QX Meets Pearl & Dean as they Prepare for The Queer Comedy Club, 12 July 2026

Join Pearl & Dean, the most “heterosexual” couple in show biz, for more high jinks on the high seas at The Queer Comedy Club on 12 July 2026. QX had a chat with Peter Pearl and Marsha Dean about their career and their latest show, Pearl & Dean Ride Again.

Which of you showed the earliest signs of being a cabaret entertainer?

That’s a hard one… Marsha has always been a sucker for a power ballad sung by a strong woman with gritty, Northern charm. She was brought up on Dusty and Cilla but nowadays she listens to…Dusty and Cilla. Whereas Peter tap danced out of the womb and sashayed around the maternity ward. Showbiz legend has it that his first words were, “fabulous, Darling!”

When and how did your collaboration as Pearl & Dean begin?

We met at an audition for Duchess Cruises. They were staging cats on “The Watery Queen”. Marsha was up for Grizabella and Peter wanted to be the Rum-Tum-Tugger, obviously. The trouble was the cruise line only had 1 staff cabin left and wanted a married couple. So, we skipped along to the National Express Station and bought the last two seats on a coach to Gretna Green!

What makes a Pearl & Dean show so much fun?

You can expect the unexpected! As Son of a Tutu said, we “put the word camp before as tits”. Expect lots of energy, comedy, song and dance. We build on the traditions of variety and character comedy. It really is good ole fashioned camp fun.

You live in Brighton and perform there regularly. What do you love most about performing in Brighton?

Brighton audiences have been WONDERFUL. They really have taken Pearl and Dean to their hearts. They have invented a game on insta. They take their Pearl and Dean tote bags on holiday and post pictures using the hashtag #pearldeantote and you have to guess where they have taken us! Those tote bags have been everywhere from Fire Island to the Valley of the Queens via Blackpool, Turkey Lesvos, Venice… the list is endless. And, we are so blessed in Brighton to have such an array of performing talent, events and venues that are so, so supportive. Of course, there is friendly rivalry but we have met and made some fabulous friends working on the Brighton scene.  There is just so much talent here and a real diverse range of performances. 

Tell us about the new show you´re bringing to London in July. 

We cannot wait to welcome a London audience aboard our cruise ship, the Watery Queen, to hear tales of our brief spell in the pop charts with our critically acclaimed album “Separate Beds”. They will find out which Nashville Ingénue reworked our greatest hit and made herself a fortune! They will have the opportunity to delve deep into the private lives of Peter and Marsha and find out just why “Love Will Keep Us Together” even if fame and fortune continues to evade us… Expect new songs, new costumes, new hair and tall tales from the shallow end of showbiz!

Finally, what other exciting things have you got lined up for 2026?

We are performing at Brighton Open Air Theatre on Friday 24^th July – Marsha really does love it al fresco – and we really looking forward to performing at Brighton Pride that is always an absolute blast. 

Then, later in August, we are beyond excited to be flying to Sitges where we will be performing at the legendary “El Piano” on the 18^th and 19^th August! We are pinching ourselves! We LOVE El Piano. We have seen absolute showbiz legends perform there and cannot quite believe that we will get to tread those hallowed boards… After that, we start to plan our Christmas show: “Pearl and Dean pull a Cracker!” That is unless Jane McDonald calls and wants to reform our old trio, Fromage a Trois, for a tour. She may have left us high and dry for a stint on “Celebrity Gogglebox”, but, Jane, we don’t hold a grudge…

Pearl & Dean Ride Again on 12 July 2026, 8pm, at The Queer Comedy Club, 9 Hewson Way, Elephant & Castle, London SE17 1JS, United Kingdom.