Theatre Pun of the Week

For all their wit and sophistication, theatre critics often display a penchant – or should that be punchant? – for terrible wordplay.

This week’s efforts range from the relatively banal

Despite the efforts of director Bill Buckhurst and company, this play about junkies feels in desperate need of a shot in the arm… a little too high, and too much cold turkey. –Brian Logan, Guardian

to the pleasingly dirty

“[Porn: The Musical] is surprisingly hard-going… The tunes slip down easily… In the end, whatever the show’s silhouetted action may suggest, you can’t have it both ways. — Michael Billington, Guardian

and even the downright shameless

Anthony MacIlwaine’s simple, white-disk design so vibrantly suggests the bustling air of a Middle Eastern marketplace, I can only recommend you go along and souk up the atmosphere. –Alfred Hickling, Guardian

And all from the Guardian, no less! Susannah Clapp in the Observer even reproaches Mark Haddon for failing to capitalise on the punning potential of his play Polar Bears. We cannot but admire their insatiable appetite.

You can read Clapp’s entire review here, and for more punning theatre reviews, you know where to go.