Saturday, May 09, 2009

Animal Nights - Review

I think most people were there as it was a Brighton Fringe Festival show and it had a bloke from "East Enders" in. I was strange hearing the first couple of chords to Johnny Mathis without the polite ripple of applause that normally accompanies them. It is pretty much a big chunk of the play with a few local acts thrown in for variety. The Brunswick is a small place with a small bar at the back and a low stage at the front. Most of the action took place amongst the (seated at tables) crowd. Mark sang "Johnny Mathis" and "I left my heart in San Francisco" and a couple of numbers during the show. He was hamming it up a bit. They probably did half a dozen other tunes from the show. The band gave it a slightly "60 watt" sound with mute trumpet and the songs were a bit broader than his usual stuff but with a few recognisable elements (drinking, loneliness, etc). The play seems to be about a hotel on Brighton sea front and the relationship between the owner and his cleaner, who he loves but is off to college. A few guests and tourists make an appearance and it was funnier than I was expecting. It would be good to see Mark do them solo.

Still one more show to go, so get down there if you can.

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