Thurles Musical Society dreamed big with incredible Big Fish show

It was standing ovations all around for Thurles Musical Society following the staging of the Irish premiere of Big Fish in the Premier Hall recently.

And, contrary to the international trends associated with this show, it proved to be an outstanding success in the Cathedral Town, having flopped in the US.

The Thurles society has been rightly lauded for their bravery in taking on a premiere in the first place, but also a show which did not have a good record -staging a blockbuster with a proven reputation is relatively straightforward, but TMS really challenged themselves by choosing a show which was largely unknown and which had not gone down well.

There was no such danger of that having in Thurles though, and those who attended were on their feet at the finale with sustained applause greeting the final curtain following what had been a musical theatre emotional roller-coaster - the final scenes would bring tears to a glass eye, as they say, while the humour and fun also brought great laughs right throughout the show.

The story follows the life of travelling salesman Edward Bloom, played by the incomparable David McElgunn.

His tour-de-force performances throughout the week were the talk of the town and of the musical theatre community, for many other societies and groups from around the country came to Thurles to check out the show and to see if it could be one for them.

Well, they would need to have somebody of David's calibre in their ranks to pull it off, and that kind of talent is indeed rare.

Now, his acting credentials are well-known thanks to his exploits with Thurles Drama Group, but his dancing and singing talents took many by surprise. He was flawless in a massive role, which saw him on stage practically all night long.

There was tremendous colour and choreography in this show - the work of local lady Siobhan King as Dance Captain enhanced the vision of Director Oliver Hurley, while Musical Director Mary Rose McNally guided the wonderful orchestra through the beautiful musical score with great skill.

Her work with the chorus too, was evident - with almost seventy on stage, the chorus was simply outstanding.

In many ways, this show went to a different level than ever before, and this was seen most of all in terms of staging.

The stage crew led by Anthony Kirby and Rita Callanan excelled in their work, and the introduction of projections was a new departure which worked magnificently - John Hurley’s work was enhanced by the lighting plot designed by Gerry Taylor and facilitated by Star Systems who also looked after sound.

Staging in Thurles is often taken for granted, such as the level of excellence displayed each time by the crew, but this was different class. In every way, this show was stunning, but none more so than in a visual way.

The colour, the costumes, the movement and the stunning sound were an overload of the senses which simply drove the audiences into raptures - it was amazing stuff.

The Premier Hall looked splendid thanks to much internal decoration and how lovely it was to take a trip down memory lane by flicking through the years or programmes along the side walls - a wonderful touch.

While David McElgunn was the main man and played the fantastical role so magnificently, Thurles boasted a tremendously talented front line, which sold the show hook, line and sinker.

In recent years, we have marvelled at the brilliance of Fiona Delaney, John Hayes, Marie Therese Kirby, Linda Ryan, Brendan Bailey and Frank Tuohy - all of whom were outstanding again in their roles.

But, this time round, we also witnessed the excellence of Trisha McElgunn, who returned to role-playing after a lengthy hiatus; Barry Derby; Denise King and newcomers Shannon O’Halloran and Ben Collins; Peter Donnelly; Noel Dundon and John Butler; and youngsters Éanna Hayes, Óran Gleeson and Conor Mahony - Éanna belied his tender years with a beautiful performance as the young Will.

It was a powerful line-up backed by a majestic chorus.

Thurles added a junior chorus for the first time, and these teenage boys and girls contributed greatly to the show - they certainly seemed to be enjoying themselves, and their smiling faces helped to light up the stage.

All told this was an outstanding show - take a bow one and all.