Dear Reader –
Time to reflect today, but first let’s look ahead…
**All hyperlinks in bold.
The Big Thing
Theme Night #32 (Theme TBC).
Hawk’s Well Theatre, October 5-7 2023.
Tickets on sale this morning (Tuesday 24th) at 11am.
Joe is pointing the way. Get the seats you want here.
Where else but Sligo?
A few words about last week.
It was always going to be hard to follow Musicals. Huge thought and effort went into that show from many quarters and we threw everything but the kitchen sink at it. It was great and I loved it, but it was a monster of a show, and so I knew from the word go that we couldn’t try and compete with it in terms of scale.
So this one had to be cosy. Intimate. Warm. More about the songs, less about the show. Still with big moments, but more about the smaller ones,
It started with the choice of theme - and I must thank Robert Cullen for the idea. It was perfect for the type of show we needed, and once he and Eddie Fitzpatrick provided me with comprehensive lists of song possibilities I knew we were on to something.
The bones of a setlist gradually appeared. Some original music from brilliant musicians - Seamie, Gerry, Tabby, Felip, Steve. Rat Trap and Stairway To Heaven in the safe hands of Joe, Sinéad and Jamie for the big finishers, and a couple of surprises that seemed to work. We got to feature lots of performers who weren’t involved in the Musicals show, and as always it was lovely to see more than a dozen people shine on the Theme Night stage for the first time.
So as you can see it’s a while till the next one. Almost nine months, which is a good gap, especially given that we have done three shows in the last eight. And while I have enjoyed every minute of them, it’s no harm to think about other things for a while. Come back to Theme Night #32 in a few months fresh and raring to go.
So there’s no theme yet. I’m asking you to trust us while we let things settle and see what ideas present themselves. What else we can try with these shows?!
Looking back though It was an amazing way to start 2023 - making great music with great people for four fantastic audiences. I had a moment on stage on Saturday night during All’s Well where one part of my brain was trying to play the piano in time, but another part was marvelling at this amazing thing of which I was lucky enough to be a part.
Your support means a lot. Thank you all.
What’s New?
YOUNG SONGWRITERS’ SHOWCASE 2023: A platform for local teenage musicians to perform their own songs for their peers. This Friday at 8 in The Model. Tickets here.
STEPHEN JAMES SMITH: The Friday and Saturday night crowds loved this man. This is his signature poem, Dublin You Are.
TN #31 GOLDEN JACKET: Congratulations (and thank you) to Sinéad Conway, who once again stepped into the breach at short notice and delivered a showstopping performance on Stairway To Heaven. Imagine what she could have done with a bit of notice?!
Finally…
As promised last week, Leah Davidson’s debut single - Take it. From last year’s Young Songwriters’ Showcase.
Till next time - Kieran.
