Frank's Closet!
Hear the restored live soundtrack together with the original cast and crew at Frank's Closet Listening Room Love-In.
At the Cock Tavern, Kennington, London; South London’s kitsch, friendly and inclusive free house.
Wednesday 10th August at 7 pm
The cult Hoxton Music Hall musical returns for one night only as a listening-room love-in.
Donna King as Frank with (inset) Debbie McGee, and Frank's divas.
In what seems like a different age, Frank’s Closet was the off-West End summer hit of 2009. In three short weeks, this site-specific musical staged at Hoxton Hall, one of England’s last remaining Victorian music halls, sold out with packed houses and glowing reviews:
A dazzling, kitsch wonder: steeped in cultural history, hilarious, irreverent, triumphant’ - Time Out, London
In a time before gay weddings and Instagram, Frank’s Closet had to be seen to be believed; created by a group of talented theatre-makers collaborating around an idea that was original, timely and funny. We meet Frank, played by Donna King, in a nod to Edwardian male impersonator, Vesta Tilley, on the eve of his gay wedding to Alan, played by Carl Mullaney
‘Frank’s Closet is a modern monument to old-fashioned camp’ - WhatsOnStage
Frank’s dilemma is he thinks he must give up his costume collection, dresses worn by some of the iconic divas of the last century, in order to fit into the hetero-normative expectations of marriage. In his fantasy world, as chairman of the music hall, he conjures up the powerful wisdom of the divas who once wore the dresses, all played by Mullaney, who steps through the closet doors and raises the roof in song and dance. The Gaiety Girls, Portia Emare, David Furnell and Debbie McGee act as the chorus.
Carl Mullaney’s ‘astonishing’ performance as the six divas who step out of the closet, including Marie Lloyd, Julie Andrews, Ethel Merman, Karen Carpenter, Judy Garland and Agnetha Fältskog from ABBA, was described by Time Out as ‘one of the most remarkable series of turns you’ll see anywhere.’
‘Carl Mullaney is jaw-droppingly good… I loved it so much, I had to write about it here’ @OughtToBeClowns
Stuart approached Paul Daniels, who fully understood the British Music Hall tradition, to add some magic to the show and his wife, Debbie McGee, created the role of Gerty Snipe, one of the three Gaiety Girls, adding enormous enchantment and authenticity to the show.
‘What will hopefully lead to a West-End transfer is the sheer brilliance of the songs’ - Stewart Who - The Hospital Club
Audio recordings, made by sound engineer, Gurney Peterson, were discovered on a hard drive at Stuart’s mum’s during the pandemic, and Arts Council England funded a restoration.
This is the premiere of the restored live soundtrack heard for the first time together with the original cast and crew