PERFORMANCE RUN: Ongoing

PERFORMANCE REVIEWED: Tues 13 Oct 2015

From Danny La Rue to Mama Ru, the art of drag, and indeed drag ‘herstory’, is inarguably an in thing right now, thanks in no small part to the success of the aforementioned’s Drag Race. And, naturally, with popularity come pretenders, with winners come wannabes, and one can scarcely swing a feather boa on the comedy circuit nowadays without hitting some new aspiring drag artist or original. In truth, that is an unfairly cynical outlook given the fantastic example and insight Drag Race and its ilk have fostered in the LGBT and drag communities, and it is genuinely endearing to see a previously niche performance art gaining such widespread acknowledgement and appeal. It does also however, by default, plump genuine stalwarts and veterans of the industry into an almost reverential status of adoration, and make no mistake - the wit, whimsy and wicked talent of Mr Ceri Dupree deserves firmly to stand in such an echelon. 

You’ll forgive such a sweeping, dramatic open - it seemed befitting and in keeping with Dupree’s Vegas-worthy standards of bedazzlement and glorious excess - all big costumes and even bigger hair. As one of the UK’s leading female personators (or ‘gender illusionists’ as he keenly quips in an early rant on political correctness), Dupree has carved himself his own corner of the drag market by dint of an almost dizzying array of impressions and impersonations, and it’s fair to say there are few who can do it better, or with such tireless invention. From Bette Davis (pause for that ‘e’!) to Tina Turner to Eartha Kitt and Lady Gaga, Dupree presents a hilarious, brilliantly observed take on a whole host of famous divas and starlets. What’s consistently impressive, and frequently laugh-out-loud funny, is the astuteness with which he is able to capture the essence of each without having to resort to flat out mimicry. See the barely restrained sexual frisson of a bubbling Mae West, the high-pitched mumbling of a ‘feverish’ Peggy Lee, the erratic, twitchy back-and-forthing and catchphrase quipping of Joan Rivers (‘Grow up!’) or the droop-lipped, audience-bating inoffensive offensiveness of Dame Edna Everage - Dupree not only nails each and every one of his fabulous imitation creations, but also manages to mould each into it’s own hilarious entity. 

His latest tour, EYECons, contains a healthy mixture of old and new. Some of Dupree’s takes on old favourites are present and accounted for, yet they never tire - one could watch his impish take on Shirley Temple, for instance - prancing around on stage in full ‘Good Ship Lollipop’ regalia - all night and still find it utterly, barmily side splitting. The first half of the show is themed principally around Hollywood icons of yesteryear, whereas the second, following on from an extended Dame Edna skit, is a slightly less cohesive and more mishmash affair. In the performance reviewed, a particular audience favourite included a fantastic take on some of Julie Andrews’ Sound of Music numbers, complete with some fantastic audience participation as a mother and daughter duo, decked in full nun attire, were added into a frenzied interpretation of ‘My Favourite Things’, complete with hurling rubber chickens and suspiciously phallic-shaped ‘brown paper packages tied up with string’.

Variety is the word that perhaps seems to best do justice to what the irrepressible Dupree continues to offer with his one-man touring shows. Not only because his showmanship and comedy offer up a hearty dose of vintage variety-style performing (albeit not for younger audiences, mind) that is fast becoming a rarity of late, but also because his seemingly inexhaustible catalogue of dames and divas ensures no two shows are ever quite the same. Dupree is the consummate entertainer, and EYECons is another terrific showcase of his invention and wit as a supremely talented character performer. No, it isn’t a night at the National by any means, and neither does it profess to be, but come Dupree’s soulful final number, completely out of costume and preluding a fully deserved standing ovation, it’s impossible to shake the feeling that EYECons, lashes, laughs, luscious frocks and all, may very easily be once again one of the funniest and most easily recommended guilt-free evenings of all-round entertainment and laugh-out-loud cheekiness that 2015 will offer. And that, as Dupree himself would no doubt declare, is far too faaaaaabulous a reason to miss out.

 

CERI DUPREE: EYECONS is running at various venues around the UK on a 2015/16 National Tour.

For more information on the show and it's upcoming venues and dates, head on over to the tours official website by clicking HERE.

 

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Press tickets for this performance of CERI DUPREE: EYECONS were provided courtesy of the Wolverhampton Grand Theatre directly. The author gratefully acknowledges their generous invitation.