“Dance legend Wayne Sleep shines in this intimate evening.”
At five foot two, Wayne Sleep was never meant to be a star, he was never even meant to go to the Royal Ballet School — only getting his in by missing a then-mandatory radiography test to determine how tall the prospective children would grow. It was the company’s founder, Ninette De Valois, who famously told Sleep that if he were to ever make it he would simply need to ‘turn twice as fast and jump twice as high’. And that’s exactly what he did.
Wayne Sleep is one of a plethora of artists taking over the stage of the Charing Cross Theatre as part of the Beautiful World Cabarets, presented by the Olivier-winning actress Janie Dee — with each cabaret reflecting on nature and the environment. Sleep is no stranger to embracing the earthy and animalistic, he was after all the original Mr. Mistoffelees in Andrew Lloyd Webber’s blockbuster musical Cats. His audition for the production, disguised under the pretence of a dinner at Lloyd Webber’s home, is one of many anecdotes relayed brilliantly by Sleep. He is modest and only a little jaded, oftentimes cheeky and wry in his delivery.
Sleep’s engaging style as a raconteur is matched by some pretty phenomenal moments in his storied biography: his years at the Royal Ballet, breakthrough into the mainstream, and friendship with Princess Diana. He’s still got moves too, happily tearing through a rousing horn pipe in tap shoes. This all-singing, all-dancing style harkens back to a different era of entertainment. Sleep still manages to churn out poems and recitations, songs from his repertoire, alongside the odd dance number with total ease.
When we’re treated to snippets from Sleep in decades’ past we get a real sense of just how phenomenal a dancer he was — one of the Royal Ballet’s best virtuosos according to De Valois herself. ‘Straighten your knee and point your foot!’ he quips at a video of himself whipping out a series of fouettés with incredible velocity. Though he leapt high he remains down to earth. It’s hard to fathom a ballet dancer having such mainstream appeal, but Sleep managed to achieve the elusive crossover, even earning a Show Business Personality of the Year title in 1984.
Though his numbers are a delight, and his wit is masterful, it is Sleep’s earnest love for living fully that comes across most in this intimate evening. Full of vivacity, and still cutting a rug on the stage, Sleep is truly an entertainer to his core.