If you’re looking forward to hearing classic song after timeless hit when The Commitments arrives at His Majesty’s you’re not alone – so is Nigel Pivaro.
Which is one of the reasons the actor – who became a household name as Coronation Street bad boy Terry Duckworth – returned to the stage for the first time in 20 years to headline the UK tour of the West End smash.
“I’m looking forward to listening to the great songs, well played and well sung and the dancing and the audience reactions to it, just the joy it brings after two and a half years of crazy times and lockdown,” said Nigel.
He is delighted to be stepping into the shoes of Jimmy Rabbitte’s Da in this stage version of The Commitments, returning to theatres after almost two decades during which he carved a career as a journalist.
Nigel Pivaro delighted to be part of iconic show at His Majesty’s
“I’m delighted and honoured to be coming back in such an iconic piece, as well as a fun and a well-loved piece,” Nigel said of the musical, which will run at His Majesty’s Theatre in Aberdeen from Monday November 21 to Saturday November 26.
The West End hit boasts a string of classic soul hits from Try A Little Tenderness to Mustang Sally and another 20 or so thrown in the mix.
Roddie Doyle’s book, The Commitments, a classic in its own right, became a worldwide phenomenon when it was turned into a hit movie in 1991. It follows the story of working-class music fan Jimmy Rabbitte, who transforms an unlikely bunch of amateur musicians into Dublin’s finest soul band, against the backdrop of a grinding recession.
Nigel is a massive fan of the film, the book and the musical and it was his love of the story that led to him coming back into a stage role.
“I remember seeing the movie and I was drawn by the music, which I was a big fan of and which was being rediscovered, and I was impressed by the narrative as well. So to be coming back with that is great, but also with a little bit of apprehension,” he said.
“It’s not a bad thing to have the weight on your shoulders to live up to the standards of what has gone before.”
Part of that weight might also be down to Roddie Doyle himself saying he was particularly looking forward to how Nigel tackles the role of Da.
“Easy stuff,” joked Nigel.
But in all seriousness, he is looking forward to getting his teeth into the role.
“I’ll be bringing all my experience to it of 40 years of the businesses and acting and my stage presence – that’s often been commented on,” he said. “I’m never one to hide my talents under a bushel.
“I want to create that dramatic tension because the character I play is not a supporter of the (band’s) music – he thinks if it’s not Elvis it’s not good.”
One focus for the actor was getting the Dublin accent spot on.
“Not least because we’re going to Dublin for two weeks,” he joked. “It’s got not just Dublin, it’s got to be north side Dublin, it is so location specific.”
Nigel Pivaro proud that Corrie’s Terry Duckworth is so memorable
There is, of course, no getting away from Terry Duckworth, the character that made Nigel a household name when he burst onto the Corrie cobbles in 1983 and which he revisited on and off until 2012.
And he is chuffed that he and the character are so intertwined after 40 years.
“It goes with the territory. I mean, an average of 19 million to 20 million people watched it twice a week, so you’d be a fool to think that was going to go away. If it did, you might be asking yourself ‘hang on, what didn’t I do right’,” he said.
“Yes, it can get wearing at times, but at the same time it’s still a great compliment that people hark back to that time and still remember the character.”
Despite that success, Nigel decided to enter a second career as journalist, a field that always interested him, allied to his fascination with politics and history.
“I still am a journalist, I still have my press card. I did it from the bottom up, things like cats up trees or ‘Blue the dog’s barking saves family from fire death’.
“So I started with local papers before going to regionals, before going to the BBC doing stuff with them documentary-wise, then the nationals.
“I’ve been all over the place with the journalism – Ukraine, Turkey, Syria – and done documentaries here on political and social justice issues.”
Nigel Pivaro drawn back to craft of acting – and even did an Irn Bru ad
But Nigel found himself drawn back to his earlier craft of acting encouraged by an old friend, screenwriter and director Jimmy Cartwright.
He started back in some radio plays plus a couple of TV adverts – “I even did one for your national drink. Not whisky, it was Irn Bru.”
Then he landed the role of Da in The Commitments and a return to theatre – albeit with a two-year delay due to the pandemic.
And he can’t wait to bring the musical to Aberdeen – a city he always loves to visit.
“It’s an amazing place, with all the architecture and stonework that I loved. I heard it was called the Granite City, but then some people said it was the Silver City as well and I could see what they meant because when the sun shines on that granite it sparkles and it is beautiful,” he said.
He hopes the audiences flocking to The Commitments will be as impressed with the show as Nigel was with the city.
How to get tickets for The Commitments at His Majesty’s
“It’s great music and a good story – it’s just a fun show, it looks good and it sounds good,” he said.
“After all we’ve been through and the problems we still face, this will be a great fun night out and great sort of safety valve so people can really just let go.”
For more information and tickets for The Commitments, visit aberdeenperformingarts.com
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