Latest news with #MeandMyShadow
The Citizen
04-05-2025
- Entertainment
- The Citizen
Talented Bedfordview star celebrates 30 years on stage
Harry Sideropoulos is an award-winning stage actor, singer, voice-over artist, speaker, businessman and foodie. This year, the Bedfordview resident celebrates 30 years on the stage. He will take to the stage for Swingin' Las Vegas 2025, starring the Johannesburg Big Band conducted by Adam Howard, and featuring Craig Urbani, Nadine and Timothy Moloi. The production will run from May 16 to 25 at the Teatro, Montecasino. Audiences can expect the glitz, glamour and sensational sounds of Las Vegas. ALSO READ: Two talented pianists to provide Mother's Day entertainment Harry began his public career in the late 1990s on 94.7 Highveld Stereo's Rude Awakening breakfast show and was an integral part of the show for six years before resigning to focus solely on his stage career. Since then, he has performed and produced several shows in his hometown of Johannesburg and frequently appeared in America and Canada. He has a passion for comedy and loves to sing jazz and the blues. He has won three Naledi Theatre Awards, with two nominations for his work on stage. 'I'm just a gigolo, and if you know Louis Prima, you know this tune is pure magic. He performed it in his Vegas residency, and it's been one of my top 10 favourite songs to sing. ALSO READ: Two talented pianists to provide Mother's Day entertainment 'But why this song? Well, it's all about sharing the stage with Craig. Last year, we tore up Me and My Shadow together, and it was a riot. So, I can't wait to see how we're going to blow the roof off with this one,' he said. 'Outrageous – that's me, baby. Bigger, bolder and full of frolicking fun. 'I've got some seriously hot numbers lined up and, of course, more sequins because who doesn't need more jackets covered in sparkles? 'The show features some of the best swing hits, like Luck Be a Lady and Lady is a Tramp, but we're flipping things around with big band swing versions of Celine Dion, James Brown, Lady Gaga, Elton John and Oasis. It's going to be epic.' Some of Harry's career highlights include his smash-hit comedy No Sugar, Canderel Please!, which ran for six years; Big Band Blast, which ran for two seasons, celebrating the big band swing genre; The Buddy Holly Story; and the Broadway hit musical Hairspray, in which he played Edna Turnblad. 'Performing with the Johannesburg Big Band, an 18-piece ensemble led by maestro Adam Howard, is unbeatable. Add to that the incredible experience of performing in the iconic Teatro. And, of course, being back on stage with those wild cats, Timothy and Craig, is the icing on the cake. 'I'm already looking forward to the backstage chit-chat, laughter and serious chin-wagging. I love these boys. And now, with Nadine in the mix, it will be a beautiful powerhouse of swingin' fun.' He also starred in The Greek, a comedy that premiered in Toronto and Montreal, and Seriously!?, his sold-out hit comedy that premiered at his pop-up theatre concept in Johannesburg. He is preparing to spend three months in Greece this August, performing his new comedy material, before bringing it to Johannesburg and Cape Town early next year. ALSO READ: Community gather at St Benedict's College for band entertainment More recently, Harry launched his brand of unique pop-up entertainment experiences nationwide. While passionate about food, he never wanted to run a full-time restaurant. Instead, he creates pop-up culinary experiences for the corporate and private markets, blending his love of food and storytelling in exclusive, unique venues. Harry is also a sought-after MC with a unique approach to entertainment. With his deep, gravelly voice, he becomes a ringmaster, combining his MC duties with comedy, song and audience interaction, all with playful frivolity. Performances are Fridays at 19:30, Saturdays at 14:00 and 19:30, and Sundays at 14:00. At Caxton, we employ humans to generate daily fresh news, not AI intervention. Happy reading!
