Chris Isaak at the Theatre Royal Drury Lane — A Night of Velvet, Reverb and Beautiful Showbiz Delirium
- Alan Bryce
- 12 minutes ago
- 6 min read
THEATRE ROYAL - LONDON - 5th JULY 2026
WORDS / IMAGES ALAN BRYCE
There are some performers who arrive onstage. Chris Isaak materializes. One minute the Theatre Royal Drury Lane is a room full of people settling into their seats beneath all that gold leaf, velvet and Victorian grandeur, and the next it becomes a strange dreamscape of echoing guitars, immaculate tailoring and heartache masquerading as entertainment.
I was there, and from the moment the evening began it felt less like a concert and more like a travelling roadshow from some alternate America where Roy Orbison, Elvis Presley and David Lynch all occupy the same postcode.
Before Isaak ever set foot onstage, however, the audience was treated to an excellent opening set from Skye Bishop. Accompanied solely by an acoustic guitarist, she walked onto the vast Drury Lane stage in a lovely blue dress that perfectly suited the elegance of the surroundings. In a theatre packed with people impatient for the arrival of a beloved headliner, winning over the crowd is no small feat. Bishop managed it with apparent ease.
There was a refreshing simplicity to her performance. No gimmicks, no overblown production, just songs delivered with warmth, confidence and genuine feeling. The acoustic arrangements gave her voice room to breathe, and she filled the theatre effortlessly. She possessed that rare quality of appearing completely at home on a stage that can easily dwarf lesser performers.
What struck me most was her composure. Many support acts seem burdened by the knowledge that the audience is waiting for somebody else. Bishop never gave that impression. She performed with quiet assurance, exchanging occasional smiles with her guitarist and creating an intimacy that belied the grandeur of the venue. The audience responded warmly throughout, and with each song the applause grew stronger. By the end of her set there was genuine enthusiasm in the room. She had done far more than fill time; she had made an impression.
Then came Chris Isaak.
Launching into "Beautiful Homes," "Somebody's Crying" and "Here I Stand," he immediately established the tone for the evening. These weren't songs delivered as museum pieces from a cherished catalogue; they sounded alive, restless and full of purpose. Isaak's voice still possesses that uncanny quality that made him famous in the first place: part croon, part ache, part lonely howl drifting across a desert highway at midnight.
Behind him stood a band that has spent years perfecting the art of understatement. They don't merely accompany Isaak; they create the landscape in which his songs live and breathe. The guitar shimmered with reverb and twang, the rhythm section remained effortlessly tight, and every arrangement sounded simultaneously polished and alive. They played with the confidence of musicians who know exactly who they are. No ego, no unnecessary flourishes, just song after song delivered with taste and precision.
The evening took a particularly memorable turn during the third and fourth songs when Isaak left the stage entirely and began wandering through the theatre. Not in the calculated, choreographed fashion so common in modern arena shows, but with the casual confidence of a man who genuinely enjoys being among his audience. He moved through the aisles, singing, joking and chatting as he went, transforming the magnificent Theatre Royal into something unexpectedly intimate.
Most performers would have stopped there. Isaak kept going.
Making his way through the venue, he headed up towards the balconies, singing all the while and engaging with audience members from every level of the theatre. Looking up to see him high above the stalls, singing from the balconies and working the crowd as though the entire building belonged to him, was one of the night's most memorable sights. Suddenly the theatre's grandeur became part of the performance. The distance between performer and audience vanished completely. For those few minutes Isaak wasn't simply standing under a spotlight at centre stage; he seemed to occupy the entire space, turning every corner of Drury Lane into part of the show.
As the evening unfolded, favourites arrived like old friends. "Wicked Game" cast its familiar spell over the room, that timeless combination of yearning and elegance sounding as haunting as ever. "Blue Hotel" and "San Francisco Days" drew particularly warm reactions, while Isaak's affection for the music that shaped him was evident in a series of carefully chosen covers.
