The Commitments

About the show

The Commitments, also called The Commitments: The Saviours of Soul, is a jukebox musical written by Roddy Doyle, based on the 1987 novel of the same name, also written by Doyle. Like the novel (and its 1991 film adaptation), the musical is about a group of unemployed Irish youths who start a soul music band. It premiered in 2013 at the Palace Theatre in London's West End. The music within the musical consists of soul and rock & roll classics from the 1950s and 60s, including "Think", "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction", "Papa Was a Rollin' Stone" and "Night Train". The music is entirely diegetic, meaning that all the songs are performed by the band rather than being sung by characters to express an emotion. For that reason, Doyle has insisted that The Commitments is not a jukebox musical.