★★★★

“slick in all the right ways”

Keelan Kember’s new play, set in the corrupt (and bizarre) world of high art, is a witty and playful piece of theatre.

Christopher (Kember) and his colleague Milly (Arsema Thomas) work together at a fictional art house (Beauchamps) They are tasked with selling a genuine Leonardo Da Vinci. Except it’s not a genuine Leonardo Da Vinci. And their clients are both obscenely wealthy and obscenely trigger-happy. Bit of an eek.

Kember’s script is characteristically witty, with Kember himself – still confusingly endearing – leading the charge. Directed by Merle Wheldon, the whole piece is compelling and compact, even for the majority of us plebs who knows nothing about the art world. John Albasiny as Boris, the Russian oligarch who has made his fortune in *cough* aluminium (with a sprinkling of cadavers along the way) is excellent. Though tiny in stature, he’s pretty terrifying, and commands the stage completely. As the Prince, Fayez Bakhsh is also an excellent addition, horrifying in his own spoilt, childish way.

The set design (Eleanor Wintour) deserves its own paragraph. It is the perfect complement to the premise: the glossy, white minimalism is visually satisfying, but it also works in a fascinating conceptual dichotomy with the ostentation and conspicuous capitalistic world the play centralises (the method for transitions is also excellent). Good stuff.

There are some tonal inconsistencies in the characterisations which are a little jarring. The acting varies from the pantomimic to the minimalist, which can, a times, be whiplash-y. Steve Zissis as Tony, the epitome of a free-market capitalist and Republican is certainly very watchable, if a little implausible. He is funny, but again, a little pantomime-esque, which is sometimes at odds with the play’s overall vibe. And perhaps the barrage of jokes at the expense of Americans and the differences between them and the British are a little over-wrought.

The strength of Kember’s script lies largely in the delightful repartee and gentle sardonicism, which he, as an actor, exemplifies. The one scene without him actually stands out as a little extraneous, though this could be because of the somewhat contrived romantic sub-plot. But these are small points.

‘Da Vinci’s Laundry’ is slick in all the right ways. Above all else, it is entertaining – which is not a given in the current theatrical landscape – and very amusing. It’s tight, it’s clever, it’s genuinely funny.

POP OFF, MICHELANGELO!

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

★★★★★

“this camp, fairy-tale romp of a show is going to be the best hour and fifteen of our day”

A cloud drifts across the stage. Six tall columns stand proud, with a scattering of shorter ones—Doric and Ionic, naturally—not a Corinthian in sight. The cloud becomes a marvellous projection surface, alive with images that reveal the inner thoughts and inner musings of this gloriously queer fantasia.

We begin with Beyoncé’s 2022 triumph—her Renaissance, the album that changed everything. And then, we’re told, this show is about the other Renaissance. Of course.

Cue art history gags—the sort of jokes that send art historians into delighted squeals. Like how everyone “hates” Raphael (not true, of course, but who doesn’t enjoy taking potshots at the popular girls?). Our guides are the gay ghosts of the Italian Renaissance, and instantly we know: this camp, fairy-tale romp of a show is going to be the best hour and fifteen of our day.

Enter the brothers: Michelangelo and Leonardo. Yes, those guys—but here they are flaming, fabulous, and gloriously, unapologetically gay. Gay in both the homosexual sense and the whimsical, theatrical sense. Yet, in their time, love like theirs was forbidden. Cue a parade of songs so cheeky you can’t help but grin: mischievous “truths” such as the Mona Lisa being nothing more than a cute boyfriend in drag. When asked about new student orientation, the cast cracks: “heterosexual.” The show revels in falsification, camp exaggeration, and rewriting history with fabulous flair. And yes—there is a great Pope. Of course there is.

The scenic world of this piece is a clever use of tall and short columns, which shift and support the ever-morphing scenes. Michelangelo discovers a chisel, conjures the Pietà, finds a twenty-year-old block of marble, and miraculously liberates David from the stone. But in this work, what’s truly freed from the marble is love itself.

The message is simple, yet profound: we are all brothers, sisters, siblings, lovers, or none of the above, if we are aromantic, and that is okay, too. Whether we fall in love, never love, love differently, or love not at all, every expression—or non-expression—of love is vital. That is the rainbow light bathing the white columns. For it is not the pillars that hold this world aloft, but acceptance, love, and—let’s face it—talent.

There are moments when we must cry, “Pop off, Michelangelo!”

Moments when we must sculpt the seemingly unsculptable.

Moments when we ourselves must be freed from the rock—or pried away from the orgy.

And there are moments when chapels of acceptance are built not from stone, but from art and theatre. For theatre has always done this: told whimsical, joyful stories that whisper—no, sing—to the world: it doesn’t matter what you are, or who you are. You are special. Especially if you are Marisa Tomei.

The cast is outstanding: Max Eade (Michelangelo), Aidan MacColl (Leonardo da Vinci), Michael Marouli (Pope), Laura Sillett (Savonarola), Kurrand Khand (Salai), Aoife Haakenson (Mother), and Sev Keoshgerian (Italian Chef).

The creatives are equally dazzling:

Dylan Marcaurele (Book, Music and Lyrics), Sundeep Saini (Choreographer & Intimacy Director), Emily Bestow (Costume Designer), Adam King (Lighting Designer), Joe McNeice, Emily Bestow & PJ McEvoy (Set Design), Joe McNeice (Director).

So don’t be a Pick-Me Girl. Pick this. Let it erase the homophobia of the past and remind us that love is only ever love. For love does not separate us—it connects us. Or, at the very least, gets us through “ten years of art therapy.”

Tag Archives: Ed Lewis

DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY

★★★★

Riverside Studios

DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY

Riverside Studios

★★★★

“slick in all the right ways”

DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY

Riverside Studios

Reviewed on 8th October 2025

by Violet Howson

Photography by Teddy Cavendish

Previously reviewed at this venue:

BROWN GIRL NOISE | ★★★½ | September 2025

INTERVIEW | ★★★ | August 2025

NOOK | ★★ | August 2025

A MANCHESTER ANTHEM | ★★★★ | August 2025

HAPPY ENDING | ★★★★ | July 2025

DEAR ANNIE, I HATE YOU | ★★★★ | May 2025

THE EMPIRE STRIPS BACK | ★★★★★ | May 2025

SISYPHEAN QUICK FIX  | ★★★ | March 2025

DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY

DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY

DA VINCI’S LAUNDRY

POP OFF, MICHELANGELO!

★★★★★

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

POP OFF, MICHELANGELO!

Edinburgh Festival Fringe

★★★★★

“this camp, fairy-tale romp of a show is going to be the best hour and fifteen of our day”