Andrew Pepper Live at The Crazy Coqs

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Cabaret

“Andrew Pepper, a one off, daring to go further than you ever imagined a performer would”
– Musical Theatre Review

theandrewpepper

… is alive and well and living in Paris.

Ruth squared. Fresh off the ship of dreams in Lon

Ruth squared.
Fresh off the ship of dreams in London, @stephendguarino came to visit us in Paris.
What can I tell you about this guy? His comedy genius is matched only by his generosity. I’ve said it before; I’ll say it again: I wouldn’t be in Paris if it weren’t for him. I was so nervous at the prospect of finally doing this role in front of him and then of course it turned out to be an absolute joy, coz he’s also the best audience. Generous.
The original. The best. I can’t want to see what he does next.
He’s hopeless at selfies, mind. As am I. We’re good on stage. Surely that’s enough?

#titanique #titaniquemusical #titaniqueparis #titaniquelido #titaniqueruth #ruthdewittbukater

Only 4 weeks left to catch me doing Acting (upper

Only 4 weeks left to catch me doing Acting (upper case A).
Gonna miss playing this sweet soul. A heart the size of the ocean. I hope to carry some of her into life post-Paris.
💙🕊️🕊️

📸: @julienbenhamouphotographe

#titanique #titaniquemusical #titaniqueparis #titaniquelido #titaniqueruth #ruthdewittbukater

I’m coming home! Back @crazycoqs on FRIDAY 1st

I’m coming home!
Back @crazycoqs on FRIDAY 1st AUGUST - 9.15pm.
Heads up: Je suis français maintenant.
Billets en vente dès maintenant!
Tickets on sale NOW! You’ll find the link! 👆I’ve every faith in you.

📸: @snootyfoximages

25 years ago, still a baby and working part-time a

25 years ago, still a baby and working part-time as an usher @royalcourttheatre, I watched this piece of art 13 times. Most of my colleagues opted out of repeat viewings. A monologue (performed by 3 actors) about suicide can really take its toll with repeated viewing. And yet I couldn’t get enough. I’ll be honest, I didn’t really understand it. I was young. I’d led a charmed life and had no experience of depression; no real access point to the text. Truthfully, I think most of it went over my head. And yet… to this day, it remains one of the most beautiful pieces of theatre I’ve ever watched. IT SANG! Still, 25 years later, I can repeat huge swathes of the text; and I can hear those actors’ voices. “A room of expressionless faces staring blankly at my pain, so devoid of meaning there must be evil intent.” Madeleine Potter’s cut glass RP rings in my head.
I remember being at a bus stop one night and speaking about the music of the text with a young RCT director. I was banging on about how those actors interpreted it like musicians. I said something about breath. He looked at me like I was a moron, “Remind me to never work with you.” We never did.

I’d love to revisit this production but I’ll still be in Paris. I think 25 years of living would allow a clearer understanding of the text now. But after 25 years of living, I’m also more certain than ever that literal meaning is not necessarily the end game. I see shows in Paris performed in French. I don’t understand most of what’s going on because my French is still not great; and yet I receive things. I saw a German singer performing in multiple languages the other day. Not a clue what he was singing about and yet I wept. Performing in English here, it’s abundantly clear that audiences are picking up on more than just the meanings of the words. And thank God, because a lot of audiences rely heavily on the surtitles.
A one hour meditation on suicide can be heavy and bleak. It can also be beautiful and transcendental. I think the RCT run is sold out, but there are still cheap Mondays (tickets on sale every Monday morning). Also, after the RCT run, the production is transferring to Stratford. Do try and see it.

Salty, one of the chancers that lives rent-free on

Salty, one of the chancers that lives rent-free on top of my head, took a flight-mid show the other night. Fun ensued.
Kudos, as ever, to dream scene partner, @jessicaaubreymusic, who nightly tolerates my tormenting.
🕊️🕊️💙
📸 by @charlotte__soo who captured the chaos in a strictly legit way.

