Conor Mitchell - Group!
The Belfast Ensemble, 2026
Bob Broad, Conor Mitchell, The Belfast Ensemble, Rosie Barry, Matthew Cavan, Adam Dougal, Darren Franklin, Colette Lennon, Carol Moore, Brigid Shine
The Lyric Theatre - 25th March 2026
*Contains outrageous material*, the promotional material on the website for the Lyric Theatre production of Conor Mitchell's latest work warns us, along with what looks like the complete catalogue of "trigger warnings". Well it wouldn't be a proper Conor Mitchell Belfast Ensemble work if it didn't. Group! is the composer's latest musical and if it causes any offence, it does so with good intentions. Primarily with the intention to delight and entertain, but as with previous works in a variety of musical and theatrical forms, not least Abomination: A DUP Opera and The Headless Soldier, also with the intention of getting the audience out of their comfort zone and confronting subjects most other people steer clear away from.
Good intentions and helping people to confront and deal with difficult times they are going through is part of the agenda of Mitchell's work and here he confronts it head-on. And what better way to air those dark secrets than in a group therapy session, getting a bunch of fucked-up people together in a room and putting it all out there. Sorry for the offensive language - I'm sure Emmet, the 'facilitator' of the group would not approve (and he has 'issues' of his own) - but, like Chris in the group, wearing an ankle tag for stalking who feels his masculinity threatened by the failure of 'Gloria' to acknowledge him and the other women in the group getting preferential treatment - there is no time for any of this 'woke' nonsense, you just have to say things as they are.
Everyone's input is valued and what's said in the room stays in the room after all, but despite a number of sessions in the local community hall there haven't been any real breakthroughs. The group worry nonetheless that whatever dynamic exists between them is going to be upset when a new member is invited to join the 'circle of trust'. Amy would seem to have a rewarding job and a loving partner, but gradually the cracks in her story begin to show and identification with her problems stirs up feelings with the other members of the group. Painful feelings and anger, but surely it will help air those frustrations and open up a path to healing? There are a lot of issues that need venting and Emmet isn't sure the methods employed are strictly orthodox. Well indeed, and as a musical there's nothing orthodox about how Conor Mitchell chooses to express the issues that Belfast people - or just generally people in the modern world still clinging to the past - need to put behind them.
Group! sets the situation for a fun riotous drama, but does gain anything from being a musical? Well, the nature of the story and how it unfolds, provides a clue. It's all about communication (or maybe that should be sowing chaos), and while it could be a play in its own right, Conor Mitchell is a composer and music is his primary method of communication. The first half of the work might not have brought out any immediately catchy numbers as it accompanies the setting of the scene, but Mitchell can't resist the opportunity to throw in the odd swinging leg kicking routine to delight the audience (more like Fly Me to the Moonies here), but as Frank, Jean, Barbara, Chris, and Jackie each find a way to open up and confront their problems, there can be tremendous sensitivity and lyricism in the sentiments, in the phrasing, in the delicate playing and mood, the piano of musical director Bob Broad always catching those most affecting moments just before it hits you with a punchy revelation.
The musical element is clearly an integral to the communication of the story, pulling it all together and providing another level of engagement and entertainment, but Mitchell - co-writing with Matthew Hurt - is no slouch either when it comes to expressing his ideas with words. And directing too, since the characterisation and progression of the drama here are exemplary and the all-round singing/acting performances from Rosie Barry, Matthew Cavan, Adam Dougal, Darren Franklin, Colette Lennon, Carol Moore and Brigid Shine ensure that the viewer is totally engaged throughout. There's no Propaganda-like elaborate stage set for this one, but the above named cast, a stack of orange plastic chairs arranged in a semi-circle and a few scattered self-help leaflets are as much as one needs for the purpose of Group!. Having said that, even those elements are pushed to extremes and the lighting and the brilliant choreography routines directed by Paula O'Reilly - all provide the necessary theatrical magic.
And it's magic that works wonders. On its own you might see Group! as a piece of fun light music-theatre entertainment, but it manages nonetheless to confront some challenging aspects of the world we live in today. The reason you can say this with any authority is just by casting your eye over the body of work of Mitchell and the Belfast Ensemble, and see how it manages to be quietly subversive under the guise of popular entertainment. It's an eclectic body of work, the musical (like the earlier Propaganda) proving to be just as a valid and expressive a medium as the composer's work in opera, mass and symphony to communicate subjects that few will express openly. It's his form of group therapy and we are all part of the group; an extended 'Belfast Ensemble' if you like. If that’s not inviting chaos through communication, I don't know what is.
Clearly, part of the lesson in this mass group therapy session is that we should embrace our failings and see them as opportunities for growth, but Mitchell doesn't appear to have any worries on that score. Group! is a resounding success for the Belfast Ensemble, filled with the composer/writer's trademark humour, insight and his unapologetic urge to cause outrage and offence in following the course of his unique artistic expression. It's all in the cause of entertaining and finding a way reconcile all those diverse facets of dealing with our own personal issues in the midst of an increasingly insane world. That’s too much for one work alone, but as part of a diverse body of work, Group! is another wonderful addition to the catalogue. You'd need your head seen if you miss this.
External links: The Belfast Ensemble, Lyric Theatre
