Thank goodness Bruce Forsyth has
parted company with Strictly Come Dancing.
Because it finally nails the myth
that he's past it. He's a supremely talented song and dance man at heart and
proved it in his visit to Nottingham.
With a skip and his characteristic
dancer's stride, a lively Brucie entered from stage left, started singing and
held the audience in the palm of his hand.
A magical piano solo of Misty
followed – and the evening simply flowed with song, dance, anecdotes, backchat
and music from the showman. He admits it's what he loves most – after all, he's
been doing it for 70 years.
There was plenty of trademark
banter with the audience – and this is where he shows how it's done. Within the
first few minutes he was off the stage and mingling with the Concert Hall crowd,
thrilling the stalls with his chit-chat as he made his way up the
aisles.
The first half drew to a close with
a Generation Game-style skit, as four likely lads were pulled up on stage to don
top hats, carry canes and perform a soft shoe shuffle with Sir Bruce. It was
natural comedy, amazing theatre and completely family-friendly.
Before then, the 86-year-old
'entertainer' (as he labels himself) had given us Give Me The Simple Life, and a
swift comedy version of Singing in the Rain.
The sign of a true master, it all
seemed to have passed in a flash and on his return to the stage, he collected a
fiver from band leader Dave Arch after winning a bet that we'd all be sitting
there for more!
Sarah from Gloucester will
look back on the night as the one when she was picked out of the audience
to tango with Sir Bruce in the spotlight. Both looked to be enjoying their
moment, even if Brucie was a little risque as she left the stage, pleased he'd
made her day but admitting it was a pity he couldn't make her
night...
Tales of how
he met his beautiful wife Wilnelia,
how he can't quite tap dance how he used to, that his golf
handicap is way off the '9' it used to be – and memories of his beloved Sammy
Davis Jr – were mixed with Can't Take My Eyes
off You and I've Grown Accustomed to Her Face, his all-time romantic
favourite.
He thrilled us with a
half-hour question-and-answer session, before signing off with a simply
beautiful solo piano finale. And then stayed on for over 90 minutes, thrilling
fans by signing autographs at the stage door.
