Like the fragrant pasta alla puttanesca that Michael (Julian Clary) cooks from scratch on stage, Le Grand Mort is a mixture of flavoursome ingredients, whose unbalanced combination could easily result in a stodgy meal. With its graphic elements and piquant frontal nudes, this rich recipe of sex, religion and death might not appeal to the most delicate palates but it does indeed cater for seasoned punters who crave for some zest.
With a relevant change in lighting, the intimate Trafalgar Studio Two alternates between the bar where Michael and Tim (James Nelson-Joyce) first meet and the former's kitchen, where he prepares a delicious dinner for two. Whilst cooking – as if talking to himself – he mentions a series of famous characters whose passing has been enveloped in such a plethora of anecdotes to generate a sort of pornography of death. Marilyn Monroe, Lady Diana and Rasputin are amongst the names mentioned, whilst Christ on the cross is described as a huge phallic symbol. As in this case, the mix is often disturbing and the words inevitably take centre stage in a piece where the action feels manufactured and patchy.
