Dua Lipa live in London: pop hits lightly reimagined by orchestra

The last time Dua Lipa played in the UK, it was to headline Glastonbury’s Pyramid Stage, and her next performances in her home country will be two sold-out shows at Wembley Stadium next June. Sandwiched in between these two career-defining moments is tonight’s show at the Royal Albert Hall, which is being filmed for a TV special and sees her joined by a full orchestra, promising a transformation of her discography.

The entire pit of the venue is turned into one huge stage, with a snaking walkway cutting between a 53-person Heritage Orchestra, 14-person choir and Lipa’s seven-person band. In between songs, Lipa tells the audience how new album Radical Optimism was about searching for something tangible, and how the idea of this special show allowed her to “go into the bare bones” of her songs and reimagine them.

The idea is an interesting one, but in reality not much changes here from her studio material, and it’s probably for the better. Hers are some of the best pop songs of the decade so far, and to radically transform their shape and structure could serve to dilute their power. Instead, the sweeping string section and stirring horns add a new layer of paint while not being transformative. It adds an extra dramatic heft to Radical Optimism highlights ‘Houdini’ and ‘Training Season’, while the brilliant groove that drives both tracks is still firmly in tact.

The idea of an orchestral reimagining of an artist’s catalogue – especially one as fun and danceable as Lipa’s – can end up feeling like code for making it a little