Galway singer-songwriter Eoghan Burke (aka Fia Rua) is playing Christy Mahon in a musical version of the Synge classic opening tonight in Galway’s Town Hall Theatre.

Written and composed by Justin McCarthy and Diarmuid de Faoite, this is a staged version of the award-winning musical first broadcast by RTE Radio last December. That production went on to win bronze at the New York Festival of World’s Best Radio Program Awards and was also shortlisted for a PPI Radio Award.

This Playboy is set in an old-style radio studio complete with narrator, an ensemble of actors, a band, backing singers, lots of sound effects and, above all, terrific songs which jauntily cavort from one style to another. There is blues, tango, country and much else in what is a bubbling and flavoursome musical gumbo.

The production boasts a top-notch Galway cast, including Burke as Christy Mahon; Irish Times Theatre Award nominee Grace Kiely as Pegeen Mike; co-writer Diarmuid de Faoite, best known for his lead role in Corp+Anam; Fred McCloskey, star of Ros na Rún; Eilish McCarthy, Helen Gregg, Seamus Hughes, Muireannn Ní Raghallaigh, and Rod Goodall as narrator.

The music is performed by The Stooks, led by the production’s co-creator Justin McCarthy and featuring Dave Curtis, Brian O'Grady and James Richardson with special guest John Conneely.