1982 Charity Show by Dorothy Willatt.

In Hallmark December 1982. Mrs Dorothy Willatt gave a show raising £430 which was forwarded to the Royal Bucks Hospital towards a special baby care unit. The following review was published in Hallmark:-

Dorothy Willatt Entertains

People from a wide area filled Lacey Green Village Hall on 3rd November evening to be entertained by Dorothy Willatt in her “One Woman Snow". Her accompanist was Janet Coughlan who made an important contribution but who, even when Dorothy warmly acknowledged all her hard work and able accompaniment, would not stand­–up to take a bow and receive her bouquet.

The staging made the most of limited facilities in the hall and the professional way in which the artist performed was a joy, although the occasional asides kept it down to earth! There was something for everyone – modern ballads, old music hall songs, show songs, light classics, loosely following a theme as a link. While some songs were sung in the style of the star who made them famous, a few were an impersonation. Marie Lloyd's songs as sung by Dorothy Willatt have a freshness and air not often heard, these she has perfected. Eartha Kitt's "Old Fashioned Girl" was enjoyable but the Gracie Field's song and the Cleo Lane impression will polish up to something more, although still amusing.

It is clear that Dorothy has a flair for this sort of thing and the Joyce Grenfell monologue could be extended. This may have been an experiment and, if so, it has indicated. that there is a place for it and although, like some impressions, it seems to be a new idea, it is one which will benefit from using more.

The use of the “unsuspecting"(?) member of the audience who was taken on stage to "stooge" for the song "Bill" from "Showboat" helped break down the early slight reticence of the audience. That number was received with much enthusiasm, as was the "strip-tease" removal of the dress in "Let Me Entertain You" to reveal "bloomers" and the disappearance of the artiste after that to re-appear in a trim black costume was very neatly done.

This was the first two-hour show given by Mrs. Willatt. It was a difficult programme to sustain and it perhaps left too much of a taxing nature to the second half, when it began to appear that the superabundant energy was flagging. Presumably this type of entertainment needs a training programme to be fit enough for the energy it takes, but a different arrangement of numbers and perhaps an extra break for relaxation would prevent the artiste overtaxing herself, something her public would hate to see; they want her to continue entertaining them for a long time to come!