DUBLIN THEATRE FESTIVAL 2026: Review: LOURDES! THE MUSICAL, Civic Theatre
Xnthony's ambitious new musical at the Civic Theatre struggles under the weight of bloated storylines and jarring visuals.
Content Warning: Contains themes of illness, terminal cancer, HIV, depression, and death.
A parish amateur dramatics group preparing a makeshift staging of Bernadette the Musical while on a pilgrimage to Lourdes is a premise ripe for theatrical comedy. In Lourdes! The Musical, written by Xnthony with music and lyrics co-written by Matthew Floyd Jones, the fictional production is intentionally chaotic. Rehearsals are squeezed around confessions, props vanish, and casting changes happen at the last second. However, as the line between the amateur play and the characters' real-world struggles blurs, the broader production mirrors that very disorder, leaving the audience to wonder where intentional satire ends and messy execution begins.
The narrative attempts to balance an unmedicated HIV diagnosis, terminal cancer, caregiving, trans identity, parental acceptance, grief and religion. Rather than enriching one another, these strands feel crowded together. The structure recalls the workers putting on their play in A Midsummer Night's Dream, where usually skilled actors make bad acting funny. Here, that distinction is lost. Early on there is genuine humour, and near the end when the group finally presents the show, a cheeky reference to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat brings a welcome burst of musical energy, but the comedy fails to sustain the evening.
Musically, the score feels generic, demanding vocal strains that the ensemble struggles to deliver comfortably. Visual choices also frustrate: the overhead flight display resembles an Excel spreadsheet, while the video screen repeatedly popped throughout the night.
On a personal level, the show's emotional beats fall flat. The mother character's terminal cancer storyline felt too disjointed to evoke genuine emotional resonance, particularly as someone who cared for a parent with cancer and lost him.
Lourdes! The Musical plays at the Civic Theatre as part of the Dublin Theatre Festival through October 10, 2026.
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