Last Updated on June 27, 2025
Dickie Beau commands the stage at Hampstead Theatre.
4.0 out of 5.0 stars
I have never seen a production quite like Showmanism. Throughout this electrifying one-man show, creator and performer Dickie Beau explores the history of theatre, transforming himself into an array of dramatis personae. Beau utilises archival material and conducts personal interviews with a diverse range of actors, including voice coach Patsy Rodenburg, American theatre and opera director Peter Sellars, and British writer and critic Rupert Christiansen, as well as the late Ram Dass and Terence McKenna. He inhabits them – transforming his body, or allowing them to occupy his body – and lip syncs their words with such precision of timing, intonation, and tone that it is hard to believe he is not impersonating them through speaking their words.
Early on in this theatrical performance, directed by Jan-Willem van den Bosch, Beau discusses puppet theatre, where the script is pre-recorded, thus freeing up the puppeteers to focus on the demands of the puppet movements. In this production, the vocals are also pre-recorded, thus freeing up Beau to concentrate on the nuances of movement of the people whose words he lip syncs. It occurred to me that it might be more difficult to lip sync for 90 minutes than to speak the words out loud. The pre-recorded interviews make Showmanism partly a documentary crossed with performance art, lip-syncing, mime and some athletic dance moves.
Beau is a consummate actor, and his physicality is quite brilliant. He is a wonderful mimic, able to transform himself convincingly into a range of characters. Much of the time on stage, he represents humanity stripped of artifice, naked except for a pair of white underpants. He thus reveals the vulnerability that is usually concealed by our external selves, which, as he points out, is as much an act as anything one might see on stage. Questions asked repeatedly are ‘who am I? who are you?’. While they might sound like trite questions, the production explores how theatre creates a space to explore questions of identity. The essential elements of theatre are the audience, performers, and a script. One can do without a director, opined Sir Ian McKellen to much laughter from the audience. A later discussion about the role of critic as parasite also created much mirth on press night. The stage is a holy place where the actors are like priests, we are told. There is a fascinating account of the role of ancient Greek theatre, where silenced voices (of women) could be related through their stories and heard by the male audience. Attending the theatre was considered a way of participating in the democratic process.
‘Who’s there?’ asks Bernardo as the opening line of Hamlet. This question is not only explored as it relates to the play and the suspension of disbelief required by an audience watching a performance. It is also a philosophical and psychological question that is explored throughout the production. From comedians to drag queens, Beau explores identity and representation, with plenty of hilarious moments as well as poignant discussions about growing up not feeling like he fit into the ‘suit’ he was assigned, the ‘somebody’ he was expected to become. He does this through the speech of Ram Dass, a pioneering spiritual teacher and psychologist whose teachings bridged Western psychology and Eastern spirituality. The idea that the actor feels safer in front of an audience than in real life is also explored in this thought-provoking play.
For the audience on press night at Showmanism, there was the special thrill of having Sir Ian McKellen in the audience. His interview with Beau plays a large part in the production. Beau talks about ‘watching Ian McKellen watching you doing Ian McKellen’. No one in the audience had seen that before. On press night, that is precisely what the audience saw. We also heard the real Fiona Shaw laughing out loud at Beau’s depiction of her talking about her experience acting at Epidaurus.
The stage design (Justin Nardella) for Showmanism made excellent use of a three-sided frame from which many of the props used during the production were suspended. Beau utilised the frame with athletic prowess, climbing a ladder, sitting suspended in a chair, and hanging from the frame itself. It also formed a backdrop screen onto which audiovisual clips were projected.
Showmanism is a uniquely creative production that lasts around 90 minutes and remains captivating throughout. Dickie Beau is a man of many talents and this show is both a thought-provoking and informative discussion about the history and purpose of theatre along with questions of identity and several existential issues. Beau raises the point that contemporary audiences come to the theatre expecting to be entertained. Historically, this was not always the purpose of theatre. Rest assured, Showmanism is high-octane original, hilarious, profound, and always thoroughly entertaining.
Showmanism runs at Hampstead Theatre until 12 July.
Hampstead Theatre, Eton Avenue, Swiss Cottage, London NW3 3EU
For other shows, check out our previews of Bankside and Southbank theatre for the rest of 2025
