Bonnie & Clyde the musical comes to Dublin: ‘He ruined her ideas of fame and fortune but she stood by him’

With the hit stage musical coming to the Bord Gáis Energy Theatre, stars Katie Tonkinson and Alex James-Hatton talk about finding empathy for the fabled characters who died in a bloody shootout 90 years ago this month

Katie Tonkinson and Alex James-Hatton in Bonnie & Clyde. Photo: Richard Davenport

Katy Hayes

Bad people make good stories. This was never more true than in the tale of Bonnie and Clyde, the Depression-era gangsters who shot their way around the central states of the US on a robbing and killing spree that left at least 13 dead, including nine police officers.

It coincided with the early days of the tabloid press, and journalists breathlessly reported their actions. Newly impoverished Americans were inclined to side with the underdog, until the bodies mounted up and people eventually became disgusted. The pair were killed in a bloody shootout 90 years ago next Thursday. They should probably have lain fairly quiet in their graves, except, in 1967, Warren Beatty produced a hugely provocative film, starring himself and Faye Dunaway and directed by Arthur Penn.