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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...

On the radio: Radio Times The Musical


The Radio Times The Musical is in Richmond this week and it is a funny and entertaining enough show. It is set during the Blitz in London as a BBC light entertainment show prepare to undertake a special broadcast that will be heard in America. It is an opportunity to breathe life back into composer Noel Gay's music, who also wrote the songs for the show Me and My Girl. With Gay's songs, a story evolves full of bad jokes, gags and silliness as the star of the show Sammy Shaw, tries to hang on to his leading lady, a new producer fights with the writers for a show that isn't full of smutty innuendo and the need for a show to go out that will lift morale.

This production originated at the Watermill Theatre and follows their usual style where the performers act, dance and play the music. In a show with such brassy and lively numbers it looks great as the cast integrate dancing, music-making and performing so effortlessly. The effect gives things a real buzz. Gary Wilmot in the lead as Sammy manages to get away with the hoariest of jokes and still get laughs from the audience... It could be also that Richmond Theatre audiences are easy, but he gets away with it anyway. Sara Crowe, who replaces Anna Jayne Casey who played the leading lady earlier in the run productions did not appear to be as at ease in her role as the girlfriend waiting to get married. The role does primarily involve being serious while silliness abounds, but it is a key role and balance between the comedy and drama felt alternatively jarring or dragging at times.

There are enough songs and enough material to potentially fill two shows here but the production is slick and it looks great too. It is a musical that is going to give you two hours of laughs and you may even feel compelled to treat it as a singalong if you know the music... Of course the songs were written before the Second World War so that may give away your age... It runs until the end of this week and the remaining tour dates are on the website.

The views of the ageing (and Johnyfoxlondon) follow on the Audioboo...

listen to ‘Radio Boo Boo: Radio Times’ on Audioboo

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