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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 ...

Christmas Fare: A Christmas Carol @ORLTheatre

A Christmas Carol at the Old Red Lion Theatre is an enjoyable and evocative version of the tale that uses resourceful staging, some fine singing and subtle performances to tell Dickens' tale.

The story of ghosts, greed and goodwill is now a regular Christmas theatrical tradition and works best mixed with carols and some festive cheer.


There is a timeless element to this production. While there are nods to the Victorian period and the piece is faithful to the original story, the ensemble dress in contemporary clothes and use modern props as if to prompt you to ponder about the inequalities that exist today. There may not be workhouses but there still are the working poor.

Alexander McMorran as Scrooge is moody but never over the top. His transformation after being visited by the ghosts of past, present and future also avoids over-sentimentality.

The ensemble play a variety of characters but also provide vocal effects and commentary that add to the atmosphere and inventiveness of the piece. I particularly liked the interjection when Scrooge curses where they apologise for the audience having to see that.

An enjoyable 80 minutes of Christmas fare along with being a little thought-provoking as well. It runs through to January.

Photo credit: Production photo by Anna Söderblom

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