Anglo puppets get first public outing

The show will go on for Anglo: The Musical next week despite warning letters both from the Director of Public Prosecutions and solicitors for former chairman and chief executive Séan FitzPatrick.

Mr FitzPatrick’s puppet has had to be written out of the show because of fears it might prejudice the forthcoming trial of himself and two other directors of Anglo Irish Bank.

The show’s writer Paul Howard said the FitzPatrick puppet was only a minor part of the overall story and the rewrite only took him a couple of hours.

“We are all good citizens. We don’t want to be the reason why Seán FitzPatrick and the other two directors don’t face a jury some day,” said Howard.

Producer Donal Shields said the letters did not deter them from carrying on the show.

"Everyone did what they had to do because it was the right thing to do. We can't be seen to prejudice the trial," he said.

"The show is not about one character and it never was from day one. It is the story of the Celtic Tiger."

The original production was supposed to include the former chief executive David Drumm but he took has been left out and there is no mention either for jailed businessman Seán Quinn.

Real-life characters - including Bertie Ahern, Brian Cowen, Enda Kenny, Angela Merkel and David McWilliams - do make an appearance. The Brian Cowen character is dishevelled and unintelligible when he opens his mouth.

All made a media appearance today in advance of the opening of the musical at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre next Wednesday for two weeks.

The story focuses on a couple named Diarmuid and Aisling living on an island off the west coast called Inisduill. The Dublin commuter belt has now stretched into the Atlantic Ocean and Anglo Irish Bank has set up a branch on the island.

The couple are persuaded to borrow €890 million with predictable consequences.

Two of the numbers include Put Another Nought on the End, He’s a Friend and the finalé We Are Where We Are and Where We Are Is F***ed.

Another title called Property Porn name checks all those phrases from the Celtic Tiger such as bijou and sunny south-facing garden which have become terms of derision.