When an Irish busker and a young Czech mother meet through a shared love of music, their songwriting sparks a deep connection and a tender, longing romance that neither of them could have expected.
Based on the much-loved Oscar-winning film, Once is an extraordinary, original and irresistibly joyous celebration of love, friendship and music. With music and lyrics by Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, it has a book written by Enda Walsh.
Once won eight Tony Awards when it opened on Broadway in 2012, including Best Book and Best Musical. It opened in Dublin in February 2013 before transferring to the West End.
‘Miraculously retains the intimate feeling and freshness of fringe… it’s funny, it’s truthful, it sings. If London audiences don’t love it to bits I disown them’
— The Times
‘Wins you over with its simplicity, charm and air of melancholy’
— Guardian
‘There is genuine warmth and inclusiveness to this show… best of all is Enda Walsh’s script, which has great, puckish fun applying a bit of Brechtian silliness to the romcom formula’
— Time Out
‘Quiet, wistful, tender… it has a delicate soulfulness and a truthful charm’
— Evening Standard
‘Charmingly funny and affecting… demonstrates the power of music both to express deep psychic hurt and to perform a cure of sorts’
— Independent
‘Walsh captures the fragile charm of the original movie in a book bursting with unexpected humour… offers a glimmer of sophistication to audiences tired of back-catalogue musicals and asinine plots’
— The Stage
‘The musical has a masterful, even revelatory, book by the Irish playwright Enda Walsh… it is no traditional screen-to-stage adaptation. Rather, it’s a textbook example of how to do it right.’
— Chicago Tribune
Best Book of a Musical, Tony Awards
Best Musical, Tony Awards
