ONCE: a Digital Media Event

Once has already charmed audiences and critics alike, with its originality and unashamedly alternative approach. It seems natural, then, that this production should be one of the first West End shows to fully utilise social media for their marketing purposes, giving various journalists the opportunity to not only watch excerpts of the show and to take part in a brief Q and A, but the chance to film and take photographs of proceedings, all while tweeting as much as possible.

It was a surreal experience; when the cast are so clearly immersed and involved in what they're doing, it feels very odd to divide your attention between them and a touch-screen phone. By not quite engaging with what's happening onstage, surely you can't fully appreciate the actors' work. That said, a great part of theatre's power is to capture the audience and to stir a reaction from them during the performance itself. The immediacy of being able to communicate those sensations via Twitter is surely an exciting step for theatrical marketing. Rather than being able to reflect and nitpick, you're able to instantaneously communicate how the work makes you feel - and music like this really does evoke quite a reaction.

While the Q and A itself felt a little rushed, this is understandable - the cast have a lot of work ahead of them and surely need time to prepare. Musicians might laugh at the contingency measures made essential by especially Declan Bennett's persistent destruction of guitar (and other) strings: Once have a techie who can, impressively, change a string in seven seconds! The delightful cast also told us about their casting process, which involved three to five auditions, starting with acting, then looking at musicianship and movement - though Valda Aviks proudly informed us she'd only had the one audition! It was also something of a relief to learn that AiDan Kelly's trousers contain a lycra panel after an unfortunate karate-kicking incident in his audition.

The show itself is fantastic. It is not, I think, a musical, but a play which happens to contain a great deal of exquisite music. While it lacks some of the film's subtlety, there are some moments of sheer beauty. Wonderful, Oscar-winning films aside, the stage show is a vast achievement in its own right.

Once made me want to fall in love, preferably in Ireland, whilst accompanied on the violin. May it do the same for you.

Photo credited to Fye Suthmahatayangkun.