DANDY IN THE UNDERWORLD Continues Despite Horsley's Death

Despite the death last week of its subject, artist Sebastian Horsley, the one-man play DANDY IN THE UNDERWORLD will continue to run unaltered at London's Soho Theatre, the Guardian reports. The play, written by Tim Fountain and starring Milo Twomey as Horsley, is based on Horsley's memoir of the same title.

Producer Louise Chantal told the Guardian, "After the initial shock of Thursday we all discussed the implications to the script of what had happened. Tim [Fountain] and Milo Twomey ... agreed that almost every line could be seen in a different way now - the first joke is 'Sleep is like death to me, without the long-term commitment', and we go on from there. We agreed that the play Tim has written, based on Sebastian's writings, had gone through two years of development and four weeks' intense rehearsals. It is the play it is, and to change it would somehow be cowardly. The decision was made to present the play as written, and allow the words to speak for themselves in the context of what we know has happened."

Other moments in the play that have new associations since Horsley's death include the piece's end, when the character invites the audience to say hello to him should they encounter him outside after the performance.  In addition, the stage Horsley tells the audience, "So what if heroin kills you, life kills you;"  the real Horsley is suspected to have died of a heroin overdose.