Brian Warfield has said his new musical set in Famine times is a “spectacular show” with an “unbelievable cast”. 

Celtic Exodus debuts on January 22nd at the Complex theatre in Dublin and tells the story of two young lovers fighting to be together in the most perilous of times. 

On The Pat Kenny Show, the Wolfe Tones musician said he first came up with the storyline for the musical in “about ‘94”. 

“I was writing a CD-ROM about the Famine and about what we had before and what he had after,” Mr Warfield said. 

“I was writing music to accompany that CD-ROM and someone said, ‘That’s great music, why don’t you put it into a show?’” 

"The story of the Irish 'famine' has never been told in a proper way" - Brian Warfield on his play Celtic Exodus here at The Complex, Jan 22-25, 2025. Tickets are selling out fast: https://t.co/AhzFUqDTSG#TheWolfeTones #IrishFamine pic.twitter.com/KCpn57b0XO

— The Complex Dublin (@ComplexDublin) January 8, 2025

Theatre goers are promised love songs, rousing ballads and a heartbreaking insight into the tragedy of the Great Famine. 

“It’s a fight for love against an arranged marriage and a love marriage,” Mr Warfield said. 

“Of course, the young lady involved wants a love marriage. 

“Whereas, the father wants security and an arranged marriage with lots of gold.” 

Brian Warfield from 'The Wolfe Tones' performs in Belfast. Picture by: Stephen Barnes/Music / Alamy Stock Photo

Most of the musical is set in Ireland but eventually the two young lovers make the heartbreaking decision to leave for the New World. 

“When the potato blight occurs at the end of the first half, when that occurs it’s the fight for survival,” Mr Warfield said. 

“It’s a fight against eviction, against getting out of the country and the struggle to survive in that awful, awful period.

“That’s the second part and that’s exciting.” 

'It ticked all those boxes'

Actress Clelia Murphy, who plays the mother of one of the young lovers, described musical theatre as a “very special thing” and said Celtic Exodus ticks all the boxes that make a show great. 

“It has to have a great script - check,” she said. 

“It has to have really interesting characters - check, check - and then it has to have that musical ability to support it. 

“At the end, not to give away anything, it has the audience in the seats wanting to sing along with those kids as they climb the mountain. 

“For me as an actor, when I approached the script, it ticked all those boxes.”

 Celtic Exodus runs from January 22nd until January 25th and ticket prices start at €22.

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Main image: Brian Warfield. Picture by: CTK / Alamy