A whirlwind 20 hours in Norwich! Thank you for hav

A whirlwind 20 hours in Norwich! Thank you for having me @nnfest . You were the model of professionalism and kindness from start to finish. Thank you to all the gorgeous folk who came out in force after sunset on a Tuesday night. You were a joy and you sold out the Adnams Spiegeltent for us! Until next time, here’s a lovely carousel for your constant perusal.

1. Pepper squared.
2. Hello, gorgeous.
3. Afternoon tour of the magical @norwichpuppettheatre. Look at those beauties!
4. Showbiz is glamour. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise.
5. Check-in with my Paris boys.
6. Found!
7. Isn’t she lovely?!
8. Norfolk boys. Before.
9 & 10. During.
11. After.
12. Abattoir chic.
13. Showbiz is glamour 2.
14. It’s cold in Norwich.
15. ‘sup?!
16. Reward.
17. “But I’m not my mother…”

I first came to Paris circa January 2003. It was a

… RUTH! It’s Mother’s Day in the US, so it

… RUTH!

It’s Mother’s Day in the US, so it seemed like a good time to finally introduce this skinny monster to y’all.

Enchanté, bitches. The pleasure is all yours.
💙🕊️🕊️

📸 by @julienbenhamouphotographe

Introducing Sour and Salty. Performing 7 shows a w

Introducing Sour and Salty. Performing 7 shows a week @lidoparis when they can be arsed to pull their claws out. They left the stage mid show on Saturday night. We’re not talking about it.

We finally opened ‘Titanique’ last week. Phew!

We finally opened ‘Titanique’ last week. Phew! Rehearsing comedy is hard. On opening night, in lieu of flowers, my friends teamed up and bought me a year’s subscription to Headspace. Now, that’s comedy! It’s also extremely lovely and greatly appreciated. Earlier in the week, I was seriously wondering if I’d made a mistake coming back to this magical city. Last time had been so special. Maybe I should’ve left it at that. And then…

The audience arrived!

Ahhhhhh. And just like that… just as everyone had told me… just as I’d known myself, deep down… just like that, everything made sense.
This show is a joy bomb and it is going OFF seven times a week @lidoparis. Thursday’s grand opening was like nothing I’ve ever experienced. Waves of laughter!
A few hours earlier, as I was showering, I got a bit teary. I feel so proud to be doing this show at this time. As governments around the world take it in turns to make life difficult for the most innocent in our society, here is an unashamedly queer show that makes people laugh their tits off for 100 minutes. A show that revels in being stupid and ridiculous and more camp than a ray of polka dot tents in Liberace’s closet; a show with a big blue heart the size of the ocean. It’s such a tonic right now.
On the Saturday matinee, I walked out and spotted a small boy on the front row. Le fuck! Did I mention ‘Titanique’ is also filthy? It’s a riot, but probably not if you’re a child. But he seemed engrossed. Apparently, he’s a huge Celine Dion fan. And then we got to ‘My Heart Will Go On’ and he started weeping. He was so overcome with the beauty of it all. This show (especially in this extraordinary Vegas/Roman amphitheatre of a venue) somehow transcends the silly and all the buffoonery and becomes something else. It moves people. I’m witnessing it first hand every performance, but no more so than with this little angel. We all saw and recognised something in him and started weeping too.
So, yes, I’m blimmin’ proud to be in this glory of a show. Also, did I mention, the talent is NUTS!?!

We’re here, we’re queer and we’re open till June 22nd. Come see us. 💙💙💙

Continued in comments.

We opened ‘Titanique’ this week. This skinny

We opened ‘Titanique’ this week.
This skinny monster is finally out in the open.
Longer post coming soon.

It’s #WorldTheatreDay. “What is theatre?” y

It’s #WorldTheatreDay.
“What is theatre?” you ask. Well, it can be very many things, but fundamentally, at its core, theatre is actors sitting around backstage taking selfies.

Sending love to all who celebrate. And if you don’t, well, you can have my love anyway ‘cos I’m nice like that and how else are we gonna change the world? More theatre would certainly help.

La saison du printemps: le moment idéal pour êtr

La saison du printemps: le moment idéal pour être un monstre riche et maigre. 👀

Frankly giddy with excitement to be returning to my favourite theatre in my favourite city in my new favourite show. Honestly, this show is the craziest thing I’ve ever seen. And I really think we need more crazy in this world. There’s just not enough of it at the moment.
In all seriousness, @titaniquemusical is 90 mins of beautifully crafted JOY. Camp, silly, ridiculous, idiotic, magical JOY! And Chita knows, we need more of THAT!

