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2009 Royal Variety Performance
Opera House Theatre, Blackpool, the venue for the 2009 Royal Variety Performance
GenreVariety Show
Directed bySimon Staffurth
Presented byPeter Kay
Country of originUnited Kingdom
Original languageEnglish
No. of episodes81 (list of episodes)
Production
ProducerFiona Clark
Production locationsBlackpool, England
Running time2 hrs 30 minutes
Production companyITV Studios
Original release
NetworkITV1
Release16 December 2009 (2009-12-16)

The 2009 Royal Variety Performance was the 81st staging of the Royal Variety Performance. It was held at the Opera House theatre Blackpool on 7 December 2009 and aired on ITV1 on 16 December.

Held in the presence of Queen Elizabeth II and The Duke of Edinburgh, it was the first Royal Variety Peformance to be staged in Blackpool since 1955.[1] Ticket sales had to be suspended early due to overwhelming demand. Blackpool Council displayed part of Blackpool Illuminations for the night of the show along the route taken by the Royal party to the theatre.[2]

The host of the show was comedian Peter Kay, who opened the evening by welcoming the Queen to "the entertainment capital of the world".[3] Proceeds from the show went to the Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund's (EABF) Brinsworth House retirement home.

Background

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It was announced in July 2009 that the event would be held at the 2,920 capacity Opera House Theatre in Blackpool[4] - and in doing so, become the first theatre outside London to have hosted more than one Royal Variety Performance.

Tickets for the show were made available via a public ballot on the EABF website on 3 July. Prices were - balcony (654 seats) £55, circle (762 seats) £200 and the stall (1,504 seats) £295. Demand for tickets was so high,[2] that ticket sales were suspended three days later due to the massive demand. In late October it was revealed that online ticket touts were selling tickets for up to £800 a pair for the £55 circle tickets.[5]

American singer Miley Cyrus stayed at the Hilton Hotel, North Promenade, arriving by helicopter on 6 December; while on 4 December, three days before the show, Lady Gaga spent the evening at a local pub in the North Shore area of the town,[6] writing on her official twitter page: "Nothin like a whiskey, fish + chips in the UK to prepare for the Queen".[7] Michael Bublé stayed at the Grand Hotel in Lytham St Annes, making a surprise appearance at an NSPCC lunch during his stay. Mika also stayed at the hotel.[8]

Venue

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The Opera House theatre is located in the Winter Gardens, a large entertainment complex in Blackpool town centre. It has a capacity of 2,900 and the largest stage in the UK outside London. The theatre reverted back to it's original name, Her Majesty's Opera House for the night.[9]

The Empress Ballroom was used as the green room for the evening.

Performers

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For Lulu it was the sixth time she had appeared on the Royal Variety Performance. Her first show was in 1967, although this was her first appearance since 1994.

Katherine Jenkins and Paul Zerdin both made their third Royal Variety Performance appearances, while for Anastacia and Michael Bublé, this was their second appearance. It was also the second time the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band had appeared.

Michael Bublé, Alexandra Burke, Hal Cruttenden, Miley Cyrus, Diversity, Adam Hills, Lady Gaga, Bob Golding as Eric Morecambe, Roy Walker[10] Les 7 Doigts de la Main, Katherine Jenkins, Patrick McGuinness, Jason Manford, Pilobolus featuring the music of David Poe, Mika, Bette Midler accompanied by Jake Shimabukuro, André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra, Faryl Smith and The Soldiers, Paul Zerdin, the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band, the cast of Sister Act the Musical featuring Patina Miller, Katie Rowley Jones, introduced by Whoopi Goldberg and the cast of Here Come the Girls (Anastacia, Lulu and Chaka Khan).

Compère

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Compère for the evening was North West England comedian Peter Kay, who had previosuly appeared on the 1998 show at the Lyceum Theatre, London. Kay opened the show with a short comedy routine and introduced each act.

