Lloyd Evans Lloyd Evans

Porn and propaganda

Porn — The Musical<br /> Theatre 503, until 1 May Posh<br /> Royal Court, until 22 May

issue 24 April 2010

Porn — The Musical
Theatre 503, until 1 May

Posh
Royal Court, until 22 May

Here’s the rule. Provocative title equals lousy show. The playbill Porn — The Musical filled my heart with misgivings as I made the long trek south of the Thames to a venue at a Battersea boozer. The room above the pub was huge and empty, but the theatre wasn’t here but higher up, via a trapdoor, wedged in under the beery roof-eaves. A fug of lavender and sawdust hung over the creaking benches and the stage was the size of a card-table. As I took my seat, a furry insect expired in midair and landed in the retro hairstyle just ahead of me. A moth in a beehive.

Then the show began and everything perked up. The storyline is a parody of a parody, a boy-meets-girl fairy tale involving a penniless Maltese, Stefan, who falls for a porn queen in LA.

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