MONSTER/CLOCK opens tonight!

As HBO's fantasy epic Game Of Thrones gears up for its highly-anticipated second season, one of its stars is set to tread the boards at Dublin's Smock Alley Theatre in Collapsing Horse Theatre's debut musical MONSTER/CLOCK: A Play On Time.

Commencing from this evening (Monday March 26) and running until Saturday April 7, MONSTER/CLOCK, the exciting puppet comedy musical features Jack Gleeson, best known for his role as the evil Joffrey Baratheon on Game Of Thrones, as Toby, a monster and apprentice watchmaker, who finds his world blown apart by a raid on his workshop, and the kidnapping of his mentor and guardian. What follows is a steampunk adventure packed with comedy, music and, yes, puppets.

Speaking to Hot Press ahead of the production's debut, Gleeson - a veteran of the stage at just 19 years of age - spoke of the show's development.

"Originally all the characters were going to be puppets but the director, Dan Colley, made the choice for Toby to be human," says Gleeson. "He’s castigated by society because he’s a monster so we’re kind of playing with that, the human VS puppet thing.

"I’ve had no trouble with the puppets but it certainly is a very, very difficult thing to master. Even repetitive stress on the hands, moving that, everyone says their puppeting arm is far stronger than their other arm now! It definitely adds an extra challenge to it, but we’re very thankful to have Aaron (Heffernan, puppet master) there to be able to steer us in the right direction."

MONSTER/CLOCK: A Play On Time runs from March 26 - April 7. Tickets priced €12 and €15 are available by calling the Smock Alley Theatre on 01 6799297 or through [link]smockalley.com[/link]. Look out for a full, extensive interview with Jack Gleeson in a forthcoming edition of Hot Press.