27-548: Barrytown is an Irish comedy-drama media franchise centred on the Rabbittes, a working-class family from the fictional suburb of Barrytown, in Dublin . It began in 1988 when Beacon Pictures and 20th Century Fox bought the rights to the 1987 novel The Commitments by Roddy Doyle shortly after it was published. The book was successful, as was Alan Parker 's 1991 film adaptation . The film received cult status , and
54-630: A 2013 musical stage production, directed by British theatre director Jamie Lloyd . Following the film's success, Doyle had previously turned down offers to adapt his novel into a stage production. The Commitments began previews on 21 September 2013 in London's West End at the Palace Theatre , before its official opening night on 8 October. The show had more than 1,000 performances before officially closing in London on 1 November 2015. The United Kingdom and Ireland tour commenced in 2017. In 2018,
81-611: A comedy drama, this hybrid genre often deals with real life situations, grounded characters, and believable situations. The ratio between the drama and comedy can vary, but most of the time there is an equal measure of both, with neither side dominating. Abreu also adds that dramedies often deal with relatable and serious topics such as divorce, illness, hardship, and heartache. Examples of comedy dramas in American film include: Examples of American television comedy dramas include: Angeline Ball Angeline Ball (born 28 June 1969)
108-468: A humorous tenor. In television, modern scripted comedy dramas tend to have more humour integrated into the story than the comic relief common in drama series but usually contain a lower joke rate than sitcoms . In the very influential Greek theatre , plays were considered comedies or tragedies. This concept even influenced Roman theatre and theatre of the Hellenistic period . Theatre of that era
135-438: A more experienced writer. Upon reading the novel, Clement and La Frenais agreed to help write the script themselves. The Snapper revolves around unmarried twenty-year-old Sharon Rabbitte's pregnancy, and the unexpected effects this has on her conservative, working class Dublin family. The Van focuses on the elder Jimmy Rabbitte and his efforts at going into business with his best friend Bimbo, after both lose their jobs. It
162-511: A partnership to sell fried food from the eponymous van. The film also stars Ger Ryan , Rúaidhrí Conroy , Brendan O'Carroll , Stuart Dunne , Marie Mullen , and Jon Kenny . In January 2000, Harvey Weinstein acquired the film rights to The Commitments for Miramax and commissioned playwright Warren Leight to write a direct sequel to the film, with Cathy Konrad attached as a producer. The premise involved several members of The Commitments pairing with new band members before going on tour in
189-519: A rise in film and television works that could be described as comedy-dramas. The term is a translation from the French "comédie dramatique". The portmanteau "dramedy" came to be in the 1980s. In January 2022, Rafael Abreu, writing for the StudioBinder filmmaking blog, defined this genre as follows: A dramedy is a movie or program that balances the elements of a drama and a comedy. Also known as
216-571: A self-proclaimed promoter, decides to organise an R&B group to fill the musical void in his hometown of Dublin, Ireland. The band comes together but ends up consisting entirely of white musicians who have little experience with the genre. Even though their raw talent and lofty aspirations gain the group notoriety, the pitfalls of fame began to tear at their newfound friendships as they prepare for their big show. The film also stars Angeline Ball , Maria Doyle , Bronagh Gallagher , Glen Hansard , Andrew Strong , Colm Meaney , and Andrea Corr . Many of
243-700: Is an Irish actress who resides in London, England. She is known for her roles as Imelda Quirke in Alan Parker 's The Commitments (1991) and as Tina in John Boorman 's The General (1998). She has appeared in films and television series in the UK and the US. She is also a stage actor. Ball, the youngest of three sisters, was born in Cabra, Dublin . As a child she trained in tap , ballet and modern dance attending
270-481: Is regarded as one of the best Irish films ever made. In 1999, the British Film Institute ranked the film at number 38 on its list of the "100 best British films of the century", based on votes from 1,000 leading figures of the film industry . A sequel novel, The Snapper , was published in 1990, followed by a film adaptation in 1993. A third novel, The Van , was published and shortlisted for
297-598: Is suffering from bowel cancer . The novel was named Novel of the Year at the 2013 Irish Book Awards . Throughout the early 2010s, Doyle frequently posted short comic dialogues on his Facebook page between two older men in a Barrytown pub, often relating to current events in Ireland (such as the 2015 marriage referendum ) and further afield. These developed into the novella short story collection Two Pints in 2012 and Two More Pints in 2014. Jimmy Rabbitte ( Robert Arkins ),
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#1732798641378324-541: Is thought to have long-lasting influence, even in modern narrative works. Even today, works are often classified into two broad buckets, dramas and comedies. For instance, many awards that recognize achievements in film and television today, such as the Primetime Emmy Awards and the Golden Globe Awards segregate several award categories into these two classifications. The 20th century saw
351-525: The Evita soundtrack album. In 1997 Ball starred alongside Brendan Gleeson in John Boorman 's The General , where she portrayed Tina Lawless, the sister-in-law and mistress of real life Dublin crime boss Martin Cahill . Throughout the 2000s, Ball appeared in a number of UK TV series including Doc Martin , Shameless and Mr Selfridge . On 26 May 2008, she made her debut as Maggie Townsend on
378-700: The Billie Barry Stage School at the age of eight. Her breakthrough role came in 1991 when she appeared as backing singer Imelda Quirke in Alan Parker 's The Commitments . In 1993, Ian La Frenais and Dick Clement wrote the short-lived TV series Over the Rainbow for her, for which she also wrote the music. In 1994 she played Vada's mother in My Girl 2 for which she sang a rendition of Charlie Chaplin 's " Smile ". She worked with Alan Parker again in 1996 when she sang backing vocals for
