Review: The Boy in the Dress - A Celebration with David Walliams & Guy Chambers, RSC
Although I wasn’t fortunate enough to attend a performance of The Boy in The Dress at the RSC last year, I have since enjoyed the soundtrack; my review of which will be released later this week. I was initially concerned about attending a celebration of a show when I haven’t seen the live production, but I needn’t have been.
Live streamed from the RSC and hosted by David Walliams, the event was a brilliantly fun way to launch the original cast recording and promote the show itself, something that it executed perfectly. I have always wanted to meet the icon that is Walliams and so being given the opportunity to essentially attend an evening with him was something I will treasure forever!
During the hour-long show, we were treated to an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the stage production, complete with interviews with David Walliams, Robbie Williams and the other creatives who worked on the project, which made the audience feel like they were part of an exclusive party.
The preview section also looked at the choreography, which is an area that does not get the attention it deserves in other behind-the-scenes experiences I have witnessed. Questions such as ”how do you choreograph a show like this?” and insight into how they built a football pitch on stage are answered, and the choreographer talked about how important it is to consider characters, staging and space available to create meaningful movement.
David Walliams published the book of The Boy in the Dress back in 2008, so to hear his perspective on the show was fantastic. He maintained a comedic air throughout, which fitted the nature of the show but was also extremely entertaining. He included jokes about having notes for the director’s performance and how he tends to only be on TV rather than the stage.
Walliams’ main purpose of attending this event, aside from his hosting duties, was to read extracts from his book, of which the narrative was the driving force of the show. The extracts were well chosen to fit in with the musical performances and cast interviews that also make up the celebratory event. The author’s reading of the novel was fantastic as he used a range of accents throughout and maintained eye-contact for the duration, which made it very engaging and exciting to watch.
The event allowed its viewers to take a front row seat for discussions with lead cast members and to gain inside knowledge from their experience with the show. Conversation and musical numbers followed on from the readings, which helped with consistency for the audience and were a welcome inclusion.
Young performer Toby Mocrei, who played Dennis, was invited to chat with Walliams and performed the song ”If I Don't Cry”, which was incredibly moving. Toby is clearly an incredibly talented performer who has a very bright future ahead of him. This number showcased his talent effectively, particularly when showcasing his higher vocal range. We were also lucky enough to see some costumes from the show and clips from the performance when they were used, to create a fully realised celebration of the show.
This truly was a celebration of the new musical and was a great companion in promoting the album. The host was naturally an informed expert of the show but also maintained the fun elements of show throughout. Being able to attend an evening with David Walliams, gain inside knowledge and witness exclusive performances was fantastic and the event did exactly what it needed to!
If you missed the live stream over the weekend, you can catch up on demand until Saturday 12 December here.
**** Four stars
Reviewed by: Rhys Payne