Those who have been following our blog for a little while, while being aware of our undying love for anything to do with the Rocky Horror Picture Show! I personally have seen the live musical three times (the most recent of which staring Ore Oduba which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2022/02/13/rocky-horror-production-review/), having watched two star-studded live-streamed versions (the most recent of which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2021/10/29/rocky-horror-cinema-screening-review/), attended an outdoor screening of the ordinal movie and seen both version of the movie more times than I can count! Those who follow our Facebook page will also know that we are also massive fans of the art form of drag, especially anything Ru Paul’s drag race and in fact, we do weekly episode reviews of the show! While there are obvious overlaps between these two passions, you can imagine my excitement when I was sitting watching an episode of Britain’s got talent and this mesmerising bearded drag performer walked onto the stage to deliver an incredible rendition of the iconic song Sweet transvestite from the Rocky horror picture show! This drag performer would turn out to be none other than Danny Beard who would actually go on to appear and win season four of Ru Paul’s drag race UK! While we were a massive fan since their appearance on BGT, their run-on-drag race was a whole other level so when it was announced that Danny would be heading to Cardiff we knew we had to be in that crowd!
Danny and their beard headed to the Sherman Theatre in Cardiff (which is where we saw the amazing La Voix over a year ago, which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2022/02/20/la-voix-performance-review/) and brought with them a ridiculously camp evening of hilarious comedy and incredible vocals! The entire evening had a wonderful theatre atmosphere with classic theatre-style red curtains serving as the backdrop for the entire performance. Those who follow Danny Beard’s career will be aware that one of the talents he wasn’t able to fully showcase on drag race is his incredible vocals with blended beautifully not only with the incredible camp set list and the delivery but also the decoration of the stage itself! Joining Danny in stage for the entirety of the show was his wonderful band who clearly have a fantastic relationship with the bearded queen as they were bantering and laughing with each other throughout the show! On two different occasions, the band did this thing called jam band where the audience would shout out suggestions and they would select and perform whatever is shouted out! Having fairly limited musical experience I know how difficult it is to memorise one song never mind a catalogue of songs that may or may not be suggested and so this goes to show how incredibly talented every single member of the band truly is! One of the suggestions was actually my favourite song ever written “Proud Mary” by Tina Turner who sadly recently passed away. This song is always a crowd-pleaser wherever it is performed but every single person in the audience was up on their feet dancing along to the iconic song. What was particularly interesting about this performance however was that the majority of the song was led by the band’s vocalist Hailey, with Danny singing supporting vocals instead, who was absolutely amazing!
In the first act of the show, the audience were treated to an incredible rendition of “Poor Unfortunate Souls” that was hilariously dedicated to the stereotypically boring lives that heterosexual people live when compared to queer people. Having recently seen the recent, live-action adaptation of the little mermaid (which you can read about at https://rhysreviews.com/2023/05/29/the-little-mermaid-2023-movie-review/) we were pleasantly surprised by the performance of Melisa McCarthy who took on the role of the iconic sea witch Ursula however Danny Beard knocked spots off this performance with his rendition of the Disney classic. This more mature (due to strong language added) version of the song was not only beautifully performed but comedic points had the audience howling with laughter! If Disney ever decides to remake the little movie then I demand Danny is shortlisted to play Ursula because this performance was insane (and it would be a nice nod to the fact that the original character was inspired by a drag performer!) The highlight of the entire evening however would have to be Danny’s absolutely incredible rendition of the emotional ballad When We Were Young by British icon Adele. As previously discussed the majority of this evening to this point was filled with camp classics that had the audience up on their feet dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. However, as soon as this track started the audience were stunned into silence as Danny showcased their incredible vocal talents. This powerful rendition had every single person transfixed until the closing moments when the audience erupted into applause! Danny then used this emotional song to launch into a love letter to his time on drag race and how they never felt like someone them would appear (never mind win) a show like drag race and how his dream of performing has finally come true which had me very close to tears!
Overall, Danny and their band brought with them a fabulous evening of pure camp theatre but still managed to have an intensely emotional moment towards the end of the show. This show allowed Danny to showcase a talent that we didn’t really get to see during his time on TV so people who simply know Danny from drag race will get to see a different side of them. At the same time, Danny managed to highlight everything we have come to love from them and had the audience laughing throughout! I would rate this performance 5 out of 5 stars!
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