La Cage aux Folles
Menier Chocolate Factory
The British Ambassador’s Belly Dancer
Arcola
Angry Young Man
Trafalgar Studio
La Cage aux Folles is a musical based on a classic comedy by Jean Poiret. Terry Johnson’s new version is perfectly agreeable. Nice sets, charming actors and the audience loved it. So what’s wrong? Well, the threadbare storyline for a start: Georges has to persuade his gay partner Albin to absent himself from a dinner party because the guests will find their sexuality shocking. That’s it. Trouble is this dilemma feels at least three decades old and the characters — especially M. Renaud the homophobic conservative politician — seem as quaint and irrelevant as the unicorns and damsels sporting on a medieval tapestry. The sluggish script takes ages to trek to its surprise-free climax and the long march is elongated with high-kicking dance numbers by a ladyboy chorus-line and gay anthems like ‘I am what I am’.
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