A musical without music

…Palace Theatre, Charing Cross Road

The Commitments: a book, a film, a musical. I’d expect each to be different. I haven’t read the book but Rafa invited me round to his flat a few months ago to watch the video. Half-way through, I realised that my mind had been wandering a lot. So had Rafa’s. We abandoned it.

Even so, I was tempted by the good reviews the musical has had. I went to today’s matinee performance in positive mood after a perfect coffee and a freshly baked biscuit at a pavement table in glorious sunshine at Maison Bertaux in Greek Street, just around the corner from the Palace Theatre.

It was déjà vu. The musical told the same dull story with the same flat characters in the same way as the film. A proper song didn’t begin until the 25th minute but this was interrupted to tell the story of this newly formed soul band's rehearsals, as were three or four subsequent songs. 60 minutes in and, at last, a real musical blast when the band had its first public gig but this medley of four songs in three minutes was unsatisfactory. Then the interval. Maybe it took off as a musical in the second half. I didn’t stay to find out.