Frank's Closet

Frank is getting married to Alan, clearing out his closet as he talks us through his life thus far: from being the only gay in the village to a London boy about town; coming out; meeting Alan; and philandering with Tarquin (he was just sucking out a splinter from his thigh, honest). The closet calls forth a series of divas, played by the astonishing Carl Mullaney in one of the most remarkable series of turns you'll see anywhere. He morphs from an old music hall dowager belting out the cracking number 'I Love the Boys of London Town', to kinky nun Julie Andrews to Ethel Merman covered in downy swan feathers. His show-stopper is a Judy Garland who hits you in the heart while surfing a range from baritone to castrato and making Rufus Wainwright sound flatter than he already does. You may double-take when you see the fairies who form Frank's chorus, but yes, that is the gay icon de nos jours. Bugger me, it's Debbie McGee. You'll like it when she pulls a telescopic bong out of her nether regions - not a lot, but you'll like it. Exactly 40 years on from Judy Garland's death in London, this show is the perfect tribute to live camp fabulousness. It reclaims gay culture - from multimedia, 'Mamma Mia!' and, yes, 'Brüno' - and celebrates it in all its dazzling, kitsch wonder: steeped in cultural history, hilarious, irreverent, triumphant.