Jake Carter will have the Kinsale audiences dancing in the aisles

HEART-throb Jake Carter is West Cork bound and will take to the stage in a musical rock opera later this month.

The winner of RTE’s Dancing with the Stars is appearing in a show which has been two years in production, The White Lady of Kinsale.

Acclaimed film director and writer Maurice O’Callaghan is the talent behind this musical which will be performed in Kinsale Community School over two weekends, from Thursday 20th – 29th February.

Maurice, originally from Newcestown, splits his time between Dublin and New York and has a holiday home near Jeremy Irons in Kilcoe.

He describes this show as a large stage extravaganza, combining elements of ‘70’s Pink Floyd style rock, classical opera and Riverdance style choreography.

It tells the story of the tragic romance between doomed lovers: Eoghan O’Neill (played by Jake), the sole survivor of the great Irish clan of the O’Neills, and Wilful Warrender (played by Cork’s Aislinn Hegarty) the daughter of the commander of the new English garrison, constructed after the battle, which saw the demise of the Gaelic nation and the emergence of the English domination of Ireland.

Maurice, the director and producer of 1994 film Broken Harvest, as well as the writer of critically acclaimed books such as A Day for The Fire, and A Man Who Was Somebody said: ‘The White Lady of Kinsale is somewhat of a passion project of mine, and although I have directed feature films, and written substantial novels, this is my first foray into stage production. I wrote a lot of the songs as a young man in my early twenties, when I was studying law at UCC, so it has been in the pipeline for some time to bring the production to stage.

‘I am thrilled to have such great young talent involved, and I know that Jake and Aislinn will do a stellar job in playing the lead roles. It is particularly special to be producing the show for the first time in Kinsale, very close to my hometown of Newcestown, and where the story was borne from.’

Jake added: ‘I’m  so excited to start working on The White Lady of Kinsale in the coming weeks. The whole cast is really talented, there was an instant connection between everyone at initial rehearsals, so I’m certain it’s going to be an amazing experience both on and off stage. I have worked on stage in a number of different capacities before, but this is the first ever musical/rock opera that I am starring in so I am super excited to get started and get this show on the road.’

Jake is famously dating professional dancer Karen Byrne, whom he met during Dancing with the Stars. Karen was this year paired with Olympic gold boxing champion Michael Carruth, but he was voted off the show two weeks ago.

There are plans to take the show to the Opera House and perhaps Dublin venues in the future.

The show dates are February 20th, 21st, 22nd, 27th, 28th and 29th at Kinsale Community School. Doors open at 7:30pm, adn the show starts at 8pm sharp. Tickets (€25)  can be bought through GR8 events or at the door on the night.

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