Kevin Cruise

Last night I saw Kevin Cruise, the unnaturally-tanned, sequin-clad host and master of entertainment on the luxury (and thankfully fictitious!) cruise ship The Fishy Rose.

Within moments of bursting onto the stage, Kevin had transformed his audience into fellow travellers and comrades taking us on a fast-paced, hilarious voyage across the high-seas. From the important safety briefings of what to do when the ship starts to sink or is attacked by pirates, there was no doubt that NOTHING would be allowed to stop cruisers from having fun whatever surprises the journey might hold - and there were a few.

The next hour was filled with pure, escapist fun from exuberant Kevin himself and the brilliant audience who became stars themselves under Kevin’s minimal yet masterful direction. Who would have thought it possible to carve the Large Hadron Collider from a cucumber?

If you enjoyed the fun and silliness of The Generation Game with Bruce Forsyth, then you’ll love Kevin Cruise.  A total professional, he sings, he dances and is effortlessly funny. And his warmth and infectious enthusiasm had everyone in the audience on their feet, singing, laughing and dancing in the aisles. What a tonic!

The musical medley of classic, well-known and well-loved dance, pop, hip-hop, anthems and ballads was not only an inspired choice and seamlessly delivered. From the opening ‘Celebration’, through to the evergreen ‘YMCA’ (so perfectly-suited to Kevin’s ‘Carry On’ style of camp), the swift transition between styles kept the pace fast and mood upbeat throughout. Scripted with all original material and with precision timing, the degree of audience interaction also added a degree of unpredictability and excitement but also show Kevin’s talent for improvisation and ad lib that means that every one of his shows will be unique and fresh.

His talent for comedy and good, clean entertainment will appeal to people of any age.

 I may not be setting sail on a luxury cruise liner any time soon, but I’d cheerfully experience The Kevin Cruise Show time and again and recommend it to – well, just about anyone with a funny bone.

Bedford Festival Fringe

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To my surprise, the star of the show was Kevin Cruise. His interaction with the audience and children was brilliant and he had all theatre-goers on their feet for the dance routines. It was brilliant.

Maidenhead Advertiser

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Kevin Cruise is a revelation, blasting all my prejudices against TV talent shows out of the water. As Buttons he held the show together, never overdoing the campness and obviously thoroughly enjoying himself in the role. 

He's one of those old fashioned-style performers (and I mean that as a compliment) for whom pantomime could have been invented and his range of skills even stretched to dealing tactfully and amusingly with a particularly precocious youngster who was among those shepherded up on stage for the singalong sequence on the evening I attended.

Surrey Herald

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But without doubt, the real star of the show was Kevin Cruise. The former Britain's Got Talent contestant had brilliant patter with kids in the audience and he got the whole crowd cheering and clapping. His affable performance style made him an ideal guide for the show and he looked as if he was having as much fun as the crowd. Simon Cowell certainly missed a trick there.

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