I'll go harder on bankers in next Anglo musical - Paul - Herald.ie

Niall O'Connor – 26 June 2013 02:30 PM

THE writer of Anglo The Musical wants to relaunch the show and go even harder on the main banker characters.

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Dublin playwright Paul Howard has branded the shocking tape revelations as "too grotesque" to play out on stage.

He described the recordings as "disgusting stuff" and accused former Anglo executives of showing "utter contempt" for the Irish public.

"I would like to relaunch the musical. I wanted to go a lot harder in the original version but I wasn't allowed. Even on the first day of Anglo The Musical, we got a letter threatening us with legal action. But certainly if we did it again, I'd like to go harder," he told the Herald.

Mr Howard said he was not surprised at the language used by ex-bankers David Drumm, John Bowe and Peter Fitzgerald, as revealed this week by the leaked Anglo tapes.

 

Contempt

"I had to imagine the discussions and board meetings these men were having in the days and weeks running up to the bank guarantee for me to write the musical. I had to imagine exactly how they were running Anglo and I think, to be honest, I got it fairly spot on," he said.

"I didn't learn anything new by these tapes in that sense. Having said that, the transcripts of the tapes would make you feel physically ill. The sheer contempt these men had for the Irish people is disgusting. They didn't give a damn about the Irish people," he added.

Mr Howard's musical was staged at the Bord Gais Energy Theatre last November and got top critical reviews.

The musical, created by the Ross O'Carroll Kelly writer, depicts the controversial goings-on of the bank and features real life characters in Bertie Ahern, Brian Cowen, Enda Kenny, Angela Merkel and David McWilliams.

Asked whether the Anglo tape revelations could be played out in a future play, Mr Howard told the Herald: "There are some transcripts that are beyond parody. Some things are too grotesque that it's impossible to bring them further in a comic forum. I think this is the case here."

The puppet-based musical, which starred Love/Hate actress Aoibhinn McGinnity and TV presenter Caroline Morahan, got a second stage run at the Olympia Theatre in February.

noconnor@herald.ie

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