The odd random Katie Mitchell show aside, Hampstead Theatre hasn’t really had much in the way of leftwing cool in its programming for ages. Except a couple of years ago lipsync performance artist Dickie Beau’s superb show Re-Member Me – an initally jokey, eventually deeply moving meditation of Hamlet and the actor Ian Charleson – was programmed and proved to be a decent sized hit, bagging an extension and even a post-show Q&A with one Benedict Cumberbatch.
And now Beau is back with Showmanism, which is billed as a complete history of theatrical performance, from Ancient Greeks to drag queens. That’s a lot to take in, but reviews from its initial run in Bath suggest it repeats something of the Re-Member Me formula, initially consisting of Beau syncing along to lighthearted interviews with the likes of Ian McKellen and Fiona Shaw, before the whole thing gradually becomes a lot more intense and profound.
