TheSprout Meets Ceri Dupree
Regarded as one of the UK’s finest female impersonators, Ceri Dupree has been delighting audiences worldwide for thirty years in musical theatre, pantomime, cabaret and on television. TheSprout popped into the New Theatre to chat to the Welshman about his role as the Dame in this year’s panto, Sleeping Beauty, and to find out more about his life as a performer.
TheSprout: Hello Ceri. Welcome back to Cardiff. Hope you’re enjoying our, uh, tenuous, summer weather.
Ceri: Yes, well I’ve been in London for five days and the weather was gorgeous. Then when I came back to Cardiff on Monday, I put on Facebook “Now I’ve got five days off and I’m going to just lie in the garden”. And of course, now it’s raining. Never mind.
TheSprout: You’re a veteran of pantomime if you don’t mind us saying so. What draws you back every year?
Ceri: I’ll tell you exactly. It is the only medium left in theatre, other than maybe Disney shows, that the whole family can come and see. Kids, mums and dads, the aunties and uncles and the grans and granddads; it really does span the generations and that’s why I love it. Also, I don’t like aggressive comedy that degrades people and there’s none of that in pantomime; it’s just a mad celebration of all things silly.
TheSprout: So, what was your first memory of panto?
Ceri: My dad was a singer and my mother was an opera singer and myself and my sister Ria were taken to see the pantomimes at the Swansea Grand Theatre. There was a fabulous Welsh comedian called Ryan Davies who used to do a double act with a guy called Ronnie. Ryan and Ronnie - a Welsh Morecambe and Wise if you like. Ronnie went off the rails a bit but Ryan went solo and his pantomimes used to run until the end of March! I’d sit there as a kid and think “I love this, I want to do this”.
TheSprout: Outside of pantomimes, you’ve had a really successful career. Can you give us a few of your highlights?
Ceri: God, highlights! When I did my first hometown solo show trips abroad, when I worked in Greece, I loved it out there I did a six month summer season in Blackpool in ’91, loved that I did two years in a club in London, Soho, called Madmame. JoJo’s and I met some fabulous, outrageous people. But there are many, I’ve been doing it thirty years! And then there are those awful nights when you think, “What am I doing here?!” But that’s the way it goes.
TheSprout: Your act is centred around drag. Is there a woman that you have impersonated as part of your act that stands out as a favourite?
Ceri: My favourites tend not to be the same as the audience’s. Going back through the years, the audience favourites have been Shirley Bassey, Tina Turner, Amy Winehouse umm, who’s that one they love and I don’t like her oh, Jordan. Yeah, no. She’s the only woman I’ve impersonated that I really don’t care for. I love all the old stars, like your Joan Collins, Bette Davis and Marlene Dietrich - you don’t know any of these women, I can tell
TheSprout: I know Joan Collins.
Ceri: Well Joan Collins, yeah, she’s still knocking around. Take Marilyn Monroe for instance - she was so gorgeous, so glamorous...
TheSprout: Classy.
Ceri: Yeah, and she’s lived on and on I don’t think that anyone has come along like Marilyn. It’s her wonderful charisma that I love, and love in all the old stars.
TheSprout: Sure. We were recently at the Cardiff Mardi Gras and saw a few drag acts. What’s your view on the drag ‘scene’ at the moment?
Ceri: Oh God, you’ve opened a can of worms there! A lot of them [drag acts] tend to degrade women in a kind of misogynistic kind of way, which I don’t like. I respect all the women that I personate and try to make them larger than life you know, Dolly Parton, Lady Gaga my God how do you make her larger than life?! You could do anything for her, you could wear a fridge or put a skip on your head, she is fab! But no, I look at some of them [other drag acts], and I think just what is the point of doing this? You put a woman’s dress on, a wig, a bit of make up and you’re singing I Will Survive and telling a few dirty jokes. There’s more to it than that.
TheSprout: You mentioned a few possible costumes there and we’ve seen a hint of how large they can be today at photocall. Is the size annoying at all when performing?
Ceri: I wouldn’t say annoying, but certainly hot and I lose a lot of weight going around in them. Some have heavy velvets and furs and diamonds and headdresses and wigs and there’s all the jewellery and a body stocking.hot definitely but I don’t mind, I love it
TheSprout: You look very fit.
Ceri: Thank you. I’ve never been to a gym in my life but it’s doing all the shows. Even on a small cabaret I’ll do seven costume changes and with this show I have fifteen costume changes, which for me isn’t a lot. But with two shows a day you are stripping and re-dressing thirty times and that’s how I keep the weight off. Means I can eat mince pies
TheSprout: And sprouts?
Ceri: And sprouts! I love sprouts and eat a lot of them in a long run because they keep colds at bay. Sprouts and garlic. I mean, you lose a few friends because, well you know, but you’re not ill. I’d rather break wind than be ill!
TheSprout: That’s a top tip! So you’ve been in this show [Sleeping Beauty] for four years now
Ceri: Yeah, we did it in Birmingham, then we took it to Plymouth and last year to Nottingham. I’m really pleased we’re in Cardiff so I can be home for Christmas and I know we’ll have a fantastic time because I love this theatre.
TheSprout: Have you done similar material over the four years?
Ceri: Well we tweak it for each city or town. So this year, because we’re in Cardiff, we just have to do Shirley Bassey. We’ve got a brand new costume for her actually. Then there’s Gaga - I’m not sure what I’m wearing for her yet! But I know the finale costume costs £7,000
TheSprout: [Gasp]
Ceri: Yeah, when you say that people don’t believe you. But for instance I have these long red feathers coming out of the side - one feather is £10 and I’m wearing a hundred and sixty of them. That’s just the feathers someone once said, “In show business, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth over-doing.” And that’s me really.
The Sprout: And that’s panto
Ceri: Exactly. That’s panto!
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1 Comment – Postiwch sylw
SamuelPatterson
Rhoddwyd sylw 44 mis yn ôl - 4th October 2012 - 20:23pm
So envious of you Tom, I love Ceri. He's amazing. Got his DVD at home xD I shall have to go and see this year's panto!