Stage: Tale as old as time

He's Behind You! presents
Beauty and the Beast: A Horny Love Story
by Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper
director Andrew Beckett
with Matthew Baldwin, Matt Kennedy, Chris Lane, Keanu Adolphus Johnson, Laura Anna-Mead, Dani Mirels, Ben Mabberley, Owen Arkrow, Olivia-Grace Weaver
composer Jon Bradfield • choreographer Carole Todd
sets David Shields • costumes Robert Draper
sound Andrew Johnson • lighting Matt Hockley
Charing Cross Theatre, London • 21.Nov.25-11.Jan.26 ★★★★

While this lively pantomime definitely hasn't been made for the kiddies, its bouncy childishness is hugely engaging. The grown-up audience at Charing Cross Theatre may continually roar at the raucously smutty wordplay, but it's the comfy self-aware nuttiness that keeps a smile on our faces. It definitely helps to have such an eye-catching array of sets and costumes, and such an up-for-it cast as this one, led by indefatigable panto-dame legend Matthew Baldwin.

The story is set in the Scottish village of Lickmanochers, where young Bertie (Matt Kennedy) and his sister Bonnie (Laura Anna-Mead) are struggling with their queer identities, because there are so few potential partners here. Their "easily spread" mother Flora (Baldwin) runs the local shop and is also on the prowl, while the villainous Cornelius (Chris Lane) plots against everyone. His big secret is that his cursed beastly brother Charlie (Johnson) is locked up in the family's Traitors-esque castle, and soon both Flora and Bertie get stuck there as well. Flora gets on with the resident ghosts, cooking bouncy scones and a shenanigan-filled Christmas dinner, while Bertie and Charlie of course have a more romantic trajectory.

The plot is resolutely simplistic, but the snappy dialog gives the actors a lot to work with. There's a barrage of hilarious zingers, current political asides and lots of references to the Disney classic. Indeed, the fabulously irreverent pastiche songs include Be Our Slave, crooned by the castle ghosts. And the climactic scene on Cornelius' drilling platform resounds to the strains of Village People-style anthem On an Oil Rig. Romance is on the cards for everyone, as Flora falls for local Harris (Ben Mabberley) and Bonnie meets the tourist Juno (Dani Mirels) and settles down alarmingly quickly.

While Baldwin owns the stage with his razor-sharp timing, iconic costume changes and astonishingly snappy improv, the skilful surrounding cast hold their own. Kennedy is an endearing hero who is very easy to root for, creating terrific chemistry with Johnson's amusingly tetchy beast. Both are able to punch the comedy while also finding deeper resonance. Everyone has a lot of fun with the elaborate costumes, witty songs and riotous Highland Fling-inspired choreography. Most impressive is how the show manages to be both silly and sexy at the same time, with a happy ending that comes complete with an enticingly dubious moral.

For details, HE'S BEHIND YOU! >

photos by Steve Gregson • 4.Dec.25

Stage: Create the world you want

Buyer & Cellar
by Jonathan Tolins • dir Andrew Beckett
with Aaron Sidwell
Above the Stag Theatre, Vauxhall • 14.Oct–8.Nov.20

There's a lot of fun to be had at this one-man show, a fictionalised exploration of Barbra Streisand's outrageous lifestyle. It's witty and often surprisingly moving, even if the pace lags a bit over 90 minutes. And the show is also clearly aimed at Streisand's gay fans, who know about her movies but aren't quite as up to speed about her music or theatre careers. So you might be disappointed if you're expecting a deeper dive in to all things Barbra.

Alex (Sidwell) energetically bounds onto the stage to tell his elaborate story, which he notes from the top is totally made-up, to avoid any legal issues. An out-of-work actor in Los Angeles, Alex applies for a job in a surreal Malibu mansion and finds himself working on a Ye Olde English street notoriously constructed in Barbra Streisand's basement, a row of shops in which she keeps her huge collection of memorabilia. When Barbra descends for a browse in the doll collection, they roleplay as a shopper and clerk, which breaks the ice, developing into a friendship. But is this relationship any more real than the shops are?

Shifting between characters, Sidwell's performance is excellent, using his voice and physicality to create what feels like a whole cast of riotously colourful people, including Alex's cynical boyfriend, Barbra's husband James Brolin (depicted as nice but dim) and her sardonic house manager. Each is hilariously played, with snappy observations that add colour to Alex's rambling story. And Alex himself is likeable and optimistic, nicely shaded by Sidwell to add some intriguingly dark edges. The staging is simple, skilfully using lighting, sound, music and whizzy projections to shift the settings.

Sidwell delivers each anecdote superbly, even as the writing itself struggles to maintain its momentum. It helps that there are some big themes gurgling through the show, including a look at the general artifice of the lives of the rich and famous. You may be able to buy gorgeous things to fill your home, but that won't bring happiness or personal satisfaction. Even more interesting is the exploration of the impact of childhood on our adult selves, and the way each of us creates the world we want to live in using whatever resources we have. These ideas are beautifully textured in Sidwell's performance, which gives the show a haunting, must-see quality.

