HAVING conquered Broadway and London, Riverdance came to Cannes at the weekend - not the full show but Jean Butler and four of the Riverdancers. The occasion was the party in a villa, 10 minutes drive from Cannes, after the world premiere of The Brylcreem Boys, which deals with German and Allied prisoners of war in the Curragh internment camp in 1941.
The film marks the cinema debut of Jean Butler, who was chosen, according to its director, Terence Ryan, because "she has an extreme beauty and grace - when we saw her on screen, we knew she also had the depth we were looking for." The Riverdance star did not dance at the party - and she was not supposed to dance in the movie until it came to a scene in which she was due to sing and costar Gabriel Byrne suggested she do a jig instead.
After Michael D. Higgins successfully enticed the Scottish-set Braveheart to Ireland two years ago, Ireland gets a taste of that Scottish medicine with The Brylcreem Boys which, although set entirely in Ireland, was shot completely on the Isle of Man, where a tax incentive scheme for film-making has been introduced.