MAN ABOUT TOWN

Subtitled ‘ A musical that proves beauty is only skin thick ’ this wonderfully grotesque romp takes place in the suburban beauty salon that time and taste forgot. Lorraine (Andrea Powell) rules over her fading empire with an iron fist, but when celebrity hairdresser Pam Panache (played at different times by all the cast) attempts to buy the business out from under her, it takes all Lorraine’s cunning, and the dim-witted assistance of her bogan sidekick Jade (Geraldine Hickey) and best friend Val (Scott Brennan) to try and stop the developers. Double entendres, bad puns, appalling rhymes and gleeful exposition litter this deliberately trashy production, which is as subtle as a John Waters film, and just as entertaining. Hickey in particular impresses with her perfect timing and deadpan performance. Subtle and original this show isn’t (the trope of the stupidly clever sidekick has been done to death), but if you’ve got a hankering for camp and over the top comedy, Lorraine’s Hair & F...

Ah, Eurovision , how I love thee. I'm a relatively recent convert to the over-the-top camp kitsch which is the annual Eurovision Song Contest (thanks to Ms Sam opening my eyes for me at a party a few years ago) but it's rapidly become something that I absolutely love. Russia's Dima Bilan From Finland: Teräsbetoni Andorra's Gisela Big hair. Inane lyrics. Wonderfully ghastly costumes. Drinking games. Eurovision is lurid, spectacular, and wonderful. Will you be watching?

I'll probably write a considered, analytical review of this show shortly, breaking down the various reasons I disliked it. For the time being, though, here's my non-analytical response: an emotive rant which let me get a few things off my chest... Now, I've been to a few openings in my time, but never have I seen more money, more people who've had work done, more theatre luvvies and art fags gathered together in the one place than at last night's gala opening of the stage musical incarnation of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert at the Regent Theatre. It was quite astounding. And that was just at the pre-show canapes and champagne soiree. The after-party was even more remarkable: in my borrowed suit, I felt like an observer or an outsider, like I was visiting an alien world of privilege and position rather than part of what was going on around me. Cerise and I left after about an hour and a half, retreating to more comfortable, less pretentious confines of the Fringe C...

Tonight is Eurovision night: a celebration of camp, kitsch, Euro-pop, power ballads, big hair, white suits, hilariously bad synchronised dancing and so much more. Please join me at The Spanish Club for three hours of fun, with your host Ms Sam Wareing, and the acerbic quips of Terry Wogan. The fun begins from 6:30pm, with Euro-songs from the past and a trivia quiz, with the actual Eurovision telecast from 7:30pm. Ukraine! Ukraine!