Billy Boyd, (the only recorded Scots Hobbit, he played Pippin in the Lord of the Rings films!), will join a tour of Dundee Rep’s revival of its award-winning musical, Sunshine on Leith, opening on August 31.

Based around the songs of the Proclaimers the show was written by Stephen Greenhorn. According to the Stage:

Glasgow-born Boyd will star as Davy, a squaddie returning to Leith with his best pal after they have experienced one too-many tours of Afghanistan. The Rep’s artistic director James Brinning will direct, with musical direction by Hilary Brooks and design by Neil Warmington.

After opening in Dundee on August 31 the production will tour Scotland and Ireland to October 23. Dates have been booked in England until November 27 with further dates to be announced. Will the Proclaimer’s musical make it to London? I certainly hope so. I’m a fan of their song writing skills and I think they’ve better credentials than many who’ve found their way onto the London scene recently.
As Bernard Logan said in his 2007 review:

Sunshine on Leith
Abba, Queen, Madness … the Proclaimers?! Well, why not? Dundee Rep’s much-hyped new ‘jukebox musical’ lets others discover what we devotees have long argued: that the Reid brothers are the best songwriters in Britain. The uninitiated will still enjoy a show that hijacks the band’s music to tell the story of two squaddies returning to Leith from Iraq. But I love the Proclaimers so much, my heart wears NHS specs, and to me, this is absolute bliss.

“It’s definitely happening. We’ve brought a scriptwriter in and are working on a few synopses now.

“And the critics … music critics are one thing but theatre critics are something else. I suppose if it doesn’t work then that’s it — it’s a closed book. I need to get through this album launch first, and then I’m probably touring, but we’ll get to it after that. It’s early days but it’s very exciting.”

Kylie is writing the production with her stylist William Baker. It will be based on her back catalogue of hits and she hopes it will be rather like Abba’s Mamma Mia! She’ll need quite a strong story line for that to work out! So rather than tell the story of Kylie’s own rise to fame it will tell another tale. I think it’s a shame that more performers haven’t learned the lesson of Jersey Boys. I’d be quite interested to see the story of her rise to mega stardom told against the backdrop of her greatest hits.

It’s something to do with the heady feel good atmosphere generated by just the impression of a greek island holiday even though you are in the middle of the big city. You don;t necessarily have to be a big fan of Abba’s songs either, I know I’m not – but the game of guessing how the plot is weaving along to include yet another classic is almost as much fun as the superb acting and singing. The film of Mamma Mia! was pretty good too, with Maryl Streep proving she can sing for the first time to her usual film audience.