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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...

Theatre: Four Dogs And A Bone

Thursday evening was an opportunity to catch Rock 'n' Roll Theatre's production of Four Dogs And A Bone at the Phoenix Artists Club.

The play, by John Patrick Shanley (of Moonstruck and Doubt fame), focusses on the business of Hollywood, the backstabbing and shenanigans that go on to get a film made. It is a dark world where bond completion companies, sexual favours and lecherous producers rule.

This piece which runs a little over an hour focuses on two actresses appearing in the film. One is an established theatre actress, Collette (Laura Pradelska) who does not want to become a character actress. The other is Brenda (Amy Tez), an up and coming performer so desperate to be famous she chants daily for it... Each know that slight changes to the script could improve their career prospects remarkably. They enlist the support of the writer and the producer to help secure their aims, with sometimes comic and always engaging results.

The Phoenix Arts Centre, with its low ceilings, ageing theatre paraphernalia and unique artsy smell provides and excellent location for this little show about the seedier side of movie-making. There isn't anything particularly new Shanley's play is saying about the movie business, but with this cast the piece is funny and mildly disturbing. If you are into fringe theatre, it is a funny (and short) night out at the theatre that is hard to beat...


It runs through to 20 August. Get there early at the club and try the menu (which has things such as "cow in a bun" on offer). I couldn't help notice the menu includes a message from the chef: As a young boy, I helped run Grandma Cristi’s restaurant back in Brasov, Romania. So I thought I’d bring the tradition of good value, family warmth and home-cooked, tasty food here to London... Well we can be all glad for that...

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