A frilly story about a Boy made for the tourists

THEATRE Taboo The Venue, WC2 Mark Cook IT'S ironic that, in a musical about the pitfalls of narcissism and vanity and tracing the rise and fall of one Boy George, that the man himself, not content with writing the show's music, and being portrayed on stage by a beautiful youth, now steps into a leading role.

Of course, that irony isn't lost on George, and at one point while playing his old mucker Leigh Bowery, the outrageous designer, performance artist and host of the eponymous Eighties club, he declares self-mockingly: "I'm not a real actor you know", before adding, typically, "but neither is Madonna".

Ouch!

You can understand why George wanted the part; Bowery was the only person who wore more outr outfits than he did. And he gives it loads, notably in the hilarious Ich bin Kunst (I am Art), and while his predecessor, Matt Lucas's Bowery, had a scary touch of Hannibal Lecter, George is cosier, more pantomime dame with S&M tendencies.

Still, his score of new songs (only Do You Really Want to Hurt Me? and Karma Chameleon feature from the old hits) set in the New Romantic era of pose and pretension, is satirical and pleasingly melodic, and he acquits himself as a fine balladeer. The star of this show, though, is still Euan Morton's uncanny performance as George, with that yearning, soulful voice and the feline look of the cat that has got the cream when a bitchy barb hits home.

While Christopher Renshaw's overlong production has sharpened up, its problem is still Mark Davies's anaemic subplot as wannabe photographer boy (a strong Luke Evans) meets punky but nice girl and all ends - via drug dependency and an Aids death - with a happy- clappy finale as George learns to be a calmer chameleon.

Taboo certainly doesn't suggest the decadence of the title, rather that it is aimed as a mainstream tourist attraction, like the punks on the King's Road, or as a show for those who want to see their rebellious youth through rose-tinted bi-vocals.

Box office: 0870 899 3335.

Copyright 2002
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