saints and sinners of the stage and screen
saints and sinners of the stage and screen
Booty and the Biatch
Lost Theatre
15th December 2014
★★★☆☆
Has a Christmas panto ever annoyed you by feeling like it was trying too hard to appeal to both kids and adults? No need to worry - Excess All Areas really really don't try that - they fully expect the audience of their new panto, Booty and the Biatch, to be adults only. The clue is in the vaguely crass name.
In case anyone isn't aware, the rules of panto state categorically that there is no fourth wall and, if anything, the audience are encouraged to take part and get involved with the show. Be prepared, therefore, for a seven-foot drag diva literally throwing herself at you, crawling around on top of you and singing Lady Marmalade (if you're lucky). Other traditional panto scenes also ensue: throwing chocolates, holding sing-songs (replete with actions), competitions between different parts of the auditorium and the obligatory "it's behind you!" While these are mainstays of the genre, and it wouldn't be proper panto without them, some did admittedly feel a bit childish - if the show isn't intended for children, surely there's a way of making these pieces more mature?
Still, if it does get too much, too sugary, with too many recollections of your 80s childhood gone horribly wrong, relax. The traditional predatory molestation has been banned and replaced by painfully blatant innuendo and tongue-in-(between)-cheek quips. There are genuine moments of the cast ad-libbing caustic one-liners at each other. Star performers Jamie Anderson (The Biatch) and Paul L Martin (Mrs Potts) have clearly spent time nurturing a wit which is is both scathing and blunt at the same time. This bonhomie comes at a price, though, as there's a fine line between banter and in-jokes, and sometimes it feels like they don't quite stay on the right side of the line.
The improvisation and "free style" script does leave itself open to certain rough patches in the cast's ability to remember all of the lines on cue, and there were a fair few moments when the dialogue flagged a little more than we would have liked. For the most part, though, Holly Aisbitt's Beauty/Booty dazzles. Her vocal skills are extremely impressive, especially when leading whole-cast choral numbers and her energy on stage drives a great deal of the plot (at times single-handedly). Occasionally Aisbitt directed members of the audience around the stage when the running gag of the lost cast member demanded a replacement be found. Unfortunately some of these jokes were mistimed, which was a shame.
Also glitzing it up are Becky Finlay Hall (Cogsworth) and Ashton Charge (Lumière), whose self-awareness and audience engagement lead to some fantastically on-point comedy, and effectively compère the show for us, while managing to keep the costume-based fun on an ever-changing carousel. Every panto also needs a baddie, and in this one it is the Gaston character of Nigel Garage (Matt Overfield) - wearing full UKIP-lederhosen - who provides some slightly confused anti-French, pro-German, anti-dogs, pro-UK, anti-Euro, pro-beer, anti-gay, pro-sex humour, and gets plenty of boo-hiss interaction, even if the joke is distinctly one-note.
Special mention should also be given to the somewhat indescribable role of Crazy Old Maurice played by Fancy Chance. She's an indomitable force of a burlesque clown sadly being left out of the Disney original, presumably because she wasn't allowed to leave the Battersea Barge where this theatre company have traditionally staged their pantos. Her range of singing, dancing and clowning were greatly appreciated.
On stage on keys throughout was the impressive Birgitta "Fred" Kenyon, musical director and in charge of some wonderful harmony work from the cast, as well as the excellent scoring of the strongly adapted pieces. We very much enjoyed the moments when she bullied the rest of the crew into action, in good-old panto style.
Ah, but the plot! I almost forgot! As performer-playwright Martin points out himself, Disney just stole bits from every fairytale going when it adapted Beauty and the Beast for its animated classic, but take that basic premise and replace most of the clothes with fishnet, and that's more or less it. Most of the songs from the film are present, parodied liberally to increase their innuendo rating, culminating, naturally, in Tale as old as Time, a moment Martin seems almost born to fulfil.
Overall, Booty and the Biatch makes for a fun night out, and we expect it will also improve with age, not that it will have much of a chance with this short run. However, if you're not planning on drinking, you might want to... and if you are planning on having a drink, don't let Jamie get hold of it.
Booty and the Biatch opened on 14th December and runs until 17th December 2014 at Lost Theatre.
Nearest tube station: Stockwell (Northern, Victoria)