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Bit parts: Garry Starr Performs Everything @swkplay

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Garry Starr Performs Everything is a bare-bones (and bare buttocks) tribute to the theatre. Theatre may be in trouble, and audiences are down, but Garry Starr aims to save the theatre and bring back to the masses every style of theatre possible. As long as each style involves wearing a transparent white leotard or a skimpy thong. And tassels. It's part comedy, part physical comedy and part perv at Gary's physical prowess. The sentiment "if you've got it, flaunt it" applies here. So here we are with a show that has been around for some years and is having its first proper London run at the Southwark Playhouse (Borough) through Christmas. The premise is that Garry Starr (played by Damien Warren-Smith) has left the Royal Shakespeare Company over artistic differences. He is now on a mission to save the theatre from misrepresentation and worthy interpretations by doing things such as a two-minute Hamlet, recreating scenes from a Pinter play using unsuspecting audience

(Little) Theatre: Copacobana

Thursday night (rather than packing) I went to Putney to see the PLOS (that's Putney Light Opera Society) production of Copacabana. Well, I nearly didn't get in as it was sold out. Fortunately thanks to the rather efficient house manager seats were found. Upon getting inside it was immediately clear why the show was a sellout. With 36 people on stage (plus band but they were hidden) even if everyone only sold two tickets the theatre was bound to fill up.

As for the show Copacabana. Well the book is so bad that it takes on charm of its own. Based rather loosely on Barry Manilow's song (and co-written by him), the show is padded out with melodrama, bad gags and at least two reprises of the song Sweet Heaven so it was stuck in my head. The actors didn't take all this too seriously and neither did the audience. At one point we all hissed the villain. It seemed so right... The leads were great although at times it was Piccadilly Circus on stage there...

Anyway, the Putney Arts Centre turned out to be a pretty good place to spend an evening... And the wine is cheap there too...

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