From the moment the chorus of enviably slender and attractive drag queens began playfully throwing inflatable balls into the audience during the opening sequence of La Cage Aux Folles, I knew I was in for a fun night. Proud, poised and perfectly choreographed, the pampered troupe set the tone with their explosive performance of We Are What We Are, with fabulous costume changes, glamorous introductions and the sort of legs that would have Gisele Bundchen turning green with envy!
Based on the 1973 French play by Jean Poiret and the subsequent popular screen version, La Cage Aux Folles focuses on a gay couple, Georges, the manager of a Saint-Tropez nightclub featuring drag entertainment, and Albin, his star attraction, Zaza, and the adventures that ensue when George's son Jean-Michel brings home his fiancée's ultra-conservative parents to meet them.
Revived many times and in many countries, this particular Menier Chocolate Factory production transferred to the West End last year. Since then, the roles of Albin and Georges have been re-cast every three months to keep the actors fresh, with the most recent line-up seeing Roger Allam step into Graham Norton’s sequined stilettos and fellow Olivier Award winner Philip Quast reprising his role as Georges.
Playing camp as if he were born to wear a bright pink wig, Allam has the audience eating out of his hand as his diva strops make way for genuine hurt when he discovers Jean-Michel wants him and his flamboyant lifestyle out of the way for the big family introductions. With such a large-than-life character to share the limelight with, Quast could easily become just another chorus girl in Zaza’s show, but his voice and presence lifted him to the forefront and his gentle serenading of Albin with the beautiful melody Song on the Sand was enchanting. Unlike the somewhat over-sold, forced chemistry between Jean-Michel and his fluffy fiancée Anne, Quast and Allam flirt, bicker and cavort with laugh-out-loud believability, and their clear devotion to one another sends you groping for the hand of your nearest loved one.
Away from this tender strand, Allam’s attempt to ‘man up’ is worth the ticket price on its own, while gaudy restaurateur Jacqueline (think Cruella De Ville on prozac) and Zaza’s cheeky butler Jacob, could easily demand their own spin-off show.
A veritable feast of colour, drama, sparkle and pazzaz, I may have arrived with thoughts of back-street drag queens and sordid innuendo but I left heading to the stage door for autographs.
La Cage Aux Folles runs at the Playhouse Theatre, Monday-Saturday, 7.30pm and Thursday and Saturday matinees, 2.30pm. Tickets: 0870 060 6631, 0844 847 1545 or www.lacagelondon.com, (£17.50-£56.50)
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