The Cranberries Official Site conservatively states that Dolores O’Riordan is waiting to hear more from AC/DC’s Brian Johnson regarding is comedy-in- the-making, “Helen of Troy.” Since then, unofficial sources have hinted that Dolores is more than simply waiting — that she is indeed going to have a very active role in the play. Pun intended.

Here’s the breakdown of the latest on “Helen of Troy,” conveniently separated into what, as best as we can confirm, is fact and rumor.

The Rumor:
A reputable poster by the name of Goulash has posted an update on “Helen of Troy” on the alt.rock-n-roll.acdc newsgroup. He writes that a rehearsal of the play was put on in London (to where the show is being moved) last month for potential sponsors. As we wrote in an earlier story, “Helen of Troy” has already been postponed several times due to lack of sponsorship. He writes:

“The lowdown is that a rehearsal was held at the Prince Edward Theatre in London (England, not Ontario) on 3rd July. Malcolm MacDowell is still in the role of Zeus and the singer from The Cranberries has been roped in. The production isn’t gonna be one of those ballet or rock opera affairs, it’s a comedy and Brian has written 21 songs for it while the script has been penned by those geniuses who wrote Auf Wiedersehen Pet (Dick Clemens and Ian La Frenais). Looks like it could be hitting the stage in London at the end of this year / beginning of next.”

As you are likely already aware, Dolores has made several statements over the past year hinting at her desire to land an acting role. Has she found the role she’s been looking for?

The Fact:
In a column posted this week on Southwest Florida’s Herald Tribune website, the editor recounts a very recent happenstance conversation with Brian Johnson. Johnson confirmed that he had just returned from London rehearsals for the comedy. Johnson told the newspaper that there are indeed some unspecified changes going on with the script. “The show isn’t quite there yet — we need to tinker with the second act,” Johnson said. “But people were excited.” One such potential backer in the audience was Cameron Mackintosh, the producer of “Les Miserables,” “Phantom of the Opera” and “Miss Saigon.”

Zombieguide will stay on top of the latest “Helen of Troy” news… keep it here!

Special thanks to Glenn of the AC/DC website Crabsody in Blue for his help on this story.

Sources: alt.rock-n-roll.acdc, Herald Tribune