Review: Seven Drunken Nights: The Story of the Dubliners, Dominion Theatre

This will be a review of two halves, as there are two distinct elements to this show – a jukebox musical telling the story of legendary Irish folk band The Dubliners, via live performances of their music – which need to be addressed separately.

The first element is the music itself, which I greatly enjoyed. The six cast members are all talented musicians with beautiful singing voices. It is a joy to watch them perform a huge range of The Dubliners’ back catalogue.

I particularly appreciated The Fields of Athenry, The Rocky Road to Dublin, The Irish Rover, and their slightly more raucous version of the eponymous Seven Drunken Nights. The focus on the live music gives the show the atmosphere of a concert, with the sets and lighting of the West End. Therein lies the problem, and I feel bad for the very talented musicians whose skill should not be tarred by the criticisms that followed.

Every aspect of this show that is not live music is weak. The Story of The Dubliners is rambling and hard to follow. Lots of characters, such as the many members of the band, are alluded to but never properly developed.

The show takes the bold and unsuccessful decision to not have specific performers playing the characters, but instead to have short, fact-heavy lessons on the band’s history delivered between songs. This means that there is little sense of who they are.

The big emotional moments fall flat. We are told that The Dubliners suffered many tragedies, but the death of singer Luke Kelly fails to resonate as his character is never developed. The song at his funeral is a well performed and moving Irish folk ballad, but the scene feels hollow without an understanding of the person being mourned.

There is a lack of any throughline. At one point jumping from 1967 to 1982 and then later looping back to events in the 70s, which is confusing. The final moments do not feel climatic, resulting in the narrative just stopping. The denouement is a performance of some of their biggest hits, which are fun to listen to, but lack emotional catharsis.

There is also no sense of setting, place or time. Dublin is mentioned throughout but is not explored beyond it being the vague setting of the show. Wider Irish culture and politics is gestured at, such as mentions of James Joyce and George Bernard Shaw, but their influence is not developed.

As a concept for a stage show, it does not work. It would be better to have the music played in a more intimate setting than a vast West End theatre. This could help create the emotional connection of a gig, without the expectation of narrative and character. The musicians are excellent and bring the songs to life, but everything else is lacking.

Cast: Ged Graham, Shane Morgan, Eoghan Burke, Aidan Burke, Aidan Keene, Luc Power, Peet Jackson, Conor Kenny, Dylan Graham

Created by: Ged Graham
Technical director: Alistair Penman

Seven Drunken Nights: The Story of the Dubliners tours nationally until 7 June.