Telegraph
29-03-2025
- Entertainment
- Telegraph
Anton Du Beke: ‘Brucey was my hero. He was everything I wanted him to be'
Anton Du Beke, born Anthony Beke in 1966, is a professional ballroom and Latin dancer, author and singer. He is best known for Strictly Come Dancing, and is the BBC series' longest-standing cast member, beginning as a competitor at the show's launch in 2004 and becoming a judge in 2021. He is now trading in swing dancing for a golf swing with his new podcast, Putt & Strut, which he presents alongside sports journalist Sarah Stirk. He has been married to Hannah since 2017, and together they have two children, twins George and Henrietta, also born in 2017. Best job you've ever had? My best job I've ever had is being a father. It surprised me. It just is. I've loved it from the moment… You hear someone say: 'I've got children.' 'Oh, how old are they? Four? Oh, four, what a lovely age!' But every age is more lovely. 'Five. Oh, I loved it when they were five! Oh, six, we went out walking. Oh, seven, how lovely!' It just gets better and better. There's not one great age. Every second of it I love. Best personality trait? This isn't a question for me, this is a question for someone else! I don't know, probably should ask my wife. Can I call my wife? [phones wife] She says: 'Everybody always asks me, is he really like that in real life?' Emphasis on 'that'. 'Yes, he is… But it's for you to decide what the 'that' is!' Best childhood memory? Of course, growing up, it was always when one gets one's first bike! When I was eight or nine. It was red, I think. That's always a fine memory. Best celebrity encounter? It has always been Sir Bruce Forsyth. Meeting Sir Bruce Forsyth. He's my hero, to be honest with you. He was such a brilliant entertainer, and he was everything I wished and wanted him to be. They say never meet your heroes, but that has never been further from the truth for me. He was absolutely incredible. Generous, kind, funny, helpful… Just the most incredible man, really. Best moment on Strictly to date? Doing a song-and-dance number with Brucey. We did Me and My Shadow years ago on Strictly Come Dancing, and that was the career highlight. Best thing about getting older? For me, the best thing about getting older is having had children later in life. It's the best thing I ever did, because I'm in a much better place as a human being to have had children, and I'm loving it more than I possibly could if I was younger. I was so focused on me when I was younger. Dancing, competing, travelling. Now I've got a different career, and it's just been the most wonderful thing. Best lesson you've learnt in life? A mantra which I try to live by, which was said to me by an old dance teacher of mine many years ago, was: 'Get better.' I think it's a good mantra for life, really. You can only control you. You can't control anything else, and don't complain about everything else. Just get better at what you do, and the rest will sort of take care of itself. I used to be a wonderful complainer about everything. Oh, the floor was terrible, the suit doesn't fit, my partner was heavy, she didn't look any good, didn't like her dress, music was awful... I used to complain about everything, apart from me. I was marvellous! Turns out I wasn't. So his advice to me was, get better. My mum always said to me, 'Work hard,' and those two things I live by, really. Worst job you've ever had? I was a carpet-cleaning salesman going from door to door. No one was in! I was banging on people's doors saying, 'Would you like your carpets cleaned?' They'll go, 'No.' 'Oh, OK. Thank you.' Next one, no one in, next one... I did it for one day and gave up. I got dropped off somewhere in some high street, I can't even remember where, it was years ago, and it was horrendous. Worst personality trait? I wish I could overcome the shyness! [laughs] I'm sure I've got many sort of personality traits that are a bit annoying. Probably a bit too needy, needy of affirmation. How do I look? Am I all right? My wife once described me as an island of an individual. I think I've had, in the past, the propensity to be a bit all-consumed and -consuming. I think that's got less since I've had children, though. Surely I have a bridge, maybe a jetty, or a pontoon – a retractable one, I grant you, but one nonetheless. My wife says I'm annoyingly quick with my wit, you can put in brackets 'smarta--e'. Worst fan interaction? I've had people want to shake my hand when I'm stood there having a wee in a loo. Like, 'Hi, Anton.' Er... Give me a minute! Worst childhood memory? When I was a little boy growing up, I used to play football all the time. I remember going to this football thing, a competition or something to play, and the ground was frozen and we couldn't. I have to tell you, I was devastated. I also remember when I was about 10 years old, Liverpool made the FA Cup final – I know this is football and it shouldn't be, really, but when I was a little boy, there wasn't much else going on – I remember Liverpool lost to Manchester United and I cried. I'd never cried before over football. That was heartbreaking. Worst celebrity encounter? Not really anyone, really. I'm always pretty generous with people, because I know I'm not going to spend the rest of my life with them. So even if they are annoying, I just sort of go, 'Well, it'll be over soon. We'll be done in a short period of time.' There's nobody where I've gone, 'I'd be happy never to meet them again.' There's nobody I've ever swerved. Worst moment on Strictly to date? Getting voted off first was always the worst moment for me [with Susannah Constantine in 2018 and former home secretary Jacqui Smith in 2020]. Getting voted off at all, actually, you don't want to get voted off at any stage. Even if you feel it coming, you just think, 'Oh, I wonder if we could go another week,' but once you're out, you're out, and that's it. Worst thing about getting older? I can't remember routines like I used to. It takes longer to remember. It's so irritating. Hearing's gone as well. Bits start to drop off, and that's really upsetting. I'm a machine, obviously, so it doesn't happen to me yet, but I'm waiting for it to happen at any stage. But I've had to have my hair done twice [a hair transplant], just to keep my hair in one place. The salt-and-pepper look has been an absolute revelation to me. It saved me having to dye it. I've looked at some of my dyed hair coloured in photos, and I've wondered why somebody didn't mention it to me earlier! Worst lesson you've learnt in life? That money doesn't actually grow on trees. The absolute worst? Winter seems to have got longer. What happened to winter being for a short period of time? It's now nine months of the year. How come the UK's suddenly got wetter? I find it sort of getting bleak. I'm happy to get rid of winter. We have a breath of spring, summer lasts a fortnight, then we're into autumn. That's annoying. I think we need to cancel winter from the first of January. That'd make me happy. Putt & Strut with Anton Du Beke and Sarah Stirk is available to listen to on Global Player, and all major podcast platforms.
