Southwark Playhouse have developed a bit of a line in musicals with a big gay
following in recent years, and now this theme gets a new twist at they put three
Judy Garlands on stage at the same time. Ray Rackham's
Through the Mill has
three periods in the star's life overlap, the common thread being that each time
she's trying to launch her career, once from nothing, and then with two different
comeback attempts. Young Judy (Lucy Penrose, the most uncannily like the real
Garland of the three,) is discovered by junior MGM producer Roger Edens (Tom Elliot
Reade,) who convinces studio boss Louis B Mayer (
Dot Cotton Don
Cotter) to give her a chance. Mayer can't deny the power of her voice but doesn't really warm to her, and makes sure to leave notes around
the studio where she can find them, telling the catering staff not to feed her
because she's too fat for movies.
