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A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
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London,
Bruce Dessau's rating
Reader rating
Description: A fast-paced comic cabaret show which lovingly sends-up big Broadway and West End musicals, popular and classic films and reality TV programmes. Presented by Blag Theatre Company.
Trains: Tube: Covent Garden 
Phone: 0845017 5584
Website: www.artstheatrewestend.com
Extra info: Pub
West End musicals are certainly ripe for parody. In fact a number of recent shows from The Producers to Jerry Springer: The Opera have felt like big-budget send-ups of the form. So do we really need this shoestring fish-in-a-barrel fun-poking revue?
Well, actually yes. Entertainment ... My Arts! might land soft punches on obvious targets, but at 30 minutes and a fiver a pop it is hardly fleecing fans in terms of time or wallet. And it gets a star for its innovative pay-as-you-go ticketing. Anyone enjoying the evening's first set can see the next two for £2 each.
That is where the inventiveness ends. Three performances, despite being distinct, may be too much, as the savagings are decidedly tame. TV and films get gummed to death after the opening rapid-fire musical observations that virtually write themselves.
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang is a "clapped-out, knackered write-off", Sondheim is rather wordy and Julian Clary in Cabaret is a bit camp.
Yet each mildly witty ditty is delivered with gusto by a seasoned quintet, who have clearly paid their show-tune dues. John Holland drags up to belt out a restrained assault on Michael Ball, Richard and Lynn Beaumont go all jazz hands to put the knife into B list celebs parachuted into the Chicago cast to spice up their flagging profiles.
Less effective is Jean Warner's Sheila Ferguson impression for superflop Behind The Iron Mask, though the read-out critical pannings are hilarious.
And Lucy Gwynne-Evans's self-referential Irritating Song is too close to Spamalot's The Song That Goes Like This for comfort.
As I wrote, musicals already do a fine job of sending themselves up, but not as cheaply or quickly as this.
• Tuesdays (0844 847 1608, www.artstheatrelondon.com).
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
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