Review: MYRA DUBOIS: BE WELL, Hackney Empire

Nearly midway through their whirlwind tour of the UK and Ireland, the glorious Gareth Joyner as Myra Dubois and Frank Lavender, should be revelling in selling out the enormous 1268 capacity venue Hackney Empire.

As ever DuBois holds a room like the consummate pro they are, acid-tongued and deliciously razor-sharp, as well they should be. Wellness, is in fact the theme of the show and pokes more than a little fun at the celebrity endorsements of mindful and introspective practice.

The first half of the show is entirely dedicated to character Frank Lavender. Lavender is the type of unfortunate act you may be unlucky enough to find in working men’s clubs and cabaret venues, wholly ‘unknowingly’ misogynistic, spouting patriarchal whims and overly optimistic of rejoicing in their misguided knowledge of modern culture. So close to the truth, the work teeters on the edge of tolerable.

This is a masterclass from Joyner in depicting eccentricities, adding mannerisms in the form of tiny details of repeated dance steps and stale routines. Lavender seeks to evidence his value, by telling the audience they are quite pointedly enjoying themselves, by dragging poor audience members up to tally the laughter and ploughing forward with the material at all costs, in utter self-belief.

The character of Lavender is a Punch and Judy puppet-loving showman, from South Yorkshire, intending to warm up the crowd, but knowingly “disappointing audiences” with incessant chat about Greggs the bakery, prefacing most words with ‘chuffing’ and thoroughly enjoying how his claws are now firmly into Myra’s coat tails of fame, being her opening act. Lavender is a true reminder that the scene was once littered with such performers, but thankfully there are few and far between of them, although they can still be found doing the rounds in the UK.

Groanworthy jokes ensue with songs about chips and gravy and chants of his name. The segment although masterfully devised with expert character creation is too long and would benefit from being half the length. However, the whole section is clever and annoyingly humorous.

Sparkly and dazzling Myra Dubois ‘the empress of empaths’ enters in Act 2 to huge crowd relief and adoration, exclaiming herself to be ‘the mistress of mouthiness’, in readiness to ‘help and heal’, whilst wanting to ‘improve’ the public. The front three rows surely know what they’re in for - we can only hope, and she not unexpectedly goes big, asking participants to share their troubles, eventually rewarding them with ‘betterment badges’.

On a roll as ever, the script is slick, sharp and side-splitting. Utterly in control, Myra Dubois thrills with brilliant moments of harshness veiled in contempt, describing herself as ‘assigned fabulous at birth’ and shunning accountability of her dislike of others, in favour of indulgence and self-assurance. Radiantly bold, craftily clever and genuinely joyous, Myra Dubois’ ‘Be Well’ is a brilliantly hilarious show, solving faux-problems with wicked wit and wild well-being.

Myra Dubois’ ‘Be Well’ runs until 19 October 2024 on a UK and Ireland Tour

Photo Credits: Ben Ephgrave

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