Having made 11 Carry On films in his career, I was interested to find out more about Jim Dale from the man himself.
Arriving at the Vaudeville Theatre for a limited time, Jim Dale takes audiences on a nostalgic journey of his life and career and proving how much of an entertainer he is in a show filled with comedy, dance steps and plenty of singing.
It is clear from the warm applause that he is given the moment he gets on stage how warmly regarded he is by people who know him or familiar with his work. It is a warmth that is soon repaid by Jim Dale as he has the audience in stitches of laughter at his tale of when his dance partner was unable to turn up for a dance exam and he went on with it anyway.
The show is kept light hearted and enjoyable thanks to Dale’s clear enjoyment of appearing on stage in London once again.
Hearing his affection for the music halls, it made me feel like I had truly missed out on a great era when they were around. But me and the rest of the audience weren’t allowed to dwell on this too much as Dale steadily continued his way through his life so far and there are plenty of great antidotes – particularly in regards to the Carry On films. All in all a fascinating evening.
The evening was made even more interesting to me when I found out that I was sitting next to a writer called Brad Ashton who has worked with some of the most fondly remembered comedians in eras gone by. I had a pleasant evening with him and hearing his tales and experiences as well as Dale’s.
So it was with Mr Ashton that I found myself going to the After Party with. That’s right – I got to go to the After Party!
Taking place at the beautiful Waldorf Hotel in Aldwych, just a few minutes walk away from the Vaudeville Theatre it felt like a very special occasion.
The room the party took place in had a Cinderella feel about it – complete with a smallish clock to remind us of the time to go home and soon quickly filled with a large number of people.
Now I hate to brag but I was so excited by the number of extremely well known faces at the party – Sir Derek Jacobi, Sir Cameron Mackintosh, Barbara Windsor and Bonnie Langford to name a few.
So here a few of pictures of who I managed to spot at the party:
So all in all a brilliantly enjoyable evening!