Toy Show musical risk was ‘too high’ in saturated Christmas market - PAC chairman

Brian Stanley, the chair of the Public Accounts Committee (PAC), has said the commercial risks involved in putting on Toy Show The Musical “appear to be too high”. The Sinn Féin TD told RTÉ Radio’s Morning Ireland that the PAC will be asking Director General Dee Forbes what market research was done in advance of the production.

There is a crowded marketplace when it comes to family entertainment at this time of year, he said. There was also a cost of living crisis so people might not have the same disposable income. “These are questions that need to be examined”.

Mr Stanley said there appeared to have been an expectation by RTÉ that the event would sell itself because of its association with the very popular annual Late Late Toy Show television programme.

[ Toy Show the Musical: We went to the opening night. The news isn’t good ]

“On the face of it, it appears that proper market research was not done. There were empty seats, shows being cancelled.”

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He said this was happening at a time when RTÉ's finances were not healthy. “We want to make sure that RTÉ is successful. The risks in this scenario appear to be too high.”

Due to illness, a number of shows were cancelled at the weekend, but Toy Show the Musical will go ahead on Tuesday with a sensory-friendly performance 12:30pm.

However, a reduced number of shows are planned for the coming week. A 12.30pm show on Wednesday December 21st and a 7.30pm show on Thursday December 22nd have both been cancelled.

RTÉ has said the show, which runs until December 31st in Dublin’s Convention Centre, was forced to cancel due to illness in the cast. “While there is a significant degree of resilience in the cast, where roles can be covered by understudies, given illness persists among a cast of predominantly children, it is necessary to make further adjustments to the schedule this week,” it said.

Those affected will be contacted by Ticketsolve regarding rescheduling or a refund. RTÉ has also said that anyone whose show was cancelled would get a 25 per cent discount on new tickets in the next fortnight.

The statement said the The Toy Show the Musical team was aware of “disappointment and upset” on social media at the recent cancellations.

“The team tried its very best to make the shows happen, but ran out of time and options and had to cancel. The adjustments we are making to the schedule this week are to minimise the risk of that happening again,” it said.

At the weekend Dee Forbes, the Director General of RTÉ, defended the musical following negative reviews and cancellations, saying “the audience reaction so far has been fantastic”. Ms Forbes said “families and children are really loving the show”, saying it was “always going to be a show led by children for children, in keeping with Toy Show itself”.

A review of the musical in The Irish Times concluded that “despite the talent evident on the stage and behind it, it is difficult not to feel cynical about the artistic intention of what is essentially a spectacular, self-congratulatory marketing ploy”.

Alan Hughes, a Virgin Media presenter who is producing his own pantomime in the National Stadium in Dublin, has also accused RTÉ of having a commercial advantage over its competitors.

In a statement published on the RTÉ website, Ms Forbes said “attempts by some to pit Toy Show the Musical against other productions is at odds with the broad support we have received from the theatre world”.