“Dickie Beau is a uniquely charismatic performer” – Ian McKellen
“one of our great living artists” – WhatsOnStage
“peerless” – The Times
“he is an astonishment” – The Guardian
ACTING REPRESENTATION:
OLIVIA WOODWARD & ALEX SEDGLEY AT CURTIS BROWN
VOICEOVER AGENT:
LITERARY AGENT:
A versatile actor and artist, Dickie Beau’s film and television work as an actor includes the BAFTA-nominated AIDS: The Unheard Tapes (BBC), The Sandman (Netflix), the Oscar-winning Bohemian Rhapsody, and Colette.
In Theatre, Dickie has extensive experience as an actor in a range of contexts, from classical Shakespeare to pantomime to experimental physical theatre, and has played leading roles on major stages, including London’s Royal National Theatre, Hampstead Theatre, Salzburg Festival and Teatro Della Contraddizzione (Milan).
Dickie is also known for breathing new life into lip syncing through his distinctive playback performances, for which he has attracted widespread critical acclaim.
Hailed as “Theatre’s master of lip sync” by The Guardian, his solo work is considered unlike that of any other practitioner on the landscape of performance, with The Times describing him as “peerless”, and WhatsOnStage proclaiming him “one of our great living artists”.
Showmanism poster artwork: photo by Hugo Glendinning, graphic design by Christof Hetzer
¡SHOWMANISM!
(a concise histrionic of performance)
In 2022 Dickie united critics in giving him rave reviews for a new solo theatre piece called ¡Showmanism!, which was commissioned by Deborah Warner for the Theatre Royal, Bath:
“Once in a while as a critic, you see a piece of work that completely stops you in your tracks and makes you sit slack-jawed at the extraordinary level of artistry playing in front of you … [Showmanism] is an intellectual as well as touching exploration of an art form that sometimes can be dismissed as simply entertainment …. It’s a technical achievement beyond words … A work of genius.” ***** WhatsOnStage
“[A] startling, genre-smashing solo show … a strange, beautiful study of the agony and ecstasy of performance. I’ve never seen – or perhaps heard is the more appropriate verb here – anything like this show” **** The Telegraph
“The art of acting brilliantly dissected … this is a show with as much substance as style” **** The Times (Critics’ Choice)
“¡Showmanism!, a ventriloquial exploration of what the theatre can do, is a dazzle: full of newness, sometimes splurging, exciting…” **** The Observer
“[Dickie Beau] is an astonishment … lip syncing for all of our lives.” **** The Guardian
Showmanism trailer:
Audiences responses to Showmanism:
Showmanism was created and performed by Dickie Beau
Directed by and co-devised with Jan-willem van den Bosch
Inspired by conversations with Rupert Christiansen
Designed by Justin Nardella
Lighting Design by Marty Langthorne
Sound Design by Dan Steele
Showmanism features the voices of Patsy Rodenburg, Ian McKellen, Mimi Denissi, Steve Nallon, Fiona Shaw, Rupert Christiansen and Joe E. Jeffreys
Photo by Hugo Glendinning
Re-Member Me
In June 2023, Dickie brought his Hamlet-inspired solo show Re-Member Me to London’s Hampstead Theatre. Like ¡Showmanism! before it, Re-Member Me was embraced by audiences and critics alike, leading to its highly successful run being extended.
“This feels like another evolution in terms of theatre. It has to just be witnessed. It’s a marvel to behold.” – Benedict Cumberbatch
“The genius of this piece is the way its form so eloquently illuminates its theme … Dickie Beau is both conjuror and conjured, ventriloquist and puppet, in this wondrous and endlessly moving reanimation…. ” **** Time Out, Melbourne
“The kind of work that will still be coming up on ‘best of’ lists in a decade. It’s magical.” ***** The Reviews Hub
“Bracingly original … enthralling … a biting tribute to Shakespeare” **** The Times
“Dickie Beau’s subversive meditation on Shakespeare’s masterpiece … ranges from sharp satire to stabbing poignancy” **** The Telegraph
“A master ventriloquist… laden with queerness, character and oh so much talent, he is a mesmeric performer.” – **** The Stage
Excerpt from Re-Member Me:
Re-Member Me promo video
Audience responses to Re-Member Me:
Re-Member Me was created and performed by Dickie Beau
Directed by and co-devised with Jan-willem van den Bosch
Lighting Design by Marty Langthorne
Audio production: Helen Noir
Re-Member Me was developed with the support of Arts Council England Grants for the Arts, the National Theatre Studio, Almeida Theatre, and Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre.
Special thanks to Martin Sherman, Ivan Mulcahy, Matthew Poxon, Laura Collier, Lucy Pattinson, Robert Icke, Sean Mathias, Ian McKellen, Richard Eyre, Stephen Ashby, John Wood, Suzanne Bertish, Fintan Walsh, Greg Ripley Duggan and Hampstead Theatre
Education and workshops
Dickie is an Artist Research Fellow at Birkbeck Centre for Contemporary Theatre, University of London, and previous recipient of a Harry Ransom Research Fellowship at the University of Texas, under the auspices of which he has begun developing a future show, Stella!, inspired by the audio-visual archive of legendary acting coach, Stella Adler.
Dickie works broadly across higher education as a visiting lecturer, workshop leader and mentor at a range of institutions in the UK and abroad, including the Royal Academy of Arts, Royal College of Arts, Central School of Speech and Drama, Manchester University, Chichester University, Rose Bruford, LAMDA, QMUL, Birkbeck, and Bard College.
Awards
Dickie has received multiple awards across the disciplines of theatre, dance and cabaret, including the Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award, Best Supporting Actor in the Off West End Theatre Awards (for Sheppey), and the London Cabaret Award for Best Alternative Performer. In Australia in 2019, he was nominated for a Helpmann Award for Re Member Me (the Australian equivalent of an Olivier Award).
“The bottom line is, Dickie Beau is an extraordinary artist and a brilliant actor, and every time he steps onto a stage something amazing happens” – Nathan Lane