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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...

Dignitas and theatre: An Instinct For Kindness


The process of dying in a Swiss assisted suicide clinic is detailed, efficient and bureaucratic as told in An Instinct For Kindness, currently showing at the Trafalgar Studios. Chris Larner's monologue based on his real-life observations and experiences in dealing with his former wife illness and eventual death is a sad tale but also has enough observations and surprises to keep you engaged.

At 70 minutes long it is not a long journey. And Larner's ability to keep things funny and give a fresh take on pain, processes and the emotion of it makes for an enjoyable and contemplative night out at the theatre. This production was first at the Edinburgh Fringe and so it is good to see that it is now touring. It runs at Trafalgar Studios until the end of April.

There are post show discussions as well if you like that sort of thing. @Johnnyfoxlondon and I decided to pass on the Rabbi who was speaking after the show on the night we went in favour of a boo...
listen to ‘Assisted boo: An Instinct For Kindness’ on Audioboo

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Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

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