'All The Fun Of The Fair' at The Garrick Theatre

After one of the shittiest days I've had at work in a long time I scurried up Whitehall to see the new musical, 'All The Fun Of The Fair' at the David Essex Fan Club, sorry, at the venerable Garrick Theatre at the bottom of Charing Cross Road. I was late so there wasn't time for food before the show so I grabbed the only thing I can eat from Pret (egg and cress sarnies) which really put me in the right mood. I needed to be lifted out of myself and I was looking for Mr Essex to do just that.

When we got there I expected to head upstairs to the cheap seats but was told we'd been reallocated to the stalls and it turns out we were in premium seats that normally cost £75 (a price I wouldn't pay). The two circles had been closed and everyone was redirected to the stalls, and even then it was less than half full. I felt bad about that - what would the cast think when they leap onto the stage and see, instead of a crowded audience, something more patchy and bald. I couldn't help but worry.

Then the lights dimmed and the show started, and there was David Essex. Can I make a confession? It's not like I was there to see a stage show, a new musical or whatever, I just wanted to see one of the stars of my youth and David Essex was big back in the day. And he actually had some good songs - I've blogged about him before. We were clearly surrounded by the David Essex Fan Club too!

It's definitely a play of two halves. Because I was still in work mode I spent much of the first half thinking about work problems and, just as I'd decided what I will do tomorrow, the first half closed. It only lasted for 45 minutes and then I headed to the bar for a red wine (it was Merlot, I think). The second half lasted about the same time (or slightly longer) but I paid more attention to it.

It's the story of a travelling funfair in which the boss's son falls for the local thug's daughter and you just know there'll be trouble and there is. But it allowed David to dress in his traditional waistcoat and jeans. It's not the most in-depth plot to wrap David's songs around but it worked for me. And I loved the 'Silver Dream' effects at the end (but won't spoil it for you).

The show also starred Christopher Timothy as the local thug who duets with David on 'Rock On' (duet in the broadest sense of the word). It wasn't the best written role I've ever seen but it was nice to see him play a villain. The others I'd pick out were Louise English as the fortune teller, Susan Hallam-Wright as her daughter (who has a lovely voice - I'll watch out for her) and Nicola Brazil who also had a nice voice but was actually a bit of a hussy.

I couldn't help worrying about how empty the theatre was, though. I don't think it's the show - it was good fun and didn't challenge the brain cells - it's the ticket pricing policy. The tickets are just too expensive - reduce prices and people will appear.

Anyway, I don't care. I got to see David Essex (yes, *the* David Essex) sing 'Rock On' and 'Gonna Make You A Star' on the stage in front of me. That counts for something. And he's not ashamed of being grey and baldy so good on him.