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Somewhere that's green: Potty the Plant at Wiltons Music Hall

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"I'm Potty the Plant," sings a potted plant in this odd little fringe concept of a show. It's hard not to get the tune out of your head, even if the show is brief. It's an earworm for a show that features a worm-like plant as a puppet. And given the show's brevity, running at only an hour, it's hard to get too annoyed by a lack of a coherent story, even if it still seems like the show could use a bit more development (which is underway). It has made its London debut at Wilton's Music Hall. The premise is that Potty, the plant, lives in the hospital office of Dr Acula (geddit?) and dreams of a life with the cleaning lady Miss Lacey (Lucy Appleton). But Dr Acula might be responsible for why all these children are disappearing while trying to romance Miss Lacey for her family's money that she doesn't have. Three nurses are on the case, trying to solve the mystery.  If the show settled on a convincing plot, location and set of characters, it could ...

Jesus, It’s Christmas: An Act of God @thevaultsuk

God is back, and she wants to correct the record in 90 minutes on a stage under Waterloo Station. If that seems like a fair enough premise for you, then An Act of God is currently playing through to the new year at The Vaults. It’s such a mild satirical piece that you’ll be smirking out loud rather than laughing out loud. However, as an alternative Christmas experience with a terrific bar and an enthusiastic cast, it’s mostly harmless.

God has come to London to correct the record on a range of misinterpretations of her Ten Commandments. The Palladium was unavailable, but the damp space of The Vaults was free. This time around the tablets are different (an IPad of course) and so are the messages about leaving God out of the war, travelling or sex. New material has been added to keep it topical. But the comic timing seems off and attempts to introduce theological debate into the proceedings fall flat.


This makes the reissuing of the 10 commandments feel a bit of a chore. Or like listening to a sermon. I was counting them down, hoping that God was going to skip a few. But alas, this was not to be.

Appearing as God, Zoe Lyons in her fluffy slippers and sly looks seems the part. She’s aided and abetted by Matt Tedford as the Archangel Michael and Tom Brown as the Archangel Gabriel. Brown appears in sinfully transparent white Lycra which no doubt provides additional titillation to audience members in the front row.

The play began as a series of tweets by writer David Javerbaum before assuming it’s current form. It became a hit in New York performed by Jim Parsons and Sean Hayes. Here in London, it feels light but not necessarily heavenly.

Nevertheless, it certainly can claim to be an alternative Christmas message for those who can’t face yet another retelling of Dickens’ A Christmas Carol or a panto.

Directed by Beijing Sperring, An Act of God is at The Vaults until 12 January.

⭐️⭐️⭐️



Photos by Geraint Lewis

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