Boarding the ship of dreams on 24th April. Come see us @lidoparis.

🚢 🇫🇷 💎

The final pic is of me and the architect: @stephendguarino. I shall be forever grateful to and in awe of this comedy titan. I wouldn’t be about to play the role if it weren’t for him. He’s currently tearing it up as Ruth in the West End. Go see him! And then come to Paris and see us!

First photo by @nick.cornwall

Ohhhhhh! I’m tickled pink to tell y’all that i

Ohhhhhh! I’m tickled pink to tell y’all that in May I’ll be playing the Norfolk and Norwich Festival @nnfest. What an honour to be taking cabaret to this magnificent arts celebration. AND we get to play in a beautiful spiegeltent. Love me a spiegeltent! Ooof, it’s exciting.
We’re there for ONE night only (Tuesday 20th May) and tickets are on sale NOW!

Who do I know in Norfolk?

“Very flat, Norfolk.”

🎪

Learning to love this bald malarkey. Glorious gi

Learning to love this bald malarkey.

Glorious gig last night at @phoenixartsclub for an extraordinary charity: @underonesky_london (check them out and the exceptional work they do, headed brilliantly by @mikkeljueliversen).

It’s not often I get to perform in mixed-bill shows. My material is so intricate, I rarely go anywhere without my boys. Last night was an exception and a treat. Alas, Alex couldn’t be with me, so @michaelmouse73 stepped into to save the day; and save it he did, magnificently. 🙏👏🙏

Kudos to @thedustylimits for curating and wrangling us; and massive thanks to @lordjipps and @mikkeljueliversen for such beautiful organisation. You treated us like royalty. Flowers! We were given flowers. Thank you!!

A gorgeous night with lovely peeps. A joy to share a stage and a dressing room/corridor/cupboard with you all. And an equally gorgeous crowd who came ready to play. To top it all off, I gather that the night raked in over £9k for @underonesky_london. Not too shabby!

What a night! 💗💗💗

When Gavin Creel died, I thought I must phone Dian

When Gavin Creel died, I thought I must phone Diane. She was my best friend on ‘Mary Poppins’. We were thick as thieves. She’s not on the internet, so she wouldn’t have known about Gav. I kept thinking I must call and tell her. And then panto started. Must call Di. Panto got busy. Must call Di! I didn’t call Di. And then on Wednesday, Diane died.
There’s never enough time.

Diane Langton, West End legend, lover of big hats, strong perfume and appallingly kitsch dressing table lamps, was the second bird lady in ‘Mary Poppins’. When she joined the show I swiftly introduced myself and started grilling her on all the Broadway legends she’d worked with: Harold Prince, Bob Fosse, Michael Bennett, John Kander. From such magnificent soil grew a magnificent friendship. We’d sit in that tiny dressing room, drink tea, chat and laugh. We laughed a lot. If I told her about some unfair treatment, she’d be righteous and offended on my behalf; then in minutes she’d have transmuted it all into even more laughter. Just one of her many gifts. Undoubtedly, she was the single most spiritual and spiritually enlightened person I’ve ever known. Florence Scovel Shinn and countless affirmations were just some of her gifts to me. Every year, she’d go to India for about 5 weeks to study Reiki. One year, she decided to do “remote” Reiki on me as I was struggling financially. I really wasn’t sure if it would work but a couple of days later I got a repeat fee for an advert I’d done: £500. I called her with the news. She was most put out, “It should’ve been far more than that!”

That little room… She did her best to tart it up. In these pictures it had been bedazzled for Halloween by Gavin. He’d done it as a surprise whilst she was on stage. She loved it. The more the merrier seemed to be her mantra for dressing room decor. Never too many women’s corset lamps!

That little room. She hated it. It was more like a broom cupboard. She deserved an entire floor and yet… I loved it. Aside from the stage, it was the MOST magical place in the building for me. I miss it. I miss her.

