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| George Donaldson, Emmett Cahill, Ryan Kelly, Keith Harkin, Neil Byrne |
Royal Theatre,
Canberra,
Tuesday 5th February 2013
Reviewed by
Bill Stephens.
You
certainly don’t have to be Irish to enjoy this slickly produced tribute to
Celtic heritage, and the power of modern marketing, which was clearly designed to push the
nostalgia buttons of Irish expats with its theme of “Home”, but no less
enjoyable for that.
As the
audience entered the auditorium of the cavernous Royal Theatre they were greeted
by an artfully lit stage on which was an excellent multi-level set suggesting
the ruins of an ancient stone castle along the Irish coast, with the mast of a
tall sailing ship visible through several of the well-placed entrances to the
performing area.
As soon as the
near-capacity crowd was seated, the lights dimmed and a disembodied voice entoned
the now seemingly obligatory poem which seems to precede every Irish show as
fog swirled mysteriously over the setting and dark figures took up their places
onstage. Suddenly the music and the
lights came-up to reveal five handsome, impeccably styled, young men clad, not in traditional kilts
as you might expect, but in smart tailored suits, singing the stirring harmonies
of “Heartland”.
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| Celtic Thunder on stage. |
Even though
Celtic Thunder had only visited Canberra once before, most of the audience
appeared to be fans. Indeed many had travelled from as far away as Wagga Wagga
and Cooma, and the group was greeted with ecstatic applause.
Keith Urban look-alike, Keith Harkin, lead off
the solos with an excellent version of “The Dutchman”, to be quickly followed
by Emmett Cahill with a gently intense performance of “Isle of Hope, Isle of
Tears”. Neil Byrne’s first solo “Lagan
Love” featured a beautiful violin interlude, while Ryan Kelly introduced
himself with a driving version “Black is the colour”.
Following a
toe-tapping Clancy Brothers ensemble medley, the senior member of the
group, George Donaldson, charmed with a
touchingly introspective rendition of “The Old Man”. Later in the program he also sang a similarly
fine version of the Harry Chapin hit, “Cats in the Cradle”.
Song after
song followed in quick succession, often without introduction. Solos and ensemble numbers were interrupted by
brilliant instrumental interludes. Some numbers
were choreographed, and all bore evidence a skilful director, with some new
element being introduced to every song.
It was a highly polished, tight presentation,
with the whole company on stage for the full two and a half hours, except for a
20 minute interval. Especially notable
was the fact that none of the singers used face-covering hand microphones,
favouring head-mics, which allowed them the freedom to use their hands
expressively, perform choreography and play instruments when required.
At various
points during the performance, each of the five singers was allowed a few moments
to introduce a song, or share some biographical detail. While this provided the
audience with the opportunity to individualise the singers, it was a pity that
given the tightness of the rest of the show, more thought had not been given by
the singers as to the best way to use these moments. Surely it was only
necessary for just one of the singers to tell the audience how much they
appreciated their fans being present. By the time the third person re-iterated this,
it had begun to sound trite and insincere.
The only
other blemish on the superb presentation was the stage-hand setting up guitars
and props throughout the show, which drew focus every time he was caught in the
spotlight, which was often.
Special
mention must be made of the superb seven member band, led by David Munro on
Keyboards, and including Nicole Hudson on violin, Seana Davey on harp and whistles,
who also demonstrated some very fancy footwork, Laura Durrant on cello,
guitarist Dave Baker, Barry Kerr on whistles and bodhran and Declan O’Donoghue
on percussion.
The three
girls barefooted in pretty Celtic-inspired costumes, and the men clad in plan
dark kilts, not only provided superb, endlessly varied backing arrangements, but participated enthusiastically in the
staging, insuring constant visual variety, which was enhanced by constant
changes of costume by the five singers.
For the finale all the men donned traditional kilts for a stirring
rendition of “Mo Ghile Mear” which brought the adoring audience to its feet for
a well-deserved standing ovation.
During the
evening it was announced that Celtic Thunder would be returning to Canberra
later in the year with a new show “Mythology”.
If you missed them this time around, watch out for that one.