The Dreamboys at the Epstein Theatre Liverpool Review
The Dreamboys
Epstein Theatre, Liverpool
6 November 2015
Reviewed by Linzi Davies
What’s a girl to do when an opportunity to see a group of hardly dressed beautiful males perform on stage arises (ahem), yes you’ve guessed it grab a mate, get changed and head into Liverpool as quick as your feet can carry you. Which is exactly what myself and my friend did last night. We arrived early at The Epstein, it was the first time I had been to this theatre and I was massively impressed. The architecture was truly spectacular, so detailed and majestic in both colour and history. The 380 capacity theatre has been in existence for over a hundred years, however only reopened its doors in 2011 after a refurbishment, aptly renamed after a local hero Brian Epstein, the late manager of a rather famous band. After a quick drink in Brian’s bar we took our seats in the left side of the stalls, which I was pleased to see was nowhere near the front rows!
We were soon joined by hundreds of raucous groups of females, some wearing a lot less than some of the Dreamboys during the show, maybe in the hope of catching one of the entertainer’s eye, who knows. I was also quite surprised to see a middle aged bearded chap in the audience with a lady who appeared to be his wife, he was soon up on the stage much to the crowds delight, rubbing baby oil onto a well defined chest and bottom.
So the show itself, well it was good, not great. The lighting was glaringly bright which made a few of the performances difficult to actually see, although I’m sure some of that is to create the atmosphere. The choreography was professional enough although not totally polished in some parts, the main dance group consists of five perfectly preened males who in my opinion needed to man up a little. Waxed chests and bums galore were on view for the baying women and screams of, “Off, off, off” were chanted over and over, this coupled with cheeky winks and the odd wagging of the finger kept the various hen parties in shrieks of delight. The usual Swat Team, Firefighters, Cowboys and soldiers were on display as well as my favourite, a well cut suit. More is best in my opinion.
A number of audience members were treated to a more personal performance on the stage and this was hugely enjoyed by all who went up, I’m just so glad it wasn’t me. I didn’t particular like the part were a young woman was led around the stage on all fours by a leather collar which seemed a little degrading but she went along with it nonetheless.
I felt a bit sorry for the audience up in the circle as a lot of the time, the boys went into the stalls dancing and choosing women to go on stage and they would have missed large parts of that.
Two of the group, Black Stallion and Angel were the only ones to do the full frontal but that was still hidden under copious amounts of baby lotion to try and hide the aids to make it appear as large as possible.
Overall a right laugh, more down to the company I was with though as for The Dreamboys they were a good looking well defined chiselled bunch of men who put on a good show for the audience. I can’t quite put my finger on it but I guess I was just expecting a little bit more.
Rating: 3.5/5
For more details on The Dream Boys and tour dates visit www.dreamboystour.co.uk.
For other shows at the Epstein Theatre in Liverpool visit www.epsteinliverpool.co.uk.
The Epstein Theatre, Hanover House, 85 Hanover Street, Liverpool, L1 3DZ | 0844 888 4411
