Review – Betty Blue Eyes, Novello Theatre

You may wonder, should you luxuriate in having too much time on your hands and nothing better to do with it, what the Whingers have in common.

Andrew tries manfully to do his bit to save the planet. Phil finds it a bit of a chore but does find the recycling bin a useful over-flow receptacle for his umpteen empty wine bottles.

Andrew is vegetarian. Phil regards a bacon sandwich as the perfect hangover cure believing Andrew would cope better if he just got some meat inside him.

There you are, very little congruity between the Whingers really. Andrew would of course be on the side of the pig, Betty Blue Eyes, while Phil would be imagining the smell of bacon sizzling over his ring.

Review – Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Novello Theatre

Those who know the Whingers will be aware that Phil is very conventional, abhors change and is rather partial to tradition. Even the more easy-going, liberal and forward-looking Andrew has habits, some of which are rather disagreeable.

So trying something new and indulging in a little experimentation is for them somewhat outré.

The Whingers attended the final preview of Tennessee Williams‘ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at the Novello Theatre last night and the novelty was not that it was an all-black cast, but that they had already seen it a week earlier at the dress rehearsal.

And the test was not whether they could keep their mouths shut (which apart from a teensy Twitter they surprised themselves and did) but whether this would prove once and for all that reviewing early previews (for which they are oft criticised ) is unfair. Does a lot happen between early previews and opening night? Were they putting themselves on the line and undermining their modus operandi?