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The brown word: Death on the Throne @gatehouselondon

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We’re warned at the start of the show with an upbeat number that this is not the usual sort of musical. And it turns out to be just that. But with boundless enthusiasm and energy from its two leads, who deploy a range of voices and breathtaking energy to create a series of voices for puppet characters, a bedtime story becomes a silly oddball tale about four souls stuck in purgatory. With puppets. And various toilet humour references. It’s currently playing at Upstairs At The Gatehouse . The piece starts as a bedtime story. Daddy (Mark Underwood) is about to read a bedtime story for Louise (Sarah Louise Hughes). But her stomach felt funny, and soon, she went to the bathroom. Then, for reasons that seem to only make sense in the confines of the show, they start telling the story of four people who died in unfortunate circumstances in the bathroom. Depicted as puppets, they’re stuck in purgatory as St Peter doesn’t have enough space for each of them in the afterlife. And so begins a puppe...
Music: André Previn and the LSO

Tuesday night caught André Previn and the LSO performing Mozart's Piano Concerto No 24 in C Minor and Shostakovich's Symphony No 10 in E Minor. Previn's 75 this year (or he may be 76 but little facts like that get in the way of pressing schedules) and as a tribute to their former music director, the LSO have been holding a series of concerts to mark the occasion.

It was an amazing performance. Previn played the piano for the concerto as well. The Mozart was probably a little too light after a busy day in the office, but there was no chance the Shostakovich would send you to sleep. At times it was like it would wake the dead.

Whatever his age may be, he has been a prominent figure for so many years it is easy to remember most of the photos around of him are often a decade (or two or three) old. But today, on Tuesday night, he was quite an old man. He shuffled on stage with his head arched low. He changed glasses for conducting and playing the piano. At one point it looked as if like he wasn't so stable on his feet. But through all this you could also see that he was having a tremendous time. Just before starting the Shostakovich he looked up over the orchestra and smiled at them all before giving the upbeat. It looked like it was all fun for both conductor and the orchestra.

As a "bonus" for the Tuesday evening, the LSO also presented a new short work as part of its Sound Adventures programme. It was a piece of a lot of noise and was interesting the sounds a big symphony orchestra could make. It was also written by a very talented new British composer. But it did sit a little oddly next to the Mozart. Nevertheless judging by the reviews most of the punters thought this way of introducing new music to the public was a smashing idea. Well sort of anyway... Well giving the punters new music was never going to be easy...

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