Performances

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Act name/performer Nationality Genre Performance Notes
Faryl Smith and The Soldiers with the Heavy Cavalry and Cambrai Band.   Singing English mezzo-soprano Faryl Smith together with The Soldiers, a vocal trio of serving British Army soldiers, led the rendition of "God Save the Queen".
Peter Kay   Comedy Kay opened the show, entering the stage on a Wurlitzer theatre organ rising from under the stage, before performing a short comedy routine.
Here Come the Girls: Anastacia, Lulu and Chaka Khan.   (Lulu)
  (Anastacia & Chaka Khan) 		Singing American singers Anastacia and Chaka Khan together with Scottish singer Lulu performed "Relight My Fire" with a short medley of other songs from their Here Come the Girls Tour. The trio returned to the venue on 20 December as part of their tour.
Traces: Les 7 Doigts de la Main   Acrobatics Canadian circus act Les 7 Doigts de la Main (The 7 Fingers - literally translated as The seven fingers of the hand) performed part of their Traces[11] acrobatic production.
Hal Cruttenden   Comedy
Adam Hills   Comedy
Patrick McGuinness   Comedy
Pilobolus   Comedy Pilobolus featuring the music of David Poe
Bob Golding   Comedy Bog Golding performed his tribute to Eric Morecambe act
Roy Walker   Comedy
Jason Manford   Comedy
Whoopi Goldberg   Comedy Whoopi Goldberg introduced Sister Act
Sister Act the Musical   (Patina Miller)
  (Katie Rowley Jones) 		Comedy The cast of Sister Act the Musical featuring Patina Miller, Katie Rowley Jones
Mika   Singing
Katherine Jenkins   Singing
André Rieu and the Johann Strauss Orchestra   Classical music Waltz
Paul Zerdin   Ventriloquism English ventriliquist Paul Zerdin with Sam. Incorprated a member of the audience into his act using a movable mouth placed over the volunteers lower face.
Miley Cyrus   Singing Miley Cyrus performed "Party in the USA"
Diversity   Street dance Diversity performed a danced routine to a mix of songs, from classical music to Dizzee Rascal's "Bonkers".
Alexandra Burke   Singing Alexandra Burke performed "Broken Heels"
Michael Bublé   Singing Michael Bublé performed "Cry Me a River"
Lady Gaga   Singing Lady Gaga performed "Speechless"
Bette Midler with Jake Shimabukuro   (Bette Midler)
  (Jake Shimabukuro) 		Singing Bette Midler accompanied by Jake Shimabukuro

Broadcast

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The show was broadcast in the UK on ITV1 on 16 December. Television stations in other countries where the show aired include M-Net in South Africa (broadcast 31 December).[12]

The official Broadcasters' Audience Research Board viewing figures for the show revealed that it was watched by 9.56 million viewers, the second highest on ITV and the 4th highest overall for all UK television stations, for the week from 14 to 20 December 2009.

References

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  1. ^ "Royal Variety Performance 2009". Entertainment Artistes' Benevolent Fund. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 11 January 2010.
  2. ^ a b Steel, Helen (3 July 2009). "Rush is on for Variety tickets". Blackpool: Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 20 January 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  3. ^ "Blackpool Royal Variety performers entertain Queen". Blackpool: BBC News. 8 December 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  4. ^ "Blackpool to stage Variety gala". BBC News. 2 July 2009. Retrieved 18 January 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  5. ^ Ettridge, Lisa (30 October 2009). "Touts cash in on Variety show tickets". Blackpool: Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 20 January 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  6. ^ Parkinson, Shelagh (7 December 2009). "Is this Lady Gaga in a Blackpool pub?". Blackpool: Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 20 January 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  7. ^ "ladygaga". Twitter. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  8. ^ "Grand Hotel, Lytham St Annes - Chit Chat page". Lytham St Annes: Grand Hotel. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  9. ^ Hyde, Nick (20 November 2009). "Stars added to Royal Variety line-up". Blackpool: Blackpool Gazette. Retrieved 20 January 2010. {{cite news}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
  10. ^ Although both Bob Goulding and Roy Walker performed, neither act was shown on the subsequent televised show
  11. ^ "Traces". Montreal: Les 7 Doigts de la Main. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
  12. ^ "The 81st Royal Variety Performance". TVSA - The South African TV Authority. Retrieved 20 January 2010.
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