REVIEW by Jill

The evening was an informal soiree around the piano, delightfully intimate theatre and perfect for this type of revue.

The 4 cast members, Desmond Barrit, Louise Gold, Alicia Davies and PQ all bounded on stage beautifully dressed in evening wear, including fly collar, bow tie and really really, shiney patent shoes! He does scrub up well as we say in London! The girls looked lovely although I think Alicia's dress was sprayed on…

The show was divided into sections - Overture, The Audience, The Actors, The Performance, The Critics (a very small section that one…), The Bard, Backstage and The Curtain Call.

They opened with Sondheim's Comedy Tonight before settling down on their stools to launch inot their monologues, poems, quotes and asides. It was hysterically funny. The audience was full with other actors, family and friends so there was quite a lot of audience involvement!

Highlights - Philip did a wonderful piece called American Student Actors. He did his relaxing exercises, his breathing exercises and at one point got down on the ground to do some press-ups! He even managed to do some spread-eagled! My he's fit and very supple for someone so tall. The impressed audience shouted for more so he got down again and did another set! I never thought I'd live to see the day…

He did a brilliantly over the top Australian view on The death of Romeo and Juliet, I've never heard it before and it's attributed to Anon so I guess we'll never know who wrote it!

Magically he sang Flaherty and Aherns I Was Here and brought the house down. All alone on the stage, it was superb and reminiscent of that magical week at the Donmar.

Notable non Philip moments were Desmond Barrit singing Don't Put Your Daughter on the Stage, Mrs Worthington. He has such brilliant comedic timing. Louise Gold sang the heart breaking Broadway Baby and had a terrific sketch called Giving Notes by Victoria Wood where she played a Director giving notes to her Company performing Hamlet!

I can honestly say it was one of the most entertaining evenings I've ever spent in a theatre.