A spirited rendition of Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman" reminded everyone just how much of Orbison's DNA runs through Isaak's own music. Elvis Presley's "Can't Help Falling in Love" could easily have become a novelty, but Isaak approached it with genuine affection rather than imitation, allowing the song's timeless beauty to speak for itself.
One of the evening's highlights was "Killing the Blues," written and sung by Rowland Salley, the band's bass player. It provided a welcome change of pace and a reminder that Isaak's group is more than a backing band. They are seasoned musicians with decades of chemistry, capable of stepping into the spotlight when the moment calls for it.
What makes Isaak so compelling is that he understands something many contemporary performers seem to have forgotten: entertainment is a craft. He doesn't just sing songs; he puts on a show. He tells stories. He works a room. He allows moments to breathe. He understands humour, glamour, sentimentality and heartbreak, and he embraces all of them without the slightest trace of irony.
Isaak knows that rock and roll isn't about perfection. It's about communion. It's about giving people a reason to forget themselves for a couple of hours and believe in the transformative power of a great song delivered by someone who means every word.
The encore sent the audience home grinning. "Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing" arrived with all its swagger and danger intact, reminding everyone that Isaak could still tap into the darker, sexier corners of his catalogue. But even then he wasn't finished breaking down the barriers between performer and audience. During the encore, members of the crowd were invited onto the stage. Soon a dozen or more delighted fans were dancing alongside Isaak and the band, turning the stage into a joyous celebration rather than a carefully controlled performance. It was pure showbiz in the best possible sense, spontaneous, warm-hearted and utterly charming.
From there came "Black Flowers," "Wrong to Love You" and "The Way Things Really Are," songs that traded swagger for reflection and closed the evening on a more intimate note. By then the audience had been taken on a complete journey, from the grandeur of the opening numbers to the communal joy of the encore.
As the applause echoed around the ornate walls of the Theatre Royal Drury Lane, it was impossible not to feel that I had witnessed something increasingly rare. Chris Isaak remains an old-school showman in the very best sense, supported by a magnificent band that understands exactly when to soar and when to hold back.
Earlier in the evening, Skye Bishop had provided an engaging and warmly received opening set, accompanied by her guitarist. Dressed in that striking blue dress, she brought charm, confidence and an understated elegance that proved the perfect prelude to what followed.
But this was ultimately Chris Isaak's night. For a couple of hours, one of London's grandest theatres became a place where heartbreak, humour, nostalgia and pure showmanship occupied the same space. Isaak roamed the aisles, climbed to the balconies to sing among the audience, paid tribute to his musical heroes, and even invited more than a dozen fans onto the stage during the encore to dance alongside the band.
Supported by a catalogue packed with songs that have lost none of their power, Isaak delivered a performance that felt wonderfully out of step with modern concert culture. It was heartfelt without being sentimental, funny without becoming self-indulgent, and polished without ever seeming overly rehearsed. In an age of increasingly elaborate productions and carefully managed spectacles, there was something refreshing about watching a performer hold an audience through personality, musicianship and a genuine affection for the people in the room.
Walking out into the London night, I felt as though I hadn't simply attended a concert. I'd been part of an event, one that transformed the Theatre Royal Drury Lane from a magnificent venue into an extension of Chris Isaak's stage, and reminded everyone present just how magical live music can be when it's placed in the hands of a true entertainer.
LONDON SETLIST NOT AVAILABLE – THIS IS THE SETLIST FOR THE SHOW IN MANCHESTER! SETLIST FOR LONDON WOULD BE SIMILAR TO THIS.
Beautiful Homes
Somebody’s Crying
Here I stand
Diddley Daddy (Bo Diddley cover)
I want your love
Wicked Game
Go Walking Down There
Speak of The Devil
Oh Pretty Woman (Roy Orbison cover)
Forever Blue
Two Hearts
Baby What You Want Me To Do
Dancin’
Killing the Blues (Rowland Salley cover) the bands bass player
Can’t help falling love (Elvis Presley)
Blue Hotel
San Francisco Days
Lie To Me
Big Wide Wonderful World
ENCORE
Baby Did a bad bad thing
Black Flowers
Wrong to Love you
The way things really are