In 2008, as part of the Bealtaine festival, an unusual show appeared in the line-up. Silver Stars was dubbed a song-cycle, rather than a musical, in that it didn’t have linear narrative, but rather featured songs that told individual stories. Based on interviews conducted by singer/songwriter Seán Millar with older gay Irishmen, they were songs about the search for happiness and fulfillment in a country that was challenged by their very existence. The show was an instant hit, although Millar didn’t know it at the time.
“I remember after that very first performance people sat in their seats for 25 minutes,” he says. “There had been light applause and we thought they hated it, but then they started coming over to us and they were crying.”