. Iāve seen the film before but when I got the role for the show I read the book again. I was pretty familiar with it and I remember that I always had the book in my pocket during rehearsals. Iād highlight pages when I saw something. There are a lot of things they couldnāt do in the movie that we could do in the play. For example in the book when Deco is getting so comfortable with singing heād wear his favourite tracksuit trousers. Heād walk around with a hot towel and eat honey from the jar. These were tiny little details that we were able to put into the play. Itās lovely when a fan of the book stands at the stage door and says āI saw the tracksuit trousersā or āI saw the honeyā. It just makes you give yourself a little backstory.
You even managed to sing at points with a mouth full of foodā¦
Thatās something I absolutely love doing ā singing with a bag of chips. Thatās one of the best notes I ever heard from the award-winning director Jamie Lloyd. āKillian sing through the chips!ā Amazing! Iām going to take that to my grave. Thatās the best note a director has ever given me ever.
It sounds like some kind of life philosophy that doesnāt it? āSing through the chips!ā
Yeah! The stage manager was actually calculating what I eat and drink in one show. I eat a plate of spaghetti, a full Ć©clair, a bag of chips, I drink two full pints of non-alcoholic beerā¦itās a bit mental. Then I have to strip off into my underwear and Iām like ācome on!ā (laughs)
You donāt get much time for toilet breaks either do you?
No! I started to sort of set them into my routine of the show. I think after this scene I can get a 2 minute pee break so Iām working those in now.
The Commitments is booking until the end of January. Are you going to fit anything else in before the show finishes or are you solely concentrating on the show?
No. Itās The Commitments completely now and weāre still trying to find out feet with it. As you get new audiences youāre trying to work out how to adjust so how is a Tuesday night audience different from a Saturday night audience? My full focus is on The Commitments.
Youāve played a lot of great stage roles in your career to date. How does playing Deco compare to those?
Deco is arrogant and crude whereas as Iāve played Enjolras in Les Mis who is a heroic revolutionary leader and Iāve played Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera who is an aristocrat so well to do characters from well brought up backgrounds. I played Tony in Billy Elliot who was more along the acting side of things as opposed to musical theatre. He was very hot-headed and strong and knew what he wanted. He was always supporting the family. Deco is more along those lines but on the comedy end of things. Itās just completely different to anything Iāve done before. As an actor itās the best compliment I can get if people say āyou were Raoulā after seeing me playing Deco. Thatās what you want.
The Commitments is playing now at the Palace Theatre and is booking until 26th January 2014. For more information and tickets go to http://www.thecommitmentslondon.com/