We start not with the economical "I am born" but towards his death at aged 100 years old on December 31st 1999, where he describes his visceral birth in Port O' Spain Trinidad a century earlier. This "little oyster" is a pale skinned baby born to a "swarthy" Gypsy whore in a place that is "a fishmonger's by day and knocking shop by night". Crinkle your noses now!
Mesmerising. Andrew Scott is immediately gripping as Langley Collyer, a concert pianist with meticulous and exacting standards for the playing of music. In white tie and tails but with the bow tie undone, he rages about a note and the difference between identical and the same, which has the non musicians in the audience puzzled. His language is refined and esoteric, his personality extreme but fascinating. Our reaction is to be amused.
The show has been beset by lockdowns. Originally scheduled for November 2020 and then January 2021, I was so pleased to see it this month. The witty tag line for the November showing was, "Dress by Ganni, Bra by Coco de Mer, Knife by Stanley".