15.Oct.20

Stage: Three in a bed

The Morning After
by Peter Quilter
dir Andrew Beckett
with David Fenne, Chris Cahill, Colleen Daley, Matthew Lloyd Davies
Above the Stag, Vauxhall • 22.Jan-1.Mar.20

An old-style British bedroom farce, this light-hearted comedy is a surprisingly thin play for the ambitious team at Above the Stag. But even if there isn't much in the way of thematic interest or suggestive subtext, this is a well-produced show, with the usual far-above-average production values and a very lively cast. It's continually silly and sweet, although never actually sexy. And with a little more insight, the humour might have connected more forcefully.

It opens on that tired cliche: a young man wakes up naked in a strange bed and can't remember anything from the night before. Thomas (Fenne) is a lively, deeply repressed young guy who has no memory at all of Adam (Cahill), who has to fill in the details of where they met. Their chat is then interrupted by the arrival of Adam's hurricane-like mother Barbara (Daley), who brings breakfast and hops into bed with them. She's far too open about sexuality for the painfully shy Thomas, and Adam just rolls his eyes and smiles at the awkwardness. A week later, Thomas and Adam's relationship is developing quickly, and Thomas is getting used to Barbara's intrusiveness. Then Uncle Martin (Davies) turns up.

The show is a series of blackout scenes, each of which opens with a morning alarm. Amid a continual stream of wacky slapstick, there are occasional character revelations, such as Barbara blurting out details about her free-love youth, explaining her complete lack of inhibition. But the characters remain relatively cartoonish, likeable and entertaining without much grounding in real life. And the actors have a lot of fun with them. Fenne has the best role as the nervous, loose-limbed Thomas. It's easy to see why Cahill's smiley Adam would fall for him, and vice versa. Even if their romance progresses far too quickly. Davies is enjoyably bonkers as the hyperactive Martin, and Daley steals the show with a performance that's perfectly aimed far over the top.

Perhaps the most intriguing aspect to this show is the irrelevance of the sexuality. Quilter said he originally wrote the play about a gay couple, but changed it to a man and women to get it produced in 2012, and it became a big hit. By not making that the issue, the show can touch on issues of openness and honesty in relationships, family pressures and society's general fear of sex and sexuality. These things are all swirling around, even if the script never quite grapples with any of it. Instead, it's a bit of goofiness that might make you smile but, alas, will be hard to remember in the morning.

24.Jan.20

Fenne, Davies and Cahill

Stage: A naughty Christmas wish

Pinocchio: No Strings Attached!
by Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper
dir Andrew Beckett
with Matthew Baldwin, Jared Thompson, Dami Olukoya, Christopher Lane, Christy Bellis, Shane Barragan, Oli Dickson, Briony Rawle
Above the Stag, Vauxhall • 19.Nov.19-11.Jan.20

Olukoya and Thompson

The 11th holiday panto produced by Above the Stag is another impressive production, with witty staging, a lively script, terrific songs and a cast that's expert at milking every bit of innuendo for all it's worth. That said, the show sometimes feels like it plays it a bit safe, relying on reliable old gags instead of inventing something new. But the performers keep it fresh and often raucously entertaining. In fine tradition, the familiar storybook tale has been twisted into something hilariously queer for an adult audience that's not afraid of rather a lot of rude double entendre.

In the Italian fishing village of Placenta, puppet-maker Gepetta (Baldwin), her sidekick Cornetta (Bellis) and their cat Chianti (Rawle) are in hiding, fugitives from a crime spree in Rome. But evil fox Figaro (Lane) suspects something is up with them. One night, part-fairy Fatima (Olukoya) brings Gepetta's puppet Pinocchio (Thompson) to life, telling him not to lie. Bullied at school for being wooden, he's tempted by a funfair on the edge of town, and also by new footballer Joe (Dickson), bought for the local team by Figaro. When Pinocchio runs away with Joe, Gepetta and Cornetta set off to find him, helped by lonely fisherman Pedro (Barragan), who has a thing for Gepetta.

As events progress, the soap-style romantic storylines are enjoyably tangled, boosted by the gender-bent mayhem. Characters are openly lusting after each other, resisting and then falling for each other and swearing like, well, fishermen. When Pinocchio lies, it's not his nose that grows. The actors dive in with gusto, playfully delivering the smuttiest dialog while deploying references to politics, current events and of course the Disney animated classic (including a sharp Jiminy Cricket gag). And each character gets a chance to break out in song and dance, numbers that are snappy and often laugh-out-loud hilarious.

Lane as Figaro the fox

With spotless timing, Baldwin is playing his seventh Above the Stag pantomime dame. He's gifted at engaging with audience members and improvising jokes that are just as funny as the scripted ones. He also generates some surprising pathos even in some of the more ridiculous moments, creating vivid connections with Bellis' sparky Cornetta and Barragan's adorable Pedro. Dickson is also memorable as the puppet come to life, putting in a remarkably physical performance that emphasises his dance skills. Lane has a ball as the predatory Figaro, never shying away from his smirking, gleefully leery nastiness. And Rawle is a gifted scene-stealer, amusingly riffing on quirky cat behaviour even when lurking in the background.

Above the Stag's original musicals are of such high quality that they'd play well on a West End stage. They fill this small venue perfectly, with inventive production design that sets off the various scenes. Four main sets are vividly imagined, plus a nicely deployed landscape-painted curtain. The sound is, as usual, a bit tricky, with quite a few punchlines inaudible in the back rows (there are only eight). But the energy is unmissable, and there's never a dull moment as these engaging characters take on this big Christmas-themed adventure with plenty of wickedly grown-up sass.

For more info: www.abovethestag.org.uk