The Little Dog Laughed - but did I?

Remember when those lovely people at Arthur Leone PR gave me tickets for Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story On Stage, and all I had to do in return was pen my thoughts on it for this here blog? And remember how I did pen my thoughts on it for this here blog? Well, they've done it again. Last night I and a distinguished older gentleman who may or may not have been my father (I mean, I know whether or not he was my father, as does he, but I'm keeping him anonymous for the purposes of this review) were the guests of Arthur Leone PR at 'The Little Dog Laughed'. I can only assume one of the following:

- The people at Arthur Leone PR have very short memories;
- The people at Arthur Leone PR never actually read my review of Dirty Dancing: The Classic Story On Stage;
- The people at Arthur Leone PR are very confident about the quality of The Little Dog Laughed;
or
- The people at Arthur Leone PR are of the belief that all publicity is good publicity.

Let's find out, shall we?

Weeeeeeeeell... Oh I can't be bothered to draw out the suspense. It was brilliant.

The Little Dog Laughed is the story of a Hollywood Agent, Diane (Tamsin Grieg) who wants to score a lead role for her client, Mitchell (Rupert Friend) in the film adaptation of a hot new Broadway play. The only catch is that the role is of a gay man... and Mitchell is gay. Doesn't sound like a problem? In Hollywood it is. "If a perceived straight actor portrays a gay role in a feature film, it’s noble. It’s a stretch. It’s the pretty lady putting on the fake nose and winning an Oscar. If an actor with a ’friend’ plays a gay role it’s not acting, it’s bragging." So says Diane, a lesbian herself, who is determined to keep Mitchell firmly in the closet. But things get complicated when Mitchell falls in love with rent boy Alex (Harry Lloyd, channeling a young John Barrowman in this performance). Alex isn't gay - he's got a girlfriend to prove it (Gemma Arterton.) But then Alex finds himself enjoying Mitchell's company more than he expected...

The jewel in the crown of this production is Tamsin Grieg, who despite taking the role of cold, Machiavellian Diane, hams it up with gleeful hilarity, pulling the audience in with her from the very first words. It's almost a pantomime villain role and Grieg is fantastically over the top with it, ensuring that for all the dark twists the story takes, we never lose sight of the fun. Friend, Lloyd and Arterton are less experienced stage performers and suffer a little in comparison - Friend a little hyperactive, Arterton a little difficult to believe in - but they're still solid enough, and all stunning eye candy to look at. We get to look at them an awful lot, and it would be dishonest of me not to mention quite how much I enjoyed the fact that Friend and Lloyd spend much of the play showing off their perfect bodies in very small, tight underpants, and once without even those. I am so glad I went with a distinguished older gentleman who may or may not be my father. (Distinguished gentlemen and lesbians of all ages can enjoy eyeing the beautiful Arterton, and Grieg for that matter, though neither are quite as scantily-clad, so it's equal-opportunities ogling.)

Great performances aside, it's a sharp, funny script by Douglas Carter Beane with plenty of quotable lines ("Give a writer final cut? I'd sooner give firearms to small children"), snappily directed by Jamie Lloyd, and though some reviews have dismissed it as inconsequential, I'd say that the issue of gay actors not being able to come out in Hollywood is important - as with football and the American military, it's wrong when any profession forces people to live a lie. The programme quotes Rupert Everett, one of Hollywood's few openly gay stars, rarely cast in straight roles and lately reduced to a drag part in St Trinians, saying "I would not advise any actor necessarily, if he was really thinking of his career, to come out... the fact of the matter is, and I don't care who disagrees, it doesn't work if you're gay." Or as the play puts it, "Are you British? Do you have a knighthood? Then shut up."

The Little Dog Laughs is not on for long - it closes on April 10th - so if you fancy a joyfully entertaining night out I would advise that you book straight away.