The show promises a night of song, dance and laughter with Du Beke singing some of his favourite songs and performing dances which have inspired his career, and it pretty much fulfils this promise with reminiscences from his boyhood, anecdotes from the popular TV show ‘Strictly’ and audience participation. It may come as a surprise to some that he can sing as well as dance (he has enjoyed a hit album of crooner classics, as well as being a TV presenter and best-selling author of romantic novels) and he combined singing and dancing in the opening numbers but the one thing Du Beke can do without any encouragement is talk, and he does talk a lot in this show. He frequently admits that his shows generally overrun because he can often go off on a tangent when telling a tale and he says he can give Ken Dodd a run for his money in shows running over. His show is totally unscripted, and he does go off track a lot until finally getting to the point he wants to make in a story, whether this is intentional or not is debatable, but it can be a little frustrating at times.
Audience members are encouraged to text questions to him, and these are read out and answered at intervals in-between the singing and dancing. Du Beke takes these opportunities to garner audience participation and build rapport, even kissing one eager fan. He reads out birthday wishes requested and two were from family members of fans in their 90s.
Du Beke tells the audience that the show is ‘all about me’, which it is, he is the ultimate showman, or aspires to be, dressed immaculately, bathing in the spotlight, soaking up the adoration of his fans, a modern-day Fred Astaire with characteristics of Bruce Forsythe, he is the ultimate poseur. Not that he did it alone. He is joined by vocalist Lance Ellington, son of band leader Ray Ellington and backed by an eight-piece band led by musical director/pianist Clive Dunstall, plus a troupe of four excellent female dancers.
His first duet with Ellington is ‘Let’s Face The Music And Dance’ setting the ‘Astaire’ tone followed by ‘If My Friends Could See Me Now’ which probably sums up Du Beke’s rationale, how he has morphed into his current persona from being born plain, Anthony Paul Beke, a boy brought up in a working-class background with an abusive father, who discovered his love of dancing in his youth and pursued it as a career. He is now a renowned judge on prestigious TV show ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ and regularly performs in touring shows with other ‘Strictly’ stars, Erin Boag and Giovanni Pernice.
Du Beke changes costumes throughout the show, sparkly jackets are de rigueur, and he makes full use of the stage, darting about, almost never standing still whilst recounting tales from ‘Strictly’ about some of his dance partners, particularly of Ann Widdicombe and Judy Murray. He also paid tribute to judge Len Goodman and shared his experiences with Sir Bruce Forsyth, the latter being his hero. Personal disclosures about his family life with his wife and his six-year-old twins, George and Henrietta are also featured.
Du Beke professed a love of Liverpool and the Scouse accent and introduced the guitarist in his band as Scouse Pete; he wasn’t afraid to take the mickey out of certain towns and people much to the delight of his fans and he encouraged participation from audience members.
The first half concluded with duets with Ellington, featuring, jazzy number, ‘Don’t Get Around Much Anymore’ and a comedic version of ‘Do-Re-Mi’ from the film, ‘The Sound Of Music’.
Part two commenced with two song and dance routines from the musical show, ‘Chicago’, those being, ‘All That Jazz’ and ‘Willkommen’, both expertly choreographed and performed by Du Beke and the dancers.
Du Beke shared that his favourite dance is the slow foxtrot and wowed the audience with a demo and later whilst recounting a memory from his dance class days, he demonstrated a magnificent tango with his four backing dancers dressed in vibrant red, which was a joy to watch and very much appreciated by the audience. He demonstrated that at 56 he remains a marvellous mover, particularly with a romantic waltz, a slow foxtrot and a dynamic tango.
Although Du Beke is the star of the show, as he kept reminding us, Ellington is his ideal show partner; they appear comfortable in each other’s company, have a great rapport, providing banter and recollections of other shows, with Du Beke taking the mickey out of Ellington at times plus the four excellent backing dancers who are professional and talented enough to star in ‘Strictly’.
The show concluded with duets of Du Beke’s favourite song, ‘Mack The Knife’, a comedic ‘Rain On My Parade’ and an encore featuring the pair giving ‘New York, New York’ the works with audience members joining in as Mr Showbiz basked in the adulation of a standing ovation from a clearly delighted audience.
Mr Showbiz, Twinkle Toes, Mr Entertainer, Mr Debonair, call him what you like, but Du Beke is a seasoned virtuoso who can carry a variety show based on his own star quality.
It is a good fun night of variety where Du Beke is right at home being a consummate performer, comfortable in the spotlight with all the attention on him; it is a must-see for his fans.
Reviewer - Anne Pritchard
on - 13.11.23
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