Richard Boyce, known professionally as Dickie Beau, is a British film and stage actor. His stage performances often involve lip-synching to archival audio recordings.
Early life and education
At the age of five, Beau played the Handsome Prince in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs and knew he wanted to act. His childhood idols included Judy Garland and Marilyn Monroe. He trained in Drama at Manchester University, and subsequently worked in a Milan theatre company, Teatro della Contraddizione, whose work was inspired by Pina Bausch.
Career
Technique Beau's use of lip-synching was inspired by the drag queen Suppositori Spelling, who he met in London in 2006. An additional inspiration for his technique was the journalist Richard Meryman. Beau sometimes lip-synchs to his own voice, sometimes to those of other performers. He calls the technique "rememberment", and it has also been described as "hauntological dramaturgy".
Personal life
Beau is openly gay, having known his sexual orientation from the age of around five or six. Beau practises meditation.
Credits
Theatre Year Title 2009 A Self Portrait 2013 This is Not A Dream 2012–2013 BLACKOUT: Twilight of the Idols 2013 Lost in Trans 2014 Camera Lucida 2017–2023 Re-Member Me 2019 Botticelli in the Fire 2020-2021 Dick Whittington 2022 The Tempest 2022 ¡SHOWMANISM! 2024-25 The Invention of Love (Hampstead Theatre)Bano, Tim. The Invention of Love, Hampstead Theatre: Plotless, showily clever – and utterly wonderful. Independent, 17 December 2024. accessed 23 May 2025.
Film Year Title RoleRef. 2018 Colette Georges Wague 2018 Bohemian Rhapsody Kenny Everett 2019 Country of Hotels Talk Show Host 2021 The Real Charlie Chaplin Roddy McDowall
Accolades
2012 London Cabaret Award for Best Alternative Performer 2013 Jardin d’Europe Contemporary Dance 2014 Oxford Samuel Beckett Theatre Trust Award 2017 Best Supporting Male in the Offie
References
External links