RONAN KEATING WILL TAKE OVER LEAD ROLE FROM THIS NOVEMBER!

Based on the 2006 Oscar winning indie sleeper-hit, Once is the low-key West End hit that has re-defined the modern musical, telling the story of a wistful Dublin romance in a rapturous pub atmosphere, with performers who are both actors and musicians. The effect is such that the story unfolds against an organic, joyful hootenanny vibe, irresistibly welcoming you into the heart of the show. Once will be welcoming Irish pop superstar Ronan Keating to the lead role from this November for a limited time only.

With heartfelt songs such as 'Falling Slowly' and 'Leave', Once is a meditation on life, on the brink of an existential crisis about paths not taken and chances seized. A simple show that will slowly bowl you over with its sweet melancholy, and make you laugh with sly wit, it's one of the more interesting screen to stage imports of the last few years, and well worth a trip for even the most resistant theatre fan.

WHAT IS ONCE ABOUT?

A passive busker named Guy is playing guitar when he meets Girl, with whom he shares a connection through a mutual love of music. The shy kindred spirits start to make music together, mixing their complementary style to create a melancholic folk-rock sound that explores themes of love and loss.

Over the course of a week their lives change forever, there is poignancy and where there is a joyous celebration of love, there is also a bitter-sweet feeling that will stick with you long after you've left the theatre. This will not disappoint fans of the original film and innovative new theatre.

DID YOU KNOW

Director John Carney sketched out the outline for the original film in 5 minutes when sitting in a cafe in Dublin in 2004, because he was missing his girlfriend who'd taken a job in London.