Acclaimed musical Once to be performed in Kildare for first time

he Kildare-based theatre group, The Odd Theatre Company, will stage the captivating musical Once at Newbridge’s Riverbank Arts Centre this Thursday through Saturday. 

Once, which features the Oscar-winning hit Falling Slowly and a sensational score written by Glen Hansard, Markéta Irglová, and Fergus O’Farrell, requires actors to double as the show’s band. Each performer in Once therefore plays one or more musical instruments throughout the production, offering a unique spectacle for audiences. 

Based on the 2007 film of the same name, Once tells the story of two struggling musicians, living in Dublin, who share a powerful but complicated love story, underscored by a spellbinding soundtrack. 

Written and directed by John Carney and starring Hansard and Irglová, the film Once won plaudits from critics the world over for its refreshingly honest and appealing tale of love and music. The movie was even singled out for praise by renowned director, Steven Spielberg, who said that seeing Once had given him “enough inspiration to last the rest of the year”, while its soundtrack’s leading single, Falling Slowly, scooped the Academy Award the following year for Best Original Song.  

Once was adapted as a stage musical in 2011 and ran on Broadway for three years, winning eight Tony Awards in the process, including the prize for Best New Musical. The show opened on the West End in 2013, where it ran for two years, while productions of Once have toured the world routinely in subsequent years. In Ireland, however, it is has never before been performed outside of Dublin. 

Cian O’Dowd, Director of The Odd Theatre Company’s production of Once, said it was remarkably easy to find the superb actor-musicians in Kildare required to play the show’s twelve roles. 

“That was something of a surprise”, he said. “The ability to act and play a musical instrument simultaneously is rare enough, but then to require those actor-musicians to sing and dance at the same time presents a real challenge. It is a testament to the talent in this county that we were able to cast an excellent group of performers who are more than a match for the unique demands of Once.” 

Speaking about the show’s immense appeal to audiences, O’Dowd said, 

“Once has a very special quality that renders it almost unique in the musical theatre world. Yes it’s a beautiful story, magnificently told, but unlike many musicals its characters are real people, its relationships are complicated, and for that reason it is much more gripping than other shows in its genre. You can’t help but be moved by Once.” 

Once runs from Thursday, the 16th, to Saturday, the 18th, of November at the Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge. Tickets are priced at €20 and are available at www.riverbank.ie or by telephoning the Riverbank Box Office on 045 448 327. 

About The Odd Theatre Company 

The Odd Theatre Company is an amateur theatre group from Co. Kildare, whose members hail from throughout the county. The company’s debut show in 2017, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, was the Irish premiere of this celebrated Broadway musical, and the company has since produced Rumours (2018), Rent (2018), Little Shop of Horrors (2019), The Last Five Years (2021), and First Date (2022, Irish premiere). 

The group will stage its seventh production, Once, at the Riverbank Arts Centre, Newbridge, from the 16th to the 18th of November 2023. 

The production is directed and co-musical directed by Cian O’Dowd, with co-musical direction by Keelin Kilduff, and choreography by Áine Foley.