Music
06 Feb 18

Good Vibrations to be put on stage as part of Lyric Theatre 50th Anniversary celebrations

The 2012 film, which tells the story of "the undisputed Godfather of punk", Terri Hooley, is getting the stage treatment this year.

Written by Colin Carberry and Glenn Patterson, Good Vibrations tells the story of Terri Hooley, a radical, rebel and music-lover in 1970s Belfast, who inspires hope during an age when his city is shut down by conflict.

The film, which became an instant classic throughout Ireland, has been adapted for the stage by the original team of Colin Carberry and Glenn Patterson, who wrote the screenplay and gained themselves nominations for Outstanding Debut at the 2014 BAFTA Film Awards in the process. They had previously won Best Script at the 2013 Irish Writers Guild Awards, Best Script at the 2012 Dinard British Film Festival and they were nominated for Best First Script of 2013 by the Writers Guild of Great Britain.

Speaking about the Good Vibrations stage adaption, Glenn Patterson commented:
“Good Vibrations was born out of love of the power of music and its vitality, and the attraction of the stage is that you get this in the raw - the power of live music. We see the stage as a place that offers new possibilities and a chance to capture the theatrical excitement, the immediacy, and show this in its full potential. I feel even more so in 2018 than in 2013 that it’s a story of great relevance. It is the story of Terri’s life, shop, label, but much more - it’s about a way of life. The time and climate are right to celebrate all the things for which Terri stood – they are all the qualities you want to embrace.”

Good Vibrations will be directed by Belfast’s Des Kennedy, who has directed in Belfast, Dublin and is currently the International Associate Director of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child on both the Broadway and Australian productions. Des’s directing credits include Gulliver’s Travels and White Star of the North at the Lyric and Associate Director of Once: The Musical.

Tickets are available online from the 12th of March, from the website of Lyric Theatre. Production will run from the 1st to the 30th of September, 2018.