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.
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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
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