Craig Revel Horwood: The All Balls And Glitter Tour At Oxford Playhouse Review

Craig Revel Horwood brought sparkle, humour and a powerful voice to the Oxford Playhouse as part of his ‘All Balls & Glitter tour’. The multi-talented director, choreographer and performer hid away his scathing one-liners and reminded us of his entertaining, funny man (and woman) side during an evening of musical magic.

Many people will be familiar with seeing Craig Revel Horwood as an original judge of Strictly Come Dancing. For this show he was speaking from the heart and giving the audience an insight into his early life and varied career using songs that are the soundtrack to his life. Without other people to critique or bounce off, I was interested to see how Craig would perform in his one man show. In actual fact he was joined on stage by pianist and friend Ben Goddard who also performed outstandingly in a number of duets.

The first half of the show was led by Craig’s alter ego, the wonderful drag queen ‘Lavish’. In knee high boots and a sparkling outfit she revealed that growing up Craig had no interest in sport and was keen to find an escape away, so began dance lessons. After escaping Ballarat, Australia as a teenager on the arms of an older man, he began his stage career performing in theatres all around the world.

Craig / Lavish interspersed the stories with many songs from the shows he had been involved in over the years. My favourites included his role as Miss Hannigan from Annie (the perfect role for someone who doesn’t like children) and a more somber number from Les Miserables (the one show he had always wanted a part in but never did). There were also many poignant times when Craig mentioned his alcoholic father and dealing with his contempt for his lifestyle choices.

There was some audience interaction during the second half, with some pre-prepared questions from the audience and a few unseen ones too. This gave Craig the chance to discuss his time as a judge on Strictly Come Dancing, including describing his favourite performers and how he nearly turned down the role thanks to Brendan Cole and his bow legs! Craig even demonstrated his agility (despite a double hip replacement) with an energetic tap-dancing number.

There were a number of bloopers during the night, usually when Craig forgot where a story was going. He was quickly redirected by Ben who helped him get back on track. The biggest giggle from our group came when Craig ruffled Ben’s hair during a number on the piano and accidently made him drop his glasses into his lap.

The Oxford Playhouse www.oxfordplayhouse.com is an independent theatre centrally located in the city and has a capacity of 663. Finding the theatre was easy and there were a variety of parking options. We chose the Worcester Street car park, which is just a short walk from the theatre entrance.

Craig’s show is touring the UK at various venues until May 2022. Ticket prices vary depending on venue and start at £24.

Rating: I would give the overall experience a 5/5 rating – Craig Revel Horwood was very funny and his talents as a singer, as well as a dancer, made for a fantastic evening.