There’s still a huge demand for one-off performances as Sir Bruce Forsyth proved on Monday evening as he played his one-man show for one night only at Cardiff’s New Theatre.
From the moment Sir Bruce stepped onto the stage with musical accompaniment from the Dave Arch Orchestra the audience was his. “I've done shows where they closed with the opening number,” he joked, before commenting it was 32 years since he had last performed in Cardiff, “I was there!” shouted a member of the audience, “ I remember you, you were a nuisance!” Bruce replied, the audience laughed. Bruce was in charge!
Featuring a combination of song, dance, jokes and impressions, interspersed with comic interplay with Dave Arch and the orchestra, the real key to the shows success was Bruce interacting with audience members. This was utilised to full effect when he recreated a dance routine from the musical Top Hat by enlisting help from four random audience members. In true Generation Game style they consisted of a coffee shop owner, a quality engineer, a psychiatric nurse and a bin-man, the latter constantly reminding Bruce that he’d seen him in pantomime back in 1963. “I wish I was there now,” said Bruce after the dance routine began to comically fall apart.
The two hour show brought back many fun memories of Bruce’s many decades in show business. Rounding off the show with an audience Q&A he commented “When you've got an audience that lifts you up so much it makes it all worthwhile.” A voice from the audience shouted “You’re a legend Bruce” and the audience applause echoed the sentiment wholeheartedly. We had indeed been watching a show business legend – Mr Entertainment himself. Didn't he do well?
- A shortened version of this review by Andy Howells appeared in The South Wales Argus on April 29, 2015.
- Andy Howells Interview With Sir Bruce Forsyth
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