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New Moon is nothing if not an international advertisement for the hungry virtues of virginity and young people can’t get enough of it
The Twilight Saga: New Moon
Theatre
A smart, prickly and rewarding view of sexual and emotional confusion
Cock
Restaurants
Kitchen W8 is a bargain for this area, if such sophistication is what you crave
Kitchen W8
Too long and drawn out but very entertaining with excellent special effects
This is a peculiar play and does not work for me. Some of it is very funny but there are real flaws
Alex has a strong powerful voice and was faultless, she is far better now than she was on the X-Factor
London,
Henry Hitchings's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Terry Johnson, Nigel Lilley (musical director), Lynne Page (choreographer).
Cast: John Barrowman, Simon Burke, Tracie Bennett
Description: A comic musical by Jerry Herman and Harvey Fierstein, based on Jean Poiret's play in which two middle-aged male lovers find their lives complicated by a moral crusader. Directed by Terry Johnson.
Times: Mon-Sat 7.30pm, mats Thu, Sat 2.30pm (extra mats Dec 22, 28, 30, 2.30pm, no eve perfs Dec 24, 31, no perf Dec 25), ends Jan 2
Price: £17.50-£58.50
Trains: Tube: Charing Cross 
Phone: 0870060 6631
Website: www.ambassadortickets.com/Playhouse-Theatre/Information
Great dame: Roger Allam is a cross between Edna Everage and Barbara Cartland
The appeal of La Cage aux Folles isn’t hard to fathom. This flamboyant farce manages the unusual feat of being both louche and touching. “It’s all about love,” says Albin, who in the guise of dramatically inept chanteuse Zaza has the crowds flocking to her lover Georges’s St Tropez nightclub. Of course, it’s not all about love — there are windmilling nipple tassles, grown men in vertiginous heels and some eye-watering dance moves — but Albin’s assessment has a kernel of truth: La Cage aux Folles promotes love in all its tones and hues.
The cosily pink ménage of Albin and Georges is threatened when the latter’s son, Jean-Michel, reveals that he is engaged to Anne, daughter of the Riviera’s most conservative politician. Jean-Michel has asked Anne’s parents to dinner: cue much hand-wringing as he and his father embark on the thorny business of clearing out Albin’s closet (pun intended) and concealing all evidence of the couple’s less than orthodox domestic arrangements.
It’s a set-up straight out of Feydeau, to which Roger Allam and Philip Quast, taking over the leads from Graham Norton and Steven Pacey, bring tremendous verve. Physically and sartorially, Allam’s Albin resembles a cross between those two legendary Dames, Edna Everage and Barbara Cartland, yet he endows the part with not just high preposterousness, but also an unexpected nobility.
Quast, returning to the role of Georges that he had in the original production at the Menier Chocolate Factory, is by turns regal, charming, masculine and vulnerable. The chemistry between them is superb.
Equally thrilling are the Cagelles, Albin’s support troupe. Yet there are a few passages that drag amid the camp extravagance. Jerry Herman’s songs, though performed with attack, are a little uneven, and sometimes the ensemble scenes, which mix Busby Berkeley glamour with gymnastic madness, feel too noisy.
Still, Harvey Fierstein’s book is packed with laughs, as well as cocking a pretty shrewd snook at homophobia, and director Terry Johnson laces the action with glitz and some moments of real pathos. Early on, Georges promises his nightclub audience “only champagne from now until the finale”. It’s a pledge amply fulfilled by this joyous, raunchy and affecting musical.
Until 9 January, 2010. Information: 020 7432 4220.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
I've seen this with Doug Hodge and Dennis Lawson and in the summer with Philip Quast and Roger Allam. The chemistry between the latter two was phenomenal and added hugely to the enjoyment (also saw an understudy with Roger Allam and it wasn't nearly as good) and the audience reactions on the different days showed that I wasn't the only one to pick up on this.
I must admit that I preferred Hodge's interpretation of Albin and I think he deserved all the accolades he received for it. I could kick myself for missing the combination of Hodge and Quast at the Chocolate Factory - the comparisons with the recent run would have been fascinating.
The Cagelles are fantastically accomplished and some of their dance moves will make your eyes water!
Great fun and most people went home humming or at least with smiles on their faces.
- S.W., Salisbury, Wilts
Absolutely wonderful. Douglas Hodge was superb and so is Roger Allam. Philip Quast is a brilliant singer. The Cagelles are amazing and terrifying! One slip of those heels and someone would never be the same again. It's a cabaret but also a touching love story. Definitely worth fibe stars!!!
- Jennifer Holman, Tring, Herts
