Christmas With Anton Du Beke At Lighthouse, Poole Review
DISCLOSURE – TICKETS TO SEE THE SHOW WERE GIFTED TO THE REVIEWER AND GUEST FOR THE PURPOSES OF WRITING THE REVIEW
Reviewed by Helen O
National Treasure, Anton Du Beke has been gracing our screens for 20 years now as one of the professional dancers on BBC 1’s Strictly Come Dancing and latterly taking his place as one of the esteemed judges on the show. So having watched Anton over the years, I knew we were in for a treat this evening, when he brought his show ‘Christmas with Anton Du Beke’ to Lighthouse, Poole for one night only. Especially with less than a week to go until Christmas; what a perfect opportunity to get into the festive spirit!
We were seated in the stalls in the Concert Hall, to the right of the auditorium, but we had a great view of all of the action on stage. The seats are very comfortable and have loads of leg room, so you can sit back and enjoy the performance in comfort (and join in the audience participation…more of that later!)
Anton was joined by his live band, who remained on stage throughout and was also supported by very talented singers Lance Ellington and Paige, who sang along with Anton and also did some solos, giving Anton the chance for a quick costume change.
There was a troupe of four fantastic dancers, who took turns to dance with Anton and also did some group numbers too. Their energy was maintained throughout the show, it was fab! We loved watching all of the dances, brilliantly choreographed and it felt like you were watching Strictly, particularly with all the sparkly costumes.
The highlight for me was when Anton got the audience to their feet (several times!) to join in with the moves he had thought up for the actions to the Twelve Days of Christmas, which were genius. It led to pure chaos but was so much fun and seemed to be enjoyed by all.
Anton and Lance had fantastic chemistry and I have to admit, I had no idea what a brilliant singing voice Anton has. He really held his own with Lance and Paige.
I was so pleased to see that Anton’s character is exactly what we see on our TV screens, he has great warmth and charisma and was quite frankly hilarious. He regaled stories of his time on Strictly, which had the audience in stitches and there was a touching moment when he spoke about the late Bruce Forsyth.
There was a great variety of Christmas tunes, both old school and some more contemporary ones and everyone was given the opportunity to sing and dance along.
The show ran for approximately 2 hours and 10 minutes, including a 20 minute interval after about an hour, allowing the audience an opportunity to take a quick comfort break, in preparation for the second half.
The ticket price starts from £48, which is quite a high price point. However, it does get you a brilliant evening of singing, dancing, laughter and Christmas fun. If I wasn’t feeling Christmassy before, I definitely do now and that feeling is priceless! Thanks Anton and friends!
I’d absolutely recommend the show to anyone looking for a fab-u-lous evening of fun-filled entertainment. I would definitely go and watch the show again.
Rating: 5/5 most definitely a 5 out of 5
Ticket prices start from £48.00 per ticket
Christmas with Anton Du Beke was appearing at Lighthouse, Poole for one night only, but is part of a tour, with 2 remaining dates for 2024. See https://www.antontour.com/tickets-dates for further details and how to book 2025 dates.
For more information about Lighthouse, Poole or to book tickets please visit Home – Lighthouse
Address: Lighthouse, 21 Kingland Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 1UG