Actor Peter M. Smith talked to Limerick Post’s Eric FitzGerald about a new theatrical production which re-imagines Phil Lynott as a literary figure alongside Irish greats.
A NEW theatre production celebrating the life and work of Philip Lynott is set to arrive in Limerick this summer. Moonlight: The Philip Lynott Enigma offers a moving and intimate portrayal of the Thin Lizzy frontman, reimagining him as a literary figure alongside Irish greats such as James Joyce, Brendan Behan, and Oscar Wilde.
It features actors playing roles of those historical figures and explores Lynott’s life and artistic worth.
The production includes music, with Limerickman Larry Hogan as the executive music producer, aiming to recreate Thin Lizzy’s original sound.
‘Moonlight’ focuses on Lynott’s early life and the formation of Thin Lizzy with a mix of tender and impact full moments.
Peter M. Smith plays the role of Lynott and he chatted with Limerick Post as he prepared for Moonlight’s opening night this week in Dublin.
Dublin-born actor Peter M. Smith began his career on the Irish theatre scene, starring as Tyrone Jackson in the national premiere of Fame. He later moved to London, working in musical theatre and TV, with roles on BBC, ITV, and Sky. Recently, he featured in Netflix’s No.1 series Who is Erin Carter? and has just wrapped on Guy Ritchie’s upcoming film ‘In the Grey’.
Moonlight: The Philip Lynott Enigma explores the early years of Philip Lynott, delving into the Dublin and London music scenes of the late ’60s and early ’70s.
This production captures the depth, complexity, and poetic brilliance of Lynott, highlighting his personal struggles, artistic genius, and lasting impact on music and culture.
A Theatre Production
There are plenty Thin Lizzy fans in Limerick as can be seen from any night that bands such as Thin As Lizzy play live to full houses in the city. That said, Moonlight is something very different from the re-creation of a Thin Lizzy Live & Dangerous show.
“Yes, for a start, it’s a full on theatre production”. says Smith.
“ It is a proposal for Phil Lynott to be lauded alongside the likes of James Joyce and Brendan Behan and Oscar Wilde for his writings, his musings and his songwriting ability.”
Though “Moonlight” is a standalone production, it is also the third in a trilogy of our works about great literary artists who emerged from Dublin onto the world stage. The other two are: “Vengeance” (2021) about the demise of Oscar Wilde and “Brendan – Son of Dublin” (2023) about the life and times of Brendan Behan.
“Those other pieces on Oscar Wilde and Brendan Behan were very much indeed honour pieces looking at the struggles of both Oscar and Brendan, but Moonlight proposes a “what if” scenario.
“If Philip had passed on to the other side and had met these luminaries, what would the conversation be in terms of reflecting upon his life as an artist, as a young man, and then looking at and finally assessing his worthiness to sit alongside such great names.”
“And as you can imagine Lynott comes out quite well, as an artist, because I don’t think Eric, anybody’s interested in looking at somebody’s personal life.
“We all have personal lives that the public, quite frankly, shouldn’t be privy to.
“But by the very nature of what we do, people find out.
“John (John Merrigan – show creator) was not interested (in that story), and that’s what drew me to the script. He’s simply not interested in that conversation.”
So with ‘Moonlight’ what we get is an appraisal of Phil Lynott’s creativity and life work.
Previously to this production, Peter has had conversations with filmmakers about playing the role of Phil Lynott such as Jim Sheridan and Neil Jordan.
“I have had conversations about playing Philip depicting various stages of his life. The scripts were always gritty.
“And as an actor I have to admit, obviously, they’re attractive because it gives you a chance to explore a darker side of your performance.
“However, what I found was, obviously, throughout the years, there were resistances towards making those films happen, simply because of the nature of the kind of visceral nature really, whereas ‘Moonlight’ being an honour piece, I remember reading it and becoming quite emotional when I read it because it’s the sort of thing that you would want written about yourself.”
“So, if you had passed on, you would want somebody to write and to really extol your more artistic and educated virtues.”
Moonlight touches upon the tender stuff, how Phil Lynott must have felt as a child when he first came to Dublin.
The Music
Musical Director for Moonlight is Limerick man Larry Hogan.
Executive Producer John Merrigan wanted to execute the music properly. There’s only one place to turn to, and Larry Hogan has been in and around this music all of his life.
Peter explains, “What we didn’t want to happen was to do our own versions of the music. They have to be recreated in order to justify the ticket price. You’re inviting people to suspend their disbelief for two hours. So you must deliver to them what they grew up listening to!”
“We are very much focused on what made Philip both great as a writer and what made Thin Lizzy great as a band.”
Peter happens to be in Larry Hogan’s studio as we are chatting this morning and Larry came on the phone to have a quick chat.
Limerick musician Larry Hogan is based in the capital where he established The Vault recording studio at Dublin Studio Hub.
Larry has been working with the likes of Eric Bell and is busy preparing the music for Moonlight’s opening night.
As well as being Musical Director, he will also be playing on stage on the night.
“I’ll be dipping in and out, playing acoustic guitars, playing a lot of electrics, and then at the end – the plan is to play out with Lizzy songs, a kind of mini gig to send everyone home dancing.”
Larry is particularly looking forward to bringing this show to his hometown of Limerick.
“Yeah it’s been a while. I’m looking forward to seeing you guys.”
‘Moonlight: The Philip Lynott Enigma’ will play at University Concert Hall on Tuesday, June 24.
