For lovers of the Dubliners, Seven Drunken Nights is a hit. The cast are undeniably amazing instrumentalists and vocalists whose rendition of the Dubliners’ music captures the hearts of their enthusiastic audiences.
I arrived at this show unfamiliar with the Dubliners, their music and their story. Perhaps due to the location in London’s Dominion Theatre, which has housed such shows as We Will Rock You and Bat Out of Hell, I had wrongly assumed that this show was going to be a jukebox musical based on the story of the Dubliners, à la The Kinks’s Sunny Afternoon. However, Seven Drunken Nights plays more like an extensive tribute concert.
Between high-quality musical performances, moments of chat tell some of the story of the Dubliners, a band formed in 1962 whose career lasted 50 years. Known for pioneering the Irish folk music scene in the 1960s, they played a crucial role in bringing Irish music to international audiences.
Their legacy endures, and over 60 years since their formation, this touring show offers fans an opportunity to reminisce and to hear their music played live once again in beautiful venues across Ireland and the UK. It was a special joy to see enthusiastic audience members get up and dance from their seats, or mouth along to songs they love. And although the show itself followed the conventional theatre rule that filming and photography is not allowed, some impassioned fans in the front rows even felt the urge to record some of the songs on their phones like at a gig. As people were on their feet, clapping, and singing along, evidently, the cast’s performances held up to the standards of lifelong Dubliners fans.
While the live musical performances were stunning, providing plenty of opportunity for nostalgia and audience participation, the narrative interludes created a disconnect. At times, the lively energy of the band’s music was undercut by the stilted storytelling, leaving an awkward contrast between the two.
The show, despite resisting the format of a musical play, utilises a lot of theatrical convention: the young performers sit in a set which resembles O’Donoghue’s pub, where the band first began performing together, and a bartender hovers awkwardly behind the bar, occasionally bringing the cast underfilled pints of Guinness or glasses of whiskey. In this light, the character feels more like a passive prop than an organic part of the story, breaking the illusion of live music in a pub setting as the show toes the line between great gig and subpar theatre.
The set is charming and detailed, but despite the effort to create realism, the audience is reminded that these performers are not playing the Dubliners themselves,; they’re just singing their songs – “Give it up for the cast of Seven Drunken Nights!”
The inclusion of theatrical conventions doesn’t negate the musical performances of the show, by any means: the performers’ voices were strong, beautiful, and a genuine pleasure to listen to. Likewise, their command of their instruments was outstanding. Every song was performed wonderfully. Though unfamiliar with the songs, I enjoyed each and every one. The devoted Dubliners fans loved them doubly so.
However, from a theatrical standpoint, considering pacing, storytelling and dramatic engagement, the show doesn’t quite hold up.
Some aspects were lovely, the realistic bar taps and drink dispensers made the set feel intentional down to the minutiae. A large screen behind the stage was at times used really effectively, for instance when it became a big “RECORDING” sign while the show tracks the band’s recording history. Equally, when introducing the band’s TV history, such as Top of the Pops, it worked as great backdrops to these specific TV shows. At other times, however, it was less compelling, such as when discussing the Dubliners’ international reach, the screen showed a sort of cheesy stock cartoon of a globe with some arrows hopping around.
While some elements of the set design effectively enhance the experience, the moments in which the cast sit around the pub table and Ged Graham casually narrates snippets of the Dubliners’ story fall flat. Set against the lavish backdrop of the Dominion Theatre, and attractive detailed sets, these scenes seem lacking in either dramatic quality or even the compelling energy of a musician telling anecdotes between songs at a gig. As the dialogue here is neither particularly enthralling, it feels a bit like a brief history lesson, albeit not comprehensive enough to give a real sense of the band’s story.
Alas, this did leave me wondering why the decision was made to include these chattier sections. Given the show’s strengths as a tribute act, it might have been more effective to leave it as a high-quality, two-hour-long musical performance without the additional narrative moments. Even the energy of die-hard Dubliners fans seemed to dwindle post-interval.
In the final few songs, the cast did have some really nice moments of choreographed movement. While the vivacity of these closing numbers injected a great energy back into the theatre, it also left me wishing there had been more of this earlier on in the evening, especially in the slower moments.
In the end, Seven Drunken Nights succeeds in what it sets out to do: celebrate the music and legacy of the Dubliners in a way that will leave lifelong fans satisfied. However, the show’s mixed theatrical approach leaves some wishing for a more streamlined performance. Ultimately, for those who seek a pure musical experience rather than a full-fledged theatrical production, this tribute act delivers a heartfelt homage.
Seven Drunken Nghts: The Story of the Dubliners tours the UK and Ireland until September 21 and continental Europe from October 15 until November 1.
JADAR 