Major Tom review, Battersea Arts Centre

It's not often that a fine looking Basset Hound is the star of a show, but Major Tom celebrates the travails of its eponymous four-legged hero's bid to win Crufts. Tom spends much of his hour on stage in the Council Chamber at Battersea Arts Centre, sleeping.  When he's not sleeping, he's looking moody or yawning. Meanwhile his owner, Victoria Melody, is taking us through the chronology of his show life, and her own bid for beauty pageant stardom as Mrs Brighton.

Mrs Brighton is one of a number of regional title-holders aged over 23, who vie to become Mrs United Kingdom. Melody entered the pageant while feeling guilty about parading her dog in search of public honours. What did it feel like to be primped and crimped and judged. Her experiment, coincidentally and conveniently for the purposes of this one-woman one-dog show, was carried out in tandem with Major Tom as he got within spitting distance of the biggest prize of all.

What makes Major Tom a charming watch is also what slows it down in the second half: it's entirely dependent on its quirkiness for entertainment value. The twists and turns along the way are interesting, and Melody's eccentric response to events is sharp, funny and surprising, but there comes a point where there's not much left to say about about conspiracies in the dog ring or the excesses of hair extensions and high heels.

In conclusion: Major Tom is a well crafted timeline with home video, David Bowie tracks, a fabulous dog, and an eccentric presenter of weird truths. There is a chance to stroke the hero on the way into this lovely space at Battersea, and that is a fair compensation for the lack of light and shade as the show progresses.

References
Major Tom, Tickets

Battersea Arts Centre, Lavender Hill, London SW11 5TN              Run ends September 27