Car Crash Theatre

For some time now, people have enjoyed the phenomena of car crash TV. You know the sort of show. People who think they can sing/dance etc. making fools of themselves in front of studio audiences, who then promptly volunteer to perform equally stupid activities and get laughed at as well. The sort of show where the IQ of the audience doesn’t exceed that of pond life.

So, imagine my surprise when a colleague of mine recently attended a particularly strange show at a theatre nearby. The performance in question was the Sound of Music. Doesn’t sound too bad? Well, this was the Sound of Music with a difference. The audience were encouraged to ‘take part’. Now, obviously this should act as a warning to any sane person to run screaming from the vicinity, but my colleague joined in with vigour. A quick journey to the fancy dress shop saw him outfitted in lederhosen.

Why exactly lederhosen sprung to mind is not clear at this point. Of all the dress options available in the Sound of Music, lederhosen should not be the obvious choice for anyone of sound mind. The mere concept of tight leather shorts and much thigh slapping should send shivers down your spine, unless worn by the fairer sex (in which case tingling of a different nature might be appropriate). Not to him. His wife being of part German ancestry might form part of the attraction with a potentially latent genetic penchant for leather clad thighs being a possibility. Perhaps an opportunity to continue the performance into the night came to mind ……..… Images of Herr Flick and Helga intrude, unwelcome, into my conscious thoughts.

The standard of singing by the audience also doesn’t bear thinking about. If any of the Pop Idol/Fame Academy shows are an example, a mixture of strangled hyena and Jade Goody would be considerably better. By wearing the tight leather shorts, one can only assume his voice was at least a couple of octaves higher than usual!!

I’m not entirely sure what originally attracted him to this particular performance of the Sound of Music, or indeed any performance, but to each their own. The thought process behind the lederhosen is equally unclear and peccadilloes of that nature are best left unexplored. The only thing I will add is his favourite varieties of Pot Noodle ……… Seedy Sanchez and Bombay Bad Boy. Nuff said!!