Tiger Lillies at the New Player Theatre

Tiger Lillies at the New Player Theatre

21 July, 2008
by: Jimmy

My internet date canceled at five in the evening. She had just realised the theatre was on Embankment and the terms of her restraining order forbade her to cross the river. 'Best not to risk it,' her text read, 'otherwise I get tagged again and that gives me well rough dermatitis'. It was too late to find a suitable replacement, so I invited my mum instead. It was around the moment that Tiger Lillies front man Martyn Jaques commenced banging away on the keyboard with a large black rubber dildo I really started to regret my impulsive generosity. Mum had started to whistle along with the tune.

On the whole I'd say Tiger Lillies burlesque cabaret is better suited to a club than the theatre. Though on the one hand the New Player's audience certainly had the chance to appreciate Tiger Lilllies outstanding musicianship – the instrumentalism and range of Jaques' singing are both formidably impressive – too little really happens on stage to justify bringing it here. Saying that I haven't seen the musical saw played live before and by the end of the evening I wanted to know why the hell not. (Why isn't there an entire Radiohead concept album dedicated to this unacknowledged prince of the idiophones?) And the ukulele work also made you purr.

Even so the formality of the environment seems to invite close analysis of the lyrics (this time a new set of songs based on the Seven Deadly Sins) and against the sober decor, these rather shrivel up: they’re just a little too crude, a little too obvious – 19th century vaudeville in four letter words. (The same goes for the Punch and 'Judge' puppet interludes, enjoyable but rarely laugh out loud funny, by the time Punch and Satan were squaring up I'd seen every puppet sex act going, and I'm afraid Team America pip them).

Nevertheless there's still much to admire and this is an evening worth a look if you're in the area. Maybe if I'd arrived plastered, and with someone other than my mother, I'd have been dancing in the aisles a bit more, and squirming in my seat a little bit less.

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Jimmy