Jackeens, culchies, and an uplfiting show that’s the full Irish...
Copper Face Jacks: The Musical Verdict: You’ll wish the night would never end ★★★★☆
BEFORE we get down to the nitty gritty I have a confession to make. I’ve never set foot in Copper Face Jacks and the only musicals I tend to like are in full technicolour, generally staring Shirley, Judy or Barbra.
So it was with some trepidation that I set out to the Olympia Theatre for the opening night of Copper Face Jacks: The Musical. I swore off the genre after one too many dodgy outings as a fresh-faced reviewer and still bear the scars of witnessing Shane Richie in Boogie Nights.
Happily Paul Howard’s latest venture, although it sounded fairly dubious on paper, was something of a very pleasant surprise.
The show tells the story of Noeleen, a fresh-faced country lass from Cahirciveen, who leaves her welly-booted fiancé Mossy to tend to his wind farm.
She follows her dream of working ‘in the VHI’, travelling to Dublin where she happens to accidentally meet Gino Wildes, the Dublin GAA team’s leading man and, like so many other couples, their eyes meet on the dancefloor.
Obviously the lads from either GAA team aren’t best pleased by this inter-county relationship — least of all poor Mossy.
Former Love/Hate star Johnny Ward takes on the role of Gino Wildes, the cocky Conor McGregorstyle character who is a ruthless car clamper by trade but also a GAA sporting legend. It has to be said that Ward owes more than a little bit of his performance to both McGregor and the GAA’s own fashion legend Paul Galvin.
He’s exactly the kind of guy you’d love to hate until he melts into the arms of his ‘Noeleent’ — said with a very strong Dublin accent.
His terrific performance is perfectly matched by Roseanna Purcell as the country girl who gets her eyes opened in the big city. Roseanna’s fabulous voice is resplendent in numbers like VHI and Only Lookin’ For The Ride.
But as the story unfolds, a face from Gino’s past appears to reveal he’s fathered not just her child, but he’s actually got ‘more children than would fill the Cusack stand.’
As Noeleen high-tails it back to Kerry, will their love for each other win the day?
As you might have guessed by now, this is not a show for the fainthearted — just like you’d expect a night in Coppers unfolds, there’s plenty of beery jokes and bawdy humour — like a stage version of Love Island, complete with songs and GAA jerseys.
And complementing Howard’s hilarious writing is a score by Dave McCune and Paul Woodfull, the man behind The Joshua Trio and Ding Dong Denny O’Reilly. The songwriting is sharp and the first half moves at a hilarious gallop.
No one in Ireland is safe from being the butt of these jokes and Howard makes a few jabs as well, with songs such as I’m Gay, I’m GAA, performed with gusto by one of the night’s star turns Eoin Cannon. He puts on a spectacular performance as a garda up from the country who just wants to open a hipster coffee shop and have a boyfriend he can massage after the big match, doubling up as Noeleen’s typical Irish mammy, complete with beard.
Stephen O’Leary is another stand-out cast member as his portrayal of the largely unlikeable wind farmer Mossy Munnix had the audience in absolute stitches.
He too, seems to be drawing inspiration from familiar characters in Irish life.
Let’s just say he’s definitely been watching some Dáil debates, but regardless of your political allegiances, you’ll be drawn in by Stephen’s stellar performance.
It’s only fair to say the show loses a wee bit of momentum during the second half as the character Gretchen, played by Michele McGrath, could do with a bit more meat on her bones writing-wise to make part two as good as the first.
But all in all, this show is a joy to behold. The exceptional cast proves how much talent we have at our fingertips here. It’s racy, pacy and incredibly cheesy but in a good way as the show’s ribald humour never allows it to descend into schmaltz.
Copper Face Jacks: The Musical has taken a snapshot of life which will be familiar to many and turned it into a very different kind of night out that’s just as enjoyable and won’t leave you with a huge hangover and ‘the fear.’
The musical is also Irish from its head to its toes which, regardless of clamours from the generation of Coppers residents who are now most of the diaspora — makes a tour outside Ireland a wee bit unlikely, which is disappointing as the cast members really are a joy to watch.
And of course, no night out in Coppers would be over without a rousing chorus of Maniac 2000, a fitting finish to this belter of a show which is undoubtedly the sure-fire hit of the summer for Dubs and culchies alike.
Just like one of the songs in the show says, you’ll wish this night would never end.