Morning:
13°c
London faces a wave of bus and Tube strikes that could cause chaos for millions of passengers as unions walkout over pay and conditions
More...
An awesome and ridiculous film that leaves you thrilled beyond the point of your natural endurance
2012
Theatre
The show has suddenly become quite wonderful, and the galvanising factor is the terrific stage debut of Melanie C
Blood Brothers
Music
The British pop music industry may be eating itself but if Muse are the pick of what it can offer the world in 2010 then British music is in rude health indeed
Muse
I was smitten by both Gilberts enormous luxuriant moustache and the intelligence and nuance of this highly entertaining play
I totally recommend Babbo to anyone who is looking for really good and traditional Italian food
Always been a fan but never seen them live. I was ecstatic to be part of this epic event. WOW!
London,
Nick Curtis's rating
Reader rating
Dir: Neil LaBute.
Cast: Robert Webb, Ella Smith, Kris Marshall, Joanna Page
Description: A comedy surrounding a man and his plus-size girlfriend. Written by Neil LaBute and starring Kris Marshall and Robert Webb.
Trains: Tube: Charing Cross, Embankment 
Phone: 0870060 6632
Website: www.theambassadors.com/trafalgarstudios
On the plus side: Ella Smith and Robert Webb
This is something of a coup for the Trafalgar Studios, which, after a shaky start, has established itself as a hip and credible alternative to mid-size arts powerhouses like the Donmar and the Almeida. It’s not just the off-the-telly star cast (My Family’s Kris Marshall, Gavin and Stacey’s Joanna Page, Peep Show’s Robert Webb) — a new play written and directed by Neil LaBute is always an enticing project.
Those who came to LaBute through his darkly misanthropic plays The Mercy Seat and The Shape of Things, or his films In the Company of Men and Your Friends and Neighbours — all of which positively twitch with loathing for humanity — might be surprised to see his name attached to a comedy. But he is also the man who helmed the hilariously bittersweet Nurse Betty, and even the bleakest of his own works are scored through with caustic humour.
Although American reviewers found Fat Pig very funny, it turns out not to be all sweetness and light. It concerns the love affair between slender, good-looking Tom (Webb) and the smart, attractive but unmistakeably plus-sized Helen (Ella Smith), and the damage wrought upon it by Tom’s ex-girlfriend Jeannie (Page) — who takes his new relationship as a personal affront — and his body-fascist workmate Carter (Marshall), who is simply affronted by excess curves.
Wittily, but not always happily, the play explores the tyranny of standards of physical beauty, which was also the subject of The Shape of Things.
Since LaBute himself is not exactly as slender as a bluebell (the fact that he’s a big, beardy, happily married Mormon is often cited in ironic counterpoint to the gloominess of his work), it’s no surprise that he’s made the Juno-esque Helen sympathetic and, ahem, well-rounded.
But equally unsurprisingly, he gives the loathsome Carter the best lines. Anyone who fears that Kris Marshall, commonly cast as a nice guy, won’t be enough of a cold-hearted bastard here clearly never saw his convincing West End turn as Billie Piper’s abusive boyfriend in Treats last year.
Now previewing (0870 060 6632, www.theambassadors.com/ trafalgarstudios
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
[ 1 ] [ 2 ]
A quadrangle of tittle-tattle surrounding a sweet weighty girl. None are American, none are funny. A depressing waste of talented actors, theatre space, and our time.
- Ian Slater, haddenham, bucks
I found Fat Pig to be very disappointing, from the very first scene the phoney American accents grated especially coming from actors who we know so well. The story was weak and the 'jokes' were just not funny. I was expecting a side splitting laugh a minute play but found myself barely raising a titter.
All in all just not worth the effort
- Linda Adams, Shepton Mallet, UK
