DV8: The Cost of Living

The good news for all those who missed it when it was shown on Channel 4 last year (for example, Lady Bracknell's friend Melbamae), or who watched it at the time and subsequently kicked themselves for not having simultaneously recorded it for further viewing, is that The Cost of Living is released on DVD on February 27th. It can, of course, be pre-ordered now from sites such as Amazon and Play.com. (And no doubt many others. But Lady Bracknell's editor is, for some reason, firmly wedded to those particular two.)


Dance is probably Lady Bracknell's least favourite of all the performing arts. She remains entirely unmoved, for example, by lines of young women in tutus, all of whom appear to have been so far back in the queue when capacious bosoms were being handed out that they can eschew foundation garments with impunity.

(Ballet afficianados may, perhaps, be moved to envy to hear that Lady Bracknell had her hand shaken by Dame Margot Fonteyn during the course of her graduation ceremony.)

Lady Bracknell has an old school friend who, at one time, was wont to offer to buy tickets to the ballet as a birthday gift for her ladyship, having presumably become confused between her own preferences and that of her classmate. With the result that Lady Bracknell has endured more ballets at Liverpool's Empire Theatre than, left to her own devices, she would ever have chosen to attend.

That Lady Bracknell nevertheless highly recommends The Cost of Living to all her readers should serve as a firm indication that the work of the DV8 company is of an exceptionally high dramatic calibre. With the proviso, of course, that Lady Bracknell is, perhaps, predisposed to look kindly on any production which features disabled performers in major roles.

David Toole (pictured above after a particularly unpleasant encounter with a rude and officious passer by) will also be appearing in the Graeae Theatre Company's forthcoming tour of performances of Sarah Kane's play, "Blasted". The tour schedule can be found here.