PRESS UPDATE : METRO.CO.UK .. UNSCRIPTED AT THE LONDON PALLADIUM .. SEPTEMBER 30TH 2016..

REVIEW: Dame Joan Collins is effortlessly charming and endlessly fascinating on her Unscripted tour

Olivia Waring for Metro.co.uk

 

 Dame. Feminist icon. The face of Snickers. Let’s face it — Joan Collins is one classy bird.
Rather like Queen Elizabeth, the incomparable Hollywood diva has around 70 years of showbiz stories to tell, and she’s kindly decided to share them with us on her current tour.
Joan Collins Unscripted sees the gorgeous actress, writer and fashionista answer questions from audiences on absolutely any subject, as long as it’s not politics, religion or the Kardashians.
Last night’s stop at the London Palladium was a potent cocktail of hilarity, nostalgia and gossip, as the British legend dished the dirt on all her showbiz pals — from Michael Jackson and Roger Moore, to Madonna and Joan Crawford, who she was named after.

When fans weren’t marveling at her insanely glittery trousers and self-designed white gown (a costume change is mandatory of course), they were feverishly demanding tidbits about her time on 80s show Dynasty, a reboot of which is now apparently in the works.
But some of the funniest moments arrived unexpectedly, when Dame Joan decided to bitch about her numerous ex-boyfriends and four ex-husbands with refreshing insouciance.
‘The rumour is that Warren Beatty did give Vivien Leigh one,’ she said at one point, prompting huge laughs. ‘It’s been reported in the papers that he’s had 12,000 women. Well, he couldn’t have.’

Elsewhere Dame Joan, who has starred in around 65 movies, said she nearly lost out on a major role simply because she was not blonde — and admitted that her most regrettable part was in 1977’s Empire Of The Ants.
Clips from the unintentionally hilarious sci-fi flick, featuring giant plastic insect models, revealed just why.
Fascinatingly, the witty thespian also divulged how she lost the 1963 movie role of Cleopatra to Elizabeth Taylor, but only just — and a clip from Dame Joan’s screen test was even shown.
Oh, and make no mistake — Dame Joan never set out to be an actress, fashion designer or author. She wanted to be a detective.
We’re not sure the well-heeled brunette would have been able to nail the inconspicuous detective look, though.

On stage, Dame Joan is accompanied by her amiable fifth husband Percy Gibson who helps pick audience questions and mediate any delicate moments, such as the topic of Dame Joan’s late sister Jackie.
Needless to say, questions about Dame Joan’s most well-known ex-husband Antony Newley made Percy look a little awkward.
The brilliant thing about this tour is that you can take the conversation in any direction you want, and there’s likely to be a relevant photo or video to accompany Dame Joan’s response.
 

Dame Joan is part of a generation of true screen talents whose very smiles shoot out a thousand times more charm than any so-called star of reality TV.
If you have a passing interest in the movies of yesteryear, the best soap opera ever made or the art of being a bad ass bitch, you really ought to get a ticket while she’s still gracing us with her presence.
Joan Collins Unscripted comes to Brighton Theatre Royal on Monday October 3, and The Marlow Theatre in Canterbury on Wednesday October