Ducktastic to Fold Wings in London, November 19

By: Nov. 07, 2005
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The London mock-extravaganza Ducktastic, directed by Sir Kenneth Branagh and written by stars Hamish McColl and Sean Foley, will shutter on November 19th.  The show opened at the Albery Theatre on October 19th.

Branagh, McColl and Foley previously collaborated on The Play What I Wrote.  Inspired by the glitzy Las Vegas act of Siegfried and Roy, Ducktastic features McColl as animal-loving illusionists Christopher Ursula Sassoon and Foley as Roy de la Rue (born Roy Street).  The show takes its title from Daphne the Duck, who as The Guardian puts it, had a "waddle-on role."  Ducktastic also stars Alex Kelly, Liz Crowther, Ruby Snape, Kyle Reece, Clive Hayward and Simone de la Rue.  Alice Power is the show's designer.

Ducktastic received mostly favorable reviews, but some critics were not particularly impressed.  "I'm a total sucker for inspired silliness and non-stop, groan-worthy double entendres and barmily burgeoning plots. All the same, I have to register a certain disappointment with Ducktastic which, even under the shrewd direction of Kenneth Branagh, comes across as a concocted sequel rather than as a piece that has real spiritual affinities with the subject matter, as did The Play What I Wrote," wrote Paul Taylor of The Independent.  The Play What I Wrote was a London hit, and transferred to Broadway.  With the conceit of a different celebrity "mystery guest star" at each performance, the show, during its Broadway run, featured Glenn Close, Nathan Lane, Liam Neeson and others.

For tickets to Ducktastic, call 0870 950 0920.

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