Review – A Thousand Stars Explode in the Sky, Lyric Hammersmith

Take three highly regarded playwrights. One play. A live poodle (subject to availability, it’s different dogs on different nights), a penny-farthing, scones and cream noshing and on-stage washing that goes way beyond the hair. Even Phil wasn’t around to see Mary Martin wash that man right out of her hair and he happily marked up yet another first: Naked Man Is Flannelled Down In Tin Bath By His Mother.

Review – Punk Rock, Lyric Hammersmith

Harmony.

All’s right with the world again.

After disagreements over their last two sorties, Talent and Ben Hur Live, the Whinger’s schism has – for the moment – healed. Amelioration was achieved by a theatrical band-aid applied last night at the Lyric Hammersmith: the far from harmonious Punk Rock.

Who said school days are the happiest of your life? Presumably not playwright Simon Stephens. Yes, that’s him, the same writer who had the Whingers in such complete unison with his last effort Harper Regan that they left at the interval in synchronised steps.

But there was to be no scurrying off during the interval of Punk Rock. With the attention-challenged in mind Mr Stephens cunningly has his latest effort whistled through in a very Whinger-friendly 1 hour 50 minutes with no break.

A good start, but it wasn’t the only thing to have the Whingers nodding in approval.