After watching Spamalot and experiencing how musical theatre could take something I love and turn in it into a giant turd, it was with much trepidation that I was convinced into going to see a performance of Once. I am a fan of the 2006 film of the same name. Set in Dublin, the wonderfully understated film follows the developing friendship (and possible romance) of “Guy” an Irish busker and “Girl” an immigrant Czech girl as they bond over their shared love of music. The soundtrack of the film was mostly written by the two leads Glen Hansard (of the Frames) and Markéta Irglová. It also has one of the most cringing and realistic portrayals of a desperate man having his offer of sex rejected.
As for the musical, it's poster seemed to haunt my commute for the last year and it's very existence would anger me on a daily basis. I don't care if you want to make pull a musical out of the arse of a mediocre 1990s movie but when you try to do it with one of my favourite films its only going to make me angry. As you can probably tell I have a slightly over developed sense of cynicism. I can report, much to my surprise, that my cynical side seemed to take a night off and I genuinely enjoyed Once.
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| Declan Bennett (Guy) and Zrinka Cvitešić (Girl) |
