Arthur Hull's FLOP: The Best Songs From The Worst Musicals Ever Written

Monday 4th August 20.45

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Being a big fan of musical theatre over many years I was intrigued by the concept of this show. Thanks to the internet I was able to check previous performances by Arthur Hull, liked what I saw and here we were. Interestingly, we had 16 year old twins with us and out of a few choices this was the show they fancied the most. So, clearly the premise of "Flop" has the advantage of appealing to a widespread of ages.

Despite the venue, Gilded Balloon at Appleton Tower, being designed as a lecture theatre Hull soon put us completely at ease with his opening number "Flop". We can now immediately relax as we know our guy can sing.

This show quite simply does what it says on the label, the best songs from terrible musicals that you've likely never heard. As we know what to expect, the success of this concept relies entirely upon the shoulders of our young Australian host.

Officiandos of musical theatre know about the triple threat, singing, dancing and acting. Tonight we are fortunate to have uncovered the quintuple threat, including charm and acrobatics.

Examples of flops include "Carrie", "Spiderman - Turn Off The Dark" and "Moby Dick" to name and shame just a little. Although most songs are little known Arthur realises that an audience likes to hear some songs it knows and duly produces a beautiful version of "My Funny Valentine" from the unsuccessful stage show of "Babes in Arms".

This isn't just a singing show as we get to hear about the shows themselves and his thoughts about why the productions failed, often losing huge amounts of money.

I was enchanted by the entire show but I loved his closing comments when he referenced the appearance of another young Australian musical comedian at the Fringe in 2007. (Amazingly Darkchat caught a certain Tim Minchin then, even though Darkchatter Kate was confused as she thought she was going to see Tim Key). Hull then produced a stunning version of "When I grow up" from Matilda (not a flop but who cares) before we leave to Minchin's version of "Australia Is My Home" by another Australian great Peter Allen.

Who knows if Arthur Hull will follow in such illustrious company, but if you want to see a young musician (also a great keyboard player) at the beginning of a great Cabaret career rush to The Gilded Balloon for an evening of top quality entertainment.

This show is the opposite of a "Flop"! (DC)

Arthur Hull's FLOP: The Best Songs From The Worst Musicals Ever Written is playing daily at Gilded Balloon:Appleton Tower until August 24th (not Tuesdays) - details here