Entertainment

From Dunboyne to the barricades of Les Misérables

MEATH actor and singer Seán Keany is currently performing in Les Misérables at London’s Sondheim Theatre.

This week he told the Irish Post about his West End dreams, Irish theatre and the show that inspired his career...

You are currently in Les Misérables, what is it like being part of such an epic show?

Honestly, it’s a dream come true. Les Mis was the very first show that I ever saw in London, way back in 2011.

I flew over for a day, got the first 6am flight from Dublin to Gatwick, and we went to see Les Mis that night.

We were, I wouldn’t say jet-lagged, but definitely exhausted — but it was so worth it.

It was absolutely eye-opening. I had never seen a show on that scale before and it was nothing like anything I had seen before.

Since then, it has just been an absolute dream to do it. It’s completely surreal and it’s definitely not lost on me how mental that is.

Fifteen-year-old me was watching that thinking that never in a million years would I be able to be in something like that — and now here we are fifteen years later and I am actually in it.

Standing on that stage, looking out at the audience and thinking about the exact seat I watched it from — it’s pretty crazy.

What was the audition process like?

I did seven rounds for this show, which I think is definitely the most I have ever done for one musical. They were considering me for a lot of the roles so every time I came in it was: “Would you mind also having a look at this? Also having a look at this?”

So I wasn’t actually sure towards the end of the audition process what role I was being considered for. I said to my agent: “I will accept absolutely any role if they can squeeze me into this show. I will come in and sweep the floors — I just want to be a part of it.”

Luckily, after a few months, we got the offer through.

Tell me about your schedule — how many shows do you do a week?

We do eight shows a week. Monday to Saturday, with two shows on Thursday and two on Sunday.

So it can be a little hectic and relentless, especially when you are doing extra rehearsals during the day and then going in and performing the show in the evening.

It can be long and tiring, but it is very rewarding.

When you were starting out, was it always your dream to perform in the West End?

I guess it was, yes. I did a lot of amateur dramatics back in Ireland. I knew of other people in the West End. I am from Meath.

Obviously Killian Donnelly is a Meath man and is one of the biggest names in the West End and has been for more than ten years now.

When I was coming up through those ranks everyone knew Killian’s name.

We all looked towards him and thought: that is the dream. He is over there living the dream and it was something that some of us could only dream of doing.

And yet here we are all these years later and I am actually doing it.

Seán Keany (picture by Liza Heinrichs)

Tell me about your training at The Irish College of Music Theatre. What was the course like?

I actually didn’t study musical theatre straight out of school. I first studied culinary arts in DIT — Dublin Institute of Technology. I did that for two years and worked as a chef, but realised it wasn’t for me at all.

I had so many people around me saying: “Why aren’t you trying to be an actor?”

My singing teacher at the time, Christine Scarry, was working on a course at The Irish College of Music Theatre and told me I should audition. She thought it would be a good starting platform for me.

I auditioned, got onto the course and really enjoyed it. I was there for two years. The course later moved from DIT to American College Dublin, where it is still running now as a BFA in Musical Theatre.

I learned so much there. But I knew if I wanted to keep growing I would have to move to London and give it a go here.

You have appeared in shows such as Choir of Man and Blood Brothers. Do you have a favourite?

I do. I loved both of those shows — they were amazing to be part of. But my favourite show that I have performed in is Once, the musical.

I first saw it at the Gaiety Theatre in February 2013, just before it transferred to the West End. They were doing an out-of-town run in Dublin.

I play guitar, and when I saw that on stage I remember thinking: “That’s the show. That’s what I want to do.”

Seven years later I ended up touring with Once in the UK and got to cover the role of Guy. I played the role a few times and it’s just the most gorgeous story. It’s Irish, which makes me a little biased, but the music is stunning.

It’s funny, heartbreaking and Dublin in a nutshell.

What are your Irish roots?

I am from Dunboyne in County Meath. Both of my parents are from Finglas in Dublin and moved out there in the early 1990s. I lived in Dunboyne my whole life until I moved to London.

Your family must be proud — do they come to watch your shows?

They do. My mam will come to absolutely anything I am in. She has already seen Les Mis. She saw me in Once, Blood Brothers and Choir of Man.

My family are very supportive. They also see it as a bit of a novelty because I am the only musical theatre actor in the family.

To them it’s just really cool that I get to perform in shows around the world and in London.

Do you think Irish theatre is in a good place?

Irish theatre is in a good place, but it could always get more support from government and from the Arts Council.

I know so many Irish actors in London and many of them come here because that is where the work is. There are shows in Dublin, of course, but it is a much smaller scene.

You have the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, which is an amazing facility, but most of what plays there are touring productions from the UK.

Last summer they staged Little Shop of Horrors in-house and it was a huge success. Productions like that should happen more often. That is what the Arts Council and government should be pushing for — more home-grown Irish productions.

What is your earliest theatre memory in Ireland?

Pantomime. I went to the Gaiety panto when I was six. We all got a bus in from school to see it.

For years it was mostly pantos. I used to go to the Cheerios panto with my mam and her work colleagues every Christmas.

We would see performers like Joe Conlan and Rob Murphy, who were incredible. They were a huge inspiration to me.

I am still a massive panto fan. I even write panto scripts now.

You once appeared with Miriam O’Callaghan — what was that like?

That was great fun. I was a backing singer for my friend Patrick, who had won The Voice of Ireland, and we performed his debut single on RTÉ.

The coolest moment for me that day was actually meeting Panti Bliss. It was 2015 and the Marriage Equality Referendum had just passed. As a newly out gay man, Panti Bliss was a huge hero of mine.

You appeared on Germany’s Got Talent. How did that happen?

It was very random. I saw a post on Facebook looking for young Irish male singers to form a group for a show in Germany.

I applied and didn’t think much of it. Then I got an email back saying the producer wanted to meet me and asked me to join the group.

We ended up appearing on Das Supertalent, which is their version of Britain’s Got Talent. We did the first round and were popular enough that they asked us back for the semi-final.

Within a week we were flying back and forth to Germany rehearsing songs — and suddenly we were in the final.

I was 22 at the time and honestly didn’t know what was going on. But we were having great craic.