Besties, on the day that La Voix announced she would be playing the London Palladium on her latest national tour, we sat down with her to chat about her career and phenomenal success, particularly over the last year since Strictly Come Dancing brought her increased national recognition and love.
Over recent years, she has established herself as on of the top pantomime Dames, firstly at the Aylesbury Waterside alongside Andy Collins and then at the Wycombe Swan under the supervision of Imagine Theatre who are also producing her cabaret tour. We asked her which Dames provided her inspiration, and she told us that Dame Edna Everage was a performer she admired because she was a “disrupter”. Audiences, whether watching on TV or in a theatre, love a performer who brings spontaneity and risk taking to their interactions with others in the shows. That sense that the other performers are slightly taken by surprise by a comment adds to the audience’s enjoyment. When she was first breaking into TV, she was nervous about how far to push the disruption in her performance or how adult and edgy her on stage performances could be without worrying her TV producers. But experience and national recognition has allowed her to push the boundaries on all media without being offensive.
We asked about the handling and difference between her cabaret shows and pantomime roles and it is clear that both are a joy as they allow her to interact with the audience, to “feel the room” and work the audience, and that wit and ad-libbing is what makes her shows so much fun to see. The difference is that cabaret is largely a solo performance and pantomime adds an additional pleasure with interaction with rest of the cast. Traditional pantomime business, which comes from vaudeville and cabaret, allows her to add her own twist to a 12-day routine or the Ghost scenes, which freshen up the routines for old hands and delight new audiences. This year, she is back at Wycombe Swan in Peter Pan with comedian Kev Orkian so we can expect some delightful comic business between them.
The Palladium on 22 March 2027 sees La Voix Live on stage. She said “The Palladium has always represented the very essence of show business to me: glamour, history and magic. So, to walk onto that stage, with my own show, is going to be an incredibly emotional moment”. The new show will include some of the favourite elements from her previous show, Live, Loud and Fabulous, but she promises a wonderful new routine to close Act 1 and open Act 2 but could not be drawn on details. We can expect her to combine her sensational vocals, outrageous comedy, razor-sharp wit and plenty of glamour in the show. It will, of course, feature many iconic female superstars such as Judy Garland, Liza Minelli, Cher, Tina Turner, and Shirley Bassey. The recent loss of Bonnie Tyler will add extra poignancy to her wonderful audience participation of ‘Total Eclipse of the Heart’ with the whole lot “turning around” on each chorus.
Before that, she hosts the UK Theatre Awards on 12 October at 8 Northumberland Avenue, celebrating UK venues in a range of categories including Most Welcoming Theatre and we feel sure that whether you book for the pantomime or her Spring tour, you will be sure of warm welcome from the fabulous La Voix.
Nick Wayne