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Nude Boys Plan Six Month King’s Head Stint

The King’s Head Theatre in Islington is to present a Nude Boys Revue song and dance show, expected to run for up to six months from 16 October 2001. A joint production between the King’s Head and Elliot Davis, the revue will offer songs and sketches in a celebration of male nudity.

Although details are being fairly closely guarded at present, a number of well-known writers have already been commissioned to create material for the venture. The King’s Head’s artistic director, Dan Crawford, believes the Nude Boys Revue will be “like The Vagina Monologues”, albeit presented on a more humorous scale. Crawford also expects the lengthy run of Nude Boys Revue to allow him some breathing space for future planning with regards to the theatre.

Such a long run at the King’s Head for one production is quite exceptional. Steven Berkoff’s The Secret Love Life of Ophelia is currently ending a four-week stint, with the Kurt Weill musical One Touch of Venus scheduled to replace it for six weeks.

The King’s Head was founded over 30 years ago by Crawford, and has earned a reputation for offering new plays, small-scale musicals and neglected British dramas. Over 30 of its presentations have transferred to the West End and Broadway, winning two Evening Standard and four Tony Awards in the process. However, it has struggled financially in recent times and has not received grants from any of the major funding bodies. The venue admits it “cannot survive indefinitely without public funding” and continues to actively promote its Save the King’s Head Theatre campaign.

- by Gareth Thompson

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