Interview: Theatre Life with Raymond Walsh

The holiday season is semi-officially here (It won’t be official for me until after Thanksgiving) and you might be looking for something a little different to attend with family and friends. Today’s subject Raymond Walsh can definitely help you with that. He is currently living his theatre life as the creator and one of the performers of The Shamrock Tenors. Their new show Shamrock Tenors: Christmas in Belfast will be here in DC at the Kennedy Center for a one week only engagement from November 25th through the 30th in the Eisenhower Theater. This engagement marks Raymond’s North American professional debut.

Originally from Belfast, Raymond has worked extensively on stage over the last 10 years. He is best known for his portrayal of Grantaire in Les Misérables being one of a handful of actors in the world to have appeared in the original production on the West End, new touring production, West End staged concert, arena tour and concert film. He was also fortunate to play the role of Thénardier over 100 times in London. Read on to see how Raymond has kept from getting mechanical in his performance of Grantaire over the years.

He recently produced and co-directed The Shamrock Tenors’ debut TV special on BBC and PBS, which was nominated for a Royal Television Society Award.

At this time of year, we are bombarded with sugar plums, dew drops, and lots of “God Bless Us Every One”. There will always be room for those types of theatrical offerings so why not make it ONLY about the art and consider adding Shamrock Tenors: Christmas in Belfast at Kennedy Center to your list of holiday viewings.

As you will read, The Shamrock Tenors was very personal for Raymond Walsh to create and that’s how some of the best holiday fare starts. He is truly living his theatre and vocal lives to the fullest.

At what age did you become interested in singing and music in general?

I grew up in a very musical household — my dad played bass guitar and piano, so music was always part of my life. I was constantly surrounded by bands like The Beatles and Steely Dan. There are even videos of me at just one year old singing “Hey Jude” — though, honestly, my singing may have gone downhill since then! And of course, my younger brother Jack is in the Shamrock Tenors with me, so I’ve been dragging him around since childhood as well.

It wasn’t until I was 18 that I seriously thought about pursuing it as a career. I’d always loved singing and acting, but I’d never actually seen a musical before until I operated a spotlight on a junior production of Les Misérables when I was 16.

Then I went to my first West End show two years later and completely fell in love with musical theatre as an art form.

After that, I started taking singing lessons, and my teacher entered me into a UK competition to find the best musical theatre singer not currently in drama school. At the time, I was studying Communication, Advertising, and Marketing, so a career in performance wasn’t even on my radar. But I was incredibly lucky to win both the competition and the Dr. William Lloyd Webber Scholarship. That was the moment I realized I might actually be good at this — and that I’d always regret it if I didn’t at least give it a try.

Thankfully, things have worked out, and nearly 20 years later, I’m still lucky enough to be doing it as my career.

Where did you receive your training?

After I completed my Advertising and Marketing degree I did a Masters in Musical Theatre at the Guildford School of Acting. I had the time of my life and even in

What was your first professional job as a performer?

My first professional job came when I was 18, in a Northern Ireland production called Stars – A Ballycastle Nativity. It featured the incredible Conleth Hill in the lead role, with music composed by my dad and a script written by his childhood best friend, BAFTA-winning Irish playwright Damian Gorman. It was an amazing experience — the cast included some of Northern Ireland’s finest actors, which was a training opportunity in itself, alongside talented amateur performers. The production was not only a celebration of the town of Ballycastle but also a wonderful introduction to the world of professional theatre.

After my formal training, my first job was in the original cast of A Winter’s Tale by Howard Goodall. Once again, I was surrounded by an incredible company, and I learned so much about the importance of being not just a strong ensemble performer, but also a supportive and engaged company member. And then I had my first lead role in the London Revival of Finian’s Rainbow at the Charing Cross Theatre as Og the leprechaun, who says typecasting is a thing?

How did the idea to create The Shamrock Tenors come about?

In 2018, while performing in Les Misérables in London’s West End, I found myself thinking a lot about home and the incredible talent back in Northern Ireland and also how Belfast was still getting portrayed in the media. I’d always had this idea of creating something that showcased the brilliant singers and musicians I knew there but also how far it had come since the days of the Troubles, a place that was inclusive, modern, and full of shared pride. Having gone to Friends’ School in Lisburn, a Quaker grammar school, I’d grown up with friends from both sides of the community, and I wanted to build something that celebrated that unity through music. That’s really how The Shamrock Tenors were born.

There’s something truly magical about Christmas time in Belfast. The city comes alive with music, warmth, and a wonderful sense of family spirit — it’s honestly one of the most special places to spend the festive season. We wanted to capture all of that in our show.

Audiences can expect stories about the history behind some of these iconic songs, heartfelt ballads about Irish immigration to America, and good old-fashioned drinking songs that bring everyone together to sing and clap along. Of course, there’ll be plenty of holiday favorites with our signature Celtic twist.

And, for the first time ever, we’ll be debuting our brand-new single, “Christmas in Belfast” — a song that tells the story of a Belfast lad bringing his partner home for the holidays and sharing everything that makes the city so magical.

It’s a show that promises to leave you feeling not just festive, but as if you’ve spent the evening in a cozy Irish pub, surrounded by friends, family, and great music.

You’ve been associated with Les Misérables for many years playing the role of Grantaire. Some performers start walking through their performance after x amount of times. How have you been able to keep your performance fresh over the many years you have performed in the many productions of the show?

That’s a great question — and honestly, Les Misérables is one of those rare shows that never really gets old. Every night, it feels different because the story itself is so powerful and the people you share the stage with keep it alive. It was also the very first musical I ever watched, when I operated a spotlight on a student production, and even then I thought this is exactly what I want to do. I also grew up watching the iconic anniversary concerts with people like Alfie Boe, Michael Ball and Matt Lucas, so to then have the opportunity to work with these guys later in my career and call them friends was the biggest dream come true. Particularly when I recently performed the show at the SSE Arena in Belfast with my family in the audience, a true career highlight.