Wednesday 18th December 2019 at Leeds Playhouse.
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This is one of those relentlessly fabulous shows which leaves you smiling and giggling away to yourself long after the house lights come up. In A Night at the Musicals, we’re treated to a delicious feast of theatricality which delivers genuinely fantastic voices, sassy sardonic stand up and comic physicality enough to have you howling.
Le Gateau Chocolat and Jonny Woo take to the stage following the full diva-licious Streisand overture, all vogue hands, Beyoncé strut and attitude with a capital A. With some witty back and forth they establish two things: cracking chemistry and a brilliant comic dynamic of two drama queens fighting it out for the spotlight – usually with Chocolat smugly winning thanks to a glorious excess of unapologetic ego and hair tossing. They’re affectionately and playfully irreverent towards their muse and provide a great balance of celebrating and poking fun at musical theatre.
They’re a very talented pairing across disciplines and Le Gateau Chocolat astonishes with a bass voice deep enough to compel Lucifer to open up the gates…just in time for one hell of a house party. Taking on Memory, Let it Go, I dreamed a Dream and The Phantom of the Opera in a combination of sincere vocals and hilarious mockery, there is absolutely nothing not to love about his inifinitely attitudinal performances. Then there’s the physical comedy. With boundless energy he makes the entire stage space his personal spotlight, flitting about the place with real relish and taking every opportunity to dance like we’re all faithfully watching every second.
Woo also offers some brilliant vocals and the pair give a lovely rendition of I Know Him So Well, but it’s actually in the comedic mimed sequences that Woo becomes the stand-out. You’ll never view Les Mis in the same way again. There’s such comedic expressiveness to Woo that it’s impossible not to lose yourself to a fit of giggles at the command of a perfectly timed facial expression. And if you’re a fan of Cabaret (who isn’t?), he’ll add a whole new world of hilarity to the piece for you – I can’t remember the last time I laughed so much.
This show is a real tonic; infectiously fun-loving and brilliantly uninhibited. If we weren’t smirking indulgently or grinning like fools we were cackling without a care in the world. Whatever your combination of fandoms is, be it drag, musicals, stand up or care-free ridiculousness, you’ll find yourself falling for this outrageously fabulous pair. Above all else, if you love a good laugh, get yourself along to see this!
A Night at the Musicals plays Leeds Playhouse until December 21st and you can find tickets here.
Always Time For Theatre 