SILLY ELLIOT
» RTE boss said show would be a hit like movies Annie and Moana » Forbes asked for plans of the flop show to be kept confidential
DEE Forbes asked RTE colleagues to keep Toy Show The Musical confidential ahead of the controversial March 2022 “combo meeting” that left several RTE board members in the dark about the ill-fated project.
Although an internal RTE report described the Christmas musical market in Ireland as “well-served”, Rory Coveney later compared the €2.2m loss-making project to Billy Elliot and Annie.
Mr Coveney, brother of Fine Gael Minister Simon, has been described as the “driving force” behind the musical.
Fresh documents were provided to the Oireachtas Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on Wednesday by RTE Director General Kevin Bakhurst.
One tranche of documents provided an email thread inviting people to the controversial “combo” meeting of March 29, 2022.
This meeting included just five board members. This included chairwoman Moya Doherty.
MEETING
Members who attended this meeting said that the project was presented as a “fait accompli”.
Other RTE board members did not find out about the project until April or May. Several heard of it for the first time when tickets had gone on sale and the venue was booked.
The RTE board should have signed off on the project but did not, a Grant Thornton report into the fiasco found.
The new documents given to PAC contain an email sent on March 25, 2022, inviting people to what later became known as the March 29 “combo meeting”.
The subject line was “exciting creative and commercial opportunity”.
Ms Forbes said: “I will send out a brief overview in advance which I would ask you all to keep confidential.”
On the morning of March 29, Mr Coveney sent a briefing document to Ms Forbes’ PA asking for it to be forwarded to “those attending the 3pm meeting”.
The presentation was also sent to Ms Forbes on March 25 and again on this date. As noted in the Grant Thornton report, information on the musical was sent to former RTE Board Chair Moya Doherty on March 28,
By design it’s ultimate returnable, fixed calendar experience RORY COVENEY IN MARCH 2022
with the sender saying they would “welcome your view on distributing this in advance of tomorrow”.
Ms Doherty responded: “I believe the idea is best presented at the zoom… “You can follow up afterwards with the document.”
The presentation was not sent to those attending the combo meeting. In the
document sent by Mr Coveney, the Late Late Toy Show was described as a “singular phenomenon in modern Irish culture”.
It read: “By design, the Toy Show musical is the ultimate, returnable, fixedcalendar experience event for RTE.”
During a one-page run-down on the plot of the musical, Toy Show The Musical was compared to Oscarnominated films.
“Just like Billy Elliot, Annie, Moana et
al, Toy Show The Musical is a story of a child who, in spite of family adversity, comes to realise that the magic they need to change their world already exists within them,” Mr Coveney’s presentation read.
The presentation also said that there was a “draft contract” with the Convention Centre to run the show between December 3, 2022, and January 7, 2023.
It noted that it had been “built into the contract [...] the option of returning for
A negative experience could damage an established brand & RTE RISK HIGHLIGHTED IN BUSINESS CASE
Christmas 2023”. “With a total of 54 shows over the three-week run we are aiming to serve a total audience of 107,730 (assuming sell out),” it stated.
It added that box office potential was between €4m and €5m, with a net profit of €1.2m.
On May 20, 2023, Ms Forbes’ PA noted in an email that she did not think “papers have gone out to the Board as of yet” with details on Toy Show The Musical and sent it for distribution. Tickets went on sale for the show on May 19.
In the updated presentation sent on this date, the potential net profit was noted as €1.37m. In his correspondence to PAC, Mr Bakhurst also provided the business case for Toy Show The Musical
shared with the Executive in March 2021. This highlighted several risks associated with the project.
This included the fact that “musicals are a notoriously difficult endeavour and success in this market is dependent on [the] delivery of a product that exceeds significant expectations”, and that “the Christmas period is well-served with many well-established events occupying prime calendar dates”.under potential threats linked to the project, it was noted that “a negative experience at an event could severely damage a wellestablished brand and
RTE”.
The initial business case named the project “Toy Show Live! The Musical”.