Theatre review: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change

The Arts Theatre's new studio space Upstairs has only been open a few months but already seems to have become one of the most disliked venues in London. Fortunately the weather's cooled down a bit so I didn't have to deal with the sweltering heat people were complaining about last week, but it's still a far from ideal experience: After having to queue in a busy street, blocking the entrance to a comics shop, the audience gets to fight for a front-row seat as, between the lack of a raised stage or seating rake, and the pillar in the middle of the room, the views from any other row don't look too promising. I did snag the last front-row seat, but even then the wide, shallow stage makes anything other than upstage centre hard to see. At least what's actually on that stage is worth the trip: I Love You, You're Perfect, Now Change seems to get revived quite often on the fringe, but reuniting original West End Avenue Q cast members Julie Atherton and Simon Lipkin was what finally got me along to the show.

Theatre review: The Thing About Men

Based on a 1980s German film, Joe DiPietro (book & lyrics) and Jimmy Roberts' (music) musical The Thing About Men opens with a 15-year marriage on the rocks. Busy advertising executive Tom (Peter Gerald) has cheated on his wife before, but when he realises that Lucy (Kate Graham) is doing it as well, he moves out of their home. He then spies on her until he identifies her lover, wannabe bohemian artist Sebastian (John Addison.) This being a "musical comedy affair," the next obvious thing for Tom to do is to take on the alias of "Milo" and move in with Sebastian, who's on the lookout for a new flatmate. Initially trying to sabotage Sebastian's relationship with his wife, Tom finds himself making a new friend.