Two of the biggest blockbusters in musical theatre history are coming again to Ireland in 2020 and are set to be sell-out runs. Both will be staged at the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre in Dublin.

While Les Misérables would get my vote as the better of the two, by a short-head using horseracing parlance, it is The Phantom of the Opera that will have the longer run. It can be seen for almost five weeks, whereas Les Mis, as it is most popularly known, will be in the capital city for just short of three weeks.

The Phantom of the Opera is heading into its 35th year in London’s West End and this work by Andrew Lloyd Webber is as popular now as it has ever been. It shares with Les Misérables the distinction of being produced by Cameron Mackintosh, though in the case of Phantom it is in association with Lloyd Webber’s The Really Useful Group.

He played the role of Charlie Price in Kinky Boots on Broadway

Irish tenor Killian Donnelly, from Kilmessan in Co Meath, will play the lead role as the phantom in the Dublin production. The 35-year-old is currently enjoying a run as Jean Valjean in the international tour of Les Misérables. He played the role of Charlie Price in Kinky Boots on Broadway, a role he originated at the Adelphi Theatre in the West End in 2015 and for which he was nominated for an Olivier Award.

An almost permanent fixture in London’s West End, Donnelly’s other theatre credits include Huey in the original London cast of Memphis at the Shaftesbury Theatre for which he was also nominated for an Olivier Award, and Jackie in Frank McGuinness’s Donegal at Dublin’s Abbey Theatre.

It will be great homecoming for Donnelly to star in the Dublin show

He created the role of Deco in The Commitments at the Palace Theatre and has also played Tony in Billy Elliot at the Victoria Palace Theatre as well as Raoul in The Phantom of the Opera at Her Majesty’s Theatre.

It will be great homecoming for Donnelly to star in the Dublin show and doubtless the Irish audiences will give him a warm welcome. The Phantom of the Opera runs from 10 June to 18 July.

Allied to an incredibly rich storyline, this musical is based on a French historical novel of the same name by Victor Hugo

Having been seen to date by more than 120 million people in more than 50 countries and in more than 20 languages, Les Misérables contains some of the most iconic songs of all time. Who could fail to be moved by Bring Him Home, I Dreamed A Dream and One Day More, and they are just three of a host of well-known pieces.

Allied to an incredibly rich storyline, this musical is based on a French historical novel of the same name by Victor Hugo. First published in 1862, that volume is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. Beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, particularly the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption, and Javert, the police inspector who dedicates his life to hunting him down.

The scenery is inspired by Hugo’s paintings and this show has already wowed audiences on Broadway and as far afield as South America, Singapore and Dubai

This version of the musical is a new staging and won critical acclaim as being “Les Mis for the 21st century”. The scenery is inspired by Hugo’s paintings and this show has already wowed audiences on Broadway and as far afield as South America, Singapore and Dubai. It had a run in Dublin last year and was hugely successful, prompting its return.

The dates for Les Misérables are Tuesday 25 August to Saturday 12 September. Tickets for this, and The Phantom of the Opera, are available.