405-479: The United Kingdom , producers Lynda Myles and Roger Randall-Cutler acquired the film rights , and asked Doyle to write an adaptation . Doyle, an inexperienced screenwriter, spent one year drafting the script, accompanied by Myles and Randall-Cutler. Although a script was completed, Myles felt it needed improvement, and passed the book on to Dick Clement and Ian La Frenais , hoping that they would suggest
432-525: The 1991 Booker Prize , followed by a film adaptation in 1996. Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha , a spin-off published in 1993 by Secker and Warburg , won the Booker Prize for that year, with an epilogue novel, The Guts , published in 2013. A musical and stage play based on the first two installments of the series have also been produced, ongoing from 2013 and 2018. Following the 1988 publication of Roddy Doyle 's novel The Commitments (1987) in
459-489: The Gate Theatre commissioned Doyle to write a stage adaptation of The Snapper . The show was directed by Róisín McBrinn and was revived in 2019. Comedy-drama Comedy drama , also known by the portmanteau dramedy , is a hybrid genre of works that combine elements of comedy and drama . In films, serious dramatic themes (such as death, illness, etc.) are dealt with realism and subtlety, while preserving
486-527: The United States. The project subsequently entered development hell . The surname of the Rabbitte family was changed to the maiden name of Curley for the film adaptations of The Snapper and The Van , as 20th Century Fox owns the rights to the Rabbitte name from The Commitments , who were not involved in the adaptations of subsequent works in the trilogy. An image of four of the actors of
513-657: The actors involved in The Commitments went on to pursue various acting and musical careers. Robert Arkins signed a record deal with MCA Records in 1993, although he did not finish recording the consequent album. He has produced work for a number of commercial clients, television projects, and composed music for two short films. Andrew Strong went on to produce several albums, which he described as having elements of R&B and rock. He has performed alongside The Rolling Stones , Elton John and Ray Charles , and formed his own band, The Bone Yard Boys, in 2003. In 1993, two of
540-517: The change, saying that he never liked to be made for the big screen, which he thought was grainy. The Snapper (1993) premiered at the 1993 Cannes Film Festival , where it received a standing ovation . It was a critical success, receiving largely positive reviews. The sequel again features the Rabbitte family, but due to rights problems, the family surname in The Snapper was changed from 'Rabbitte' to 'Curley'. The film centres on Sharon Curley,
567-407: The eldest daughter of the family, and her experience of unplanned teen pregnancy. The film also stars Brendan Gleeson , Pat Laffan , Ronan Wilmot, and Stanley Townsend . For the film adaptation of The Van , Doyle and Myles formed their own production company, Deadly Films, and the author was given creative control over the selection of its cast and director. Frears returned as director, and Meaney
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#1732798641378594-527: The film's cast members, Kenneth McCluskey and Dick Massey, formed their own tribute act band, The Stars from the Commitments . The 9-piece band has since played more than 1,000 shows worldwide, and has played with B.B. King , James Brown and Wilson Pickett . The Commitments underperformed at the North American box office, grossing $ 14.9 million during its theatrical run. Reviewers praised
621-631: The music, performances and humour, while criticism was occasionally aimed at the pacing and Parker's direction. The film resulted in two soundtrack albums released by MCA Records ; the first reached #8 on the Billboard 200 album chart and achieved triple-platinum status , while the second album achieved gold sales status. At the 1992 British Academy Film Awards , the film won four of six BAFTA Awards for Best Film , Best Direction , Best Adapted Screenplay and Best Editing . It also received an Academy Award nomination for Best Film Editing . Doyle
648-497: The original film, in character, was featured on an Irish postage stamp as part of the Ireland 1996: Irish Cinema Centenary series issued by An Post ; the image includes lead singer Deco Cuffe (Andrew Strong), along with the three "Commitmentettes" – Imelda Quirke (Angeline Ball), Natalie Murphy (Maria Doyle Kennedy) and Bernie McGloughlin (Bronagh Gallagher). Doyle's novel The Commitments and its 1991 film adaptation inspired
675-433: Was cast in the lead role. Although The Van (1996) premiered at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival to some favorable reviews, critical reaction was negative upon release; reviewers criticised the film for its thin material and lack of strong characterisation. The film deals with themes of unemployment and self-worth, as Brendan "Bimbo" Reeves ( Donal O'Kelly ) and Larry ( Colm Meaney ) cope with losing their jobs and embark on
702-548: Was given creative freedom by the BBC over the adaptation of The Snapper , for which he wrote the screenplay. Lynda Myles returned to produce the film and hired Stephen Frears as its director. Colm Meaney also returned. The adaptation was originally planned as a television film, as an episode of the British television anthology drama series Screen Two , before Frears suggested that it be transferred to film. Doyle disagreed with
729-465: Was shortlisted for the Booker Prize (1991). Paddy Clarke Ha Ha Ha is a novel written by Roddy Doyle. It is a spin-off following one year in the life of a Dublin ten-year-old, Patrick "Paddy" Clarke, as he explores Barrytown through his parents' divorce, encountering various characters from the Barrytown series of novels. Set thirty years later, The Guts follows the younger Jimmy Rabbitte as he
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