VIVA LA DIVA
Wimbledon
Theatre
2001 Billed as "the return of revue -
with a contemporary slant", this turned out
to be full of raunchy humour, sexy dancing and
plenty of songs, which seemed to delight the
lively crowd. Unfortunately it was too long
- at least 20 minutes could have been lost
without adversely affecting the shows quality.
Featured prominently was an adagio act called
Tuyo and eight diva male dancers, known
collectively as After Dark.
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But the highlight of the
first half was the drag act Lizzy Drip, who came
up with a diverting selection of
characters, including Dolly Parton and her
amazingly mobile bosom and a Mother Superior with
two nun 'dolls', as well as Diana Ross and
Monserrat Caballe. Quite an act. Dave Lynn
provided a more conventional style of
drag during the second half, staying in one
character and purveying a string of mostly funny
Jewish jokes, and numbers ranging from That's
Life to Hava Nagila. |
Top of the bill, Su
Pollard, offered a brief taste of her
gormless Peggy from television's Hi-De-Hi!,
before reminding us of how good a singer she was
in shows like Oh, Mr. Porter. Her current
song programme would not be out of place in the
most sophisticated cabaret space. As for this
show, it had material specially written by
renowned comedy specialist Vince Powell, and was
staged by Dougie Squires and
choreographed
by Antony Johns. John Martland - The
Stage 31/5/2001
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