Speaking from the stomach

Anyone who knows me will tell you that my tummy rules my mind. When I need food, I NEED FOOD. However, my tummy certainly does not rule my mouth, which is - I learned tonight - the basic principle behind the art of ventriloquism (which is 'belly speaker' in Latin). Tonight I was lucky enough to attend the press night of The Two And Only - a new West End show all about ventriloquism, performed by the brilliant Tony Award-winner Jay Johnson at the Arts Theatre in Soho. This dude rocks - for 90 minutes nonstop he spoke with his mouth open (about ventriloquism as an art and its history) and with his mouth shut (playing the roles of brilliant 'dummies' - many of which seem to appear from nowhere). And I never throught I'd say it - the show even brought a tear to my eye at a couple of moments. I then kind of ruined the evening by pissing off the security guard in my office because I wanted to go in and use the loo - he was not impressed. Oh dear.