Stars From The Commitments Wyvern Theatre

OK, so there may have been only two stars of the 1991 movie The Commitments in The Stars From The Commitments at the Wyvern on Friday –- Ken McCluskey (who played Derek “The Meatman” Scully and Michael Aherne (Steven “The Surgeon” Clifford) – but they still played with the heart and, of course, the soul associated with Alan Parker’s much loved adaptation of Roddy Doyle’s equally adored book.

And with a theatrical show going down a storm in the West End, this tour from The Stars is timely, and illustrates, 23 years on, the enduring appeal of the idea of a bunch of working class Irish kids forming a band to peform a load of soul classics.

Of course, much of the appeal of this show is the songs and this spin-off band does great credit to the likes of James Brown, Wilson Pickett, Aretha Franklin, Sam Moore and Kings BB and Ben E.

They played Pickett’s In The Midnight Hour early in the set, and after that it was two hours of classic soul – Chain Of Fools, Do Right Woman, Try A Little Tenderness, At The Dark End Of The Street, and, of course, Mustang Sally, among others.

The Wyvern audience took a little while to warm up, but after the interval you couldn’t keep them in their seats. By the encore the auditorium was a sea of bopping, clapping, arm-waving soul brothers and sisters.

The years have only caught up with these stars from The Commitments in terms of hairlines and waistlines – it may resemble dad dancing at times, as I heard one person comment, but these dads certainly know how to belt out some great soul songs.

- STEPHEN WEBB