Former Coronation Street favourite Nigel Pivaro will return to the stage to star in a major new touring production of The Commitments, the exuberant stage musical based on Roddy Doyle’s classic story.
The actor and journalist best known for playing Jack and Vera Duckworth’s son in the ITV soap will take on the role of the incorrigible head of the Rabbitte family when the musical tale of Ireland’s hardest-working soul band embarks on a nine-month UK and Ireland tour from September.
Commenting on the musical, Pivaro said: “I am thrilled to be marking my return to the stage in this production of The Commitments. It’s an iconic story that resonates across the years, about people who though distant from the music’s origins find communion and expression in the Motown style.
“A musical genre which was borne out of oppression and which the characters embrace as their own. The Motown sound is as vibrant today as it was when it first burst through in the sixties.”
Doyle added: “I’m delighted that The Commitments are coming back in 2022 and 2023 and I’m particularly looking forward to seeing how Nigel Pivaro tackles the part of Jimmy Rabbitte’s Da.”
Launching at the Churchill Theatre in Bromley from 24 September until 1 October 2022, the production will be directed by Andrew Linnie. Linnie who made his West End debut as sax player Dean in the original stage production in 2013, also played Jimmy Rabbitte in the 2016/2017 UK tour. Another alumni from the original West End run, Olivier Award-nominee Ian McIntosh (Beautiful – The Carole King Musical, We Will Rock You) will step into the role of Deco after playing alternate Deco in London.
The touring cast also includes: James Killeen as Jimmy, Stuart Reid as Joey, Ciara Mackey as Imelda, Michael Mahony as Oustpan, Ryan Kelly as Billy, Conor Litten as Dean, Guy Freeman as Derek, Stephen O’Riain as James, Ronnie Yorke as Mickah, Eve Kitchingman as Natalie and Sarah Gardiner as Bernie. Maryann Lynch, Alice Croft, James Deegan, Callum Martin, Joshua Barton, Ed Thorpe and Colm Gleeson make up the ensemble.
Following Bromley the 2022/2023 tour will visit Portsmouth, Wolverhampton, Sheffield, Milton Keynes, Hull, York, Bradford, Aberdeen, Edinburgh, Glasgow, Wimbledon, Truro, Plymouth, Aylesbury, Dublin, Belfast, Ipswich, Bournemouth, Dartford, Bristol, Southampton, Nottingham, Northampton, Liverpool, Birmingham, Blackpool, Darlington, Peterborough, Cardiff, Llandudno, Manchester, Reading and Newcastle before taking its final bows in Brighton in July 2023.
The story of Jimmy Rabbitte, a young working-class music fan who shapes an unlikely bunch of amateur musicians into a crowd-pleasing soul band, Booker Prize-winning author Doyle’s The Commitments initially made its way from the page to the big screen in Alan Parker’s critically acclaimed film version in 1991.
Adapted for the stage by Doyle, the musical version in turn became an instant hit when it received its world premiere at London’s Palace Theatre in September 2013. After the West End run ended in November 2015, The Commitments hit the road for a debut tour playing dates across the country from October 2016 until May 2017.
Angela Thomas
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