Dear Diane. A soft and safe place to land. ALWAYS. Rest splendidly, my beautiful, beautiful friend. XXX💗💗💗💗💗

Sunday: I finally saw the mighty Slava Polunin per

Sunday: I finally saw the mighty Slava Polunin performing in person. I’d been utterly bewitched by ‘Slava’s Snow Show’ before, but this was my first time seeing it with the main man himself.

At the end of the show, the whole auditorium is turned into a snowy playground. And then the after show begins: the audience stays and plays. On Sunday, approximately half the audience played; whilst the other half stood and filmed on their phones. All the while, Slava sat quietly at the edge of the stage, surveying the chaos before him. From the dress circle, I couldn’t take my eyes off him. Why is no one paying him any attention?? This is (arguably) the world’s greatest living clown! He’s sitting right there; right in front of you! What’s going on, people?! Occasionally a small child would throw snow at him and he’d smile, but for the most part no one seemed to even see him. After about ten minutes, he stood up and crowd-walked over the audience. I’ve just coined that term. You can have it. Crowd-walking is like crowd-surfing but more suitable for those who prefer being vertical. Slava slipped off the edge of the stage, climbed onto a seat in the middle of the front row, and then walked from one row to the next, supported by the audience’s up-stretched hands. He continued like this all the way to the back of the stalls and then vanished.

I’m not going to try and describe how magical this man is. His is a special kind of magic. It’s gentle and quiet. Unshowy. Economic. Oh dear, I’ve started. I’ll stop. Words are too reductive. I’ll just say this… in the second half he performed that old as time trick where a performer animates a coat that’s hanging from a coat stand. We’ve probably all seen it done umpteen times. Watching Slava do it for probably no more than 2 minutes… was… exquisite. One of the single most beautiful and moving things I’ve ever witnessed. Worth the hefty price of the ticket alone. I felt myself exhale as I watched. A full body exhale. Magic.

Now, three days later, all I can do is picture him sitting at the edge of that stage, nestled into the corner at the top of the steps, quietly sitting, quietly watching. Watching. And then he just got up and left.

Post 2 of 2. 1. Look at her! Beauty! Kudos to ou

Post 2 of 2.

1. Look at her! Beauty! Kudos to our genius lighting designer Sally Ferguson for drenching the place in magic.
2. Tall, camp and weird. Thanks, Time Out.
3 & 4. Just a couple of clowns. I recommend you share a stage with the force of nature that is Eman Akwafo some time. It’s a BLAST!
5. Sonia, our marvellous bard. Fantastic writer. Dream collaborator. Camp connoisseur. Generous to the core. The best audience member you could ever hope to have.
6. £3.
7. How did you spend your Christmas Eve?
8. Icons only. Luminous Summer
9. G# and button. Black out. Pass out.
10. I do.

There’s so much I could say but for now I need to do laundry and sleep for a month. Xmas 2024, over and out!

Post 1 of 2.
3 months. ✔️
1692 performances.✔️
1 broken husk of an actor.✔️

I’m crap at taking pictures because, for the most part, I’m trying (sometimes successfully) to live in the moment. So, here are just a few randoms from a very small selection on my camera roll (plus one I stole) to commemorate these past few glorious months.

1. Squad.
2. Isaiah. My main man. My dressing room buddy. My confidant. The sweetest soul. Teeeeea. He can do it all. Real. He reads ferociously (although he’ll deny it) and he asks the best questions. Truth. I shall miss him the most. Yert.
3. This costume nearly got cut. Not on my watch!
4. Oscar: Oh, what’s that you’re eating, Andrew?
5. Question: What is panto? Answer: Jodie Jacobs! If you wanna learn about panto, watch Jodie Jacobs. If you’re lucky, one day you might work with Jodie Jacobs. J’adore Jodie Jacobs. Jodie Jacobs!
6. Larry.
7. I was actually on the phone to my agent when this photo was taken. Real.
8. Caroline, our DSM. The very best of the best. 10s across the board. No notes.
9. Shania Twain.
10. You like me; you really like me!

Abanazaar has left the building.

Abanazaar has left the building.

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Photography by Leo Holden.

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