Review by: Paul Towers, 01 February 2017
The Faaabulous Ceri Dupree Show
Written and performed by Ceri Dupree
Curve Studio 1 –
4th February
“the costumes are more lavish, the patter is even filthier”
Ceri Dupree has been a regular visitor to Leicester for many
years, first at the now defunct Stardust Club, then The Haymarket Theatre in
Hot Stuff and his solo show and now he is an annual fixture on the Curve
programme.
I last saw him in 2008 and I am happy to say that nearly 10
years on, the costumes are more lavish, the patter is even filthier and his
singing voice is even better. This is not a show for the easily offended and
can be best described as Danny La Rue in Blackpool but much more adult. In fact,
a couple of times I did wonder if he had misjudged the material. But the
audience seemed well up for it.
The set was a beautifully sparkly concoction of twinkling pillars and a large screen which,
in the first half was a projection screen, while in the second half it was his
trademark lightbox so we could watch the character transformations in silhouette.
And it is the multiple costume changes which make Ceri’s show so eye catching.
The first half opened with him doing a nice segment of
standup before he disappeared behind the screen to change into Shirley Bassey,
Gladys Pugh, Dorothy Squires and finally Mary Hopkins. His Bassey, singing an
original parody of some of her memorable songs, was one of the strongest
impersonations. No surprise really as they both hail from Cardiff. While some
of the younger audience members will have had no idea who Dorothy Squires was,
those of us that remembered her appreciated the affection mickey-take. The
Gladys Pugh was where I thought some of the ‘gags’ veered towards the tasteless.
The second half opened with, once again, a standup segment
before launching into an array of
costume changes, some for just a single song, others for larger
routines. Zsa Zsa Gabor was swiftly followed by Dame Edna, Joan Rivers (again
verging on the tasteless, but then that is Ms Rivers’ USP), Dolly Parton, Lady
GaGa (an hilarious OTT costume as befits the chameleon of song), an astonishing
looking Cher, Tina Turner (spot on vocals and dancing) and an unbelievable Bjork
(the routine and costume are out of this world).
The Ceri Dupree show is on until Saturday but is almost sold
out so ring the box office for returns
First published on Western Gazette
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