IShowmanism!
Ustinov Studio, Bath
MESMERISING is the first word that comes to mind when seeking to describe this unique 95 minutes in the company of Dickie Beau.
During that time, he takes us through a potted history of the spoken word, the theatre and the meaning of life, ending with the question, “Who am I, who are you?”
What makes those non-stop 95 minutes so mesmerising is the way in which he mixes mime and a fascinating selection of props, ranging from a skull to a space helmet, with the spoken word delivered through the voices of 14 different characters.
All of those voices appear to come from the mouth of Dickie Beau, who perfectly lip syncs the entire vocal presentation so skilfully that it becomes impossible to distinguish between his voice and his brilliant mimicry of others – male and female, Alfred Hitchcock and Cilla Black among them, and the words of people including Sir Ian McKellen, Fiona Shaw, Patsy Rodenburg and Ram Dass.
By this means we are taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions as true facts – although you can immediately throw up the argument, what is truth – mix with firmly held beliefs, religious and political, interpretations of history and hopes for the future.
Like the voices, it is almost impossible to disentangle fact from fiction. One moment you are laughing out loud at the theatrical stories related by Sir Ian McKellen, who would be delighted at the loud response to those tales, as he points out silent internal laughter is of little use to an actor; the next fully immersed in the personal tragedies of some people’s lives.
Those lines between truth and fiction become so blurred that you even begin to question if Dickie Beau is telling the truth when he raises a laugh at the thought of a good Jewish boy finding himself sympathising with Buddha and Christ, and his own childhood and relationship with his Father.
One truth you can take out of the presentation is Dickie Beau’s wonderful sense of timing, which allows him to move from outright comedy to deep emotional feelings and serious thoughts about life in general, and your own in particular, in a flash and back again just as quickly.
Just where he is going to find the energy and keep up this level of intensity every evening, and during matinees between now and December 10 is as big a mystery as some of the questions thrown up during the show.
At the end of this must-see presentation, you are left with the feeling, does he mean all he said, or is it all smoke and mirrors, and he is laughing up his sleeve at the audience. I highly recommend that you go along to the Ustinov Studio and make up your own mind on that point.
» iShowmanism! is at the Ustinov Studio at the Theatre Royal Bath until Saturday December 10. To book tickets, visit www.theatreroyal.org.uk