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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 ...

Rubbing the wrong way: The Red Lion @Trafstudios


Patrick Marber commented that his play The Red Lion dramatises something about England. One part is about community and belonging, and the other part is about business. But it also could be about not being terribly good at the sport, either in playing it or managing it unless you're importing it. It's currently playing downstairs at Trafalgar Studios.

It's a locker room comedy-drama set in a semi-professional football club in the north. Kidd (Stephen Tompkinson) as manager has spotted Jordan's (Dean Bone) potential and puts him on as a reserve. But his real plan is to transfer him to another team. With a transfer, he and the club stands to gain financially.


Yates (John Bowler) was initially a great player for the team but now is reduced to preparing the team's kit. Over a rub down, he explains he wants to be a mentor to Jordan and understand the history and traditions of the club.

Alas neither Kidd nor Yates realise until its too late that their protege - despite his apparent unwillingness to bend any rules - is not who he seems to be.  Life (and injuries) get in the way.

It's fun watching the three men spar over football, traditions ambition and business. The performances are strong and there's a nice balance between humour and tragedy here as things don't go to plan despite all their best intentions.

The locker room drama The Red Lion works well in the downstairs space of Trafalgar Studios. As you walk in Yates is ironing the kit. It feels like you're in the locker room of some enduring club. In a way you are.

Directed by Max Roberts, The Red Lion is at Trafalgar Studios until 2 December

⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎⭐︎


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