The end of a year of Arts & Theatre means an annual event is drawing near. The Royal Variety Performance has been a Christmas staple for many years and returned tonight for its latest instalment. Attended by HRH Prince William and Princess Kate Middleton, the Prince and Princess of Wales, and hosted by presenter Bradley Walsh, this year’s performance promised the grandeur and celebration we have all become accustomed to.
The Royal Variety Performance 2023 is a showcase performance of the best of talent from the year in Britain and abroad. This year was headlined by singer Cher, with performances including comedy from Rosie Jones and Britain’s Got Talent winner Viggo Venn, and showcases from West End productions Crazy For You and The Little Big Things, as well as a special compilation celebrating 100 years of Disney from Disney Theatricals. The show also featured magic from Derren Brown: Unbelievable and a memorial to arts figures we’ve lost in the past year, including Paul O’Grady and Matthew Perry.
I always watch The Royal Variety Performance – I really enjoy getting to see such a range of talent all in one place, but this year’s edition wasn’t a major hit with me. There were fantastic moments, with the best easily being the hugely emotional and inspiring performance from the cast of The Little Big Things. My review for this show is available here but everything I see from this show blows me away every time I see it, and hearing they were to be performing on The Royal Variety Performance was hugely exciting. It was also great to see Tom Allen’s hugely comedic section at the beginning of the show.
However, there were also some slightly disappointing moments. The 100 years of Disney celebration, for one, felt quite underwhelming. Trying to cover six or seven show songs in around a five-minute slot was always going to be interesting, but unfortunately lacked any surprise or grandeur, and felt almost like someone was shuffling through my playlists instead. And Cher headlining was a great performance of one of her new Christmas songs, but sadly, it was the same performance we heard last night in the final of Strictly Come Dancing! Don’t get me wrong, this isn’t the fault of The Royal Variety Performance, which was filmed a few weeks ago, and the song is a good one that I don’t mind listening to several times, but to have the headlining star essentially repeating events we had seen on a rival channel 24 hours earlier didn’t help to increase the impact of the show and felt like a bit of an anticlimax.
Overall, the show was entertaining and well worth a watch, especially if you’re not a usual watcher of The Royal Variety Performance, and even if it’s only to watch The Little Big Things, but for regular viewers, this is unlikely to feel like anything special among the vast collection of Christmas content all vying for views this festive season.
Rating: ★★★☆☆
The Royal Variety Performance 2023 is available now on ITVX
