Arklow’s Amy back on stage with trip to London in the 1960s
ARKLOW woman Amy Penston is no stranger to the stage and will soon star in Shout! The 60s Mod Musical at The Pavilion Theatre, Dun Laoghaire.
Having made her mark in the West End last year in The Commitments, Amy is returning home for this cracker of a show which takes a nostalgic trip back to London in the Swinging 60s.
This new musical follows five young female subscribers to a fictional magazine called Shout!, ‘ the magazine for the modern woman’, as they come of age during the liberating 1960s that made England swing.
‘I play the Yellow Girl. The five characters are each identified by a colour. She is a typical brash American who comes to London seeking love and chooses there due to her love of Paul McCartney’s music. Things don’t go to plan and her story ends up being quite sad as she finds herself trying to make the best of an unhappy marriage,’ Amy explains.
The Arklow actress who now divides her time between London and Ireland is delighted to be on tour at home and has been in rehearsals for this show since the start of April.
‘I was lucky that I was part of the original cast when it was staged in Clontarf. It was really well received and took off from there. The choreography is very slick and for me, it was really a challenged me as there is nowhere to hide on stage. All the cast members are on together for the full two hours. It’s a great show and I’m delighted to be a part of it.’
From cover to cover, Shout! unfolds like a musical magazine, chronicling the dawn of liberation of women.
Just as Dusty Springfield, Petula Clark, Cilla Black and Lulu were independent women with major careers, English and indeed Irish women were redefining themselves in the face of changing attitudes about women.
Wicklow fans can see Amy light up the stage with a showstopping rendition of ‘Son Of A Preacher Man’ on Thursday, May 31 at 8 p.m.
Tickets cost €22/€20 and are available at paviliontheatre.ie and 01 2312929. The full Irish tour dates are available on the Shout! The 60s
(By Deborah Coleman)