Michael Collins musical drama for Dublin

After a hugely successful three-week run in Cork, Michael Collins transfers to The Olympia Theatre from Thursday May 7 for 15 shows only!

The show's recent run in Cork Opera House was a huge popular success, with audiences leaping to their feet for prolonged standing ovations after every performance. Michael Collins was widely praised by critics, with one prominent reviewer calling it “a moving, dynamic, resonant piece of musical theatre”.

“Michael Collins is my dramatisation of a changing period of Ireland’s history, but furthermore it is the story of how love and politics inflamed the period,” says writer/director Bryan Flynn, who six years bringing the project to fruition. Flynn also wrote the show's 24 songs.

Michael Collins takes the intrinsically fascinating story of the emergence of the Irish nation, and heightens its power by setting it to music performed by live musicians.

"The ensemble of 25 performers vividly bring to life the events of the 1916 Rising, the War of Independence and the Irish Civil War," a spokesperson told Hot Press. "But for all its massive scale, this musical drama is ultimately an intimate human story focusing on the interwoven plight of four extraordinary characters: Michael Collins, his adversary Eamon de Valera, his close friend and colleague Harry Boland, and the object of his affections, Kitty Kiernan."

The original cast will return for the run in the Olympia. The title role will be alternated by two West End actors, Eoin Cannon and Killian Donnelly, both of whom enjoyed rave reviews for their Cork performances. They are joined by principal performers Derek Collins as Harry Boland and Irene Warren as Kitty Kiernan.

The cast also includes Michael Grennell (Eamon De Valera) and Robert Vickers (Joe Emmet), along with Fair City's Rebecca Smith, Liam Butler, Ellen McElroy, Andrew Holden and Carol-Anne Ryan.

Orchestrations are by David Wray and Musical Direction by David Hayes.

Tickets from €20 including booking go on sale this Thursday, April 9, from Ticketmaster and usual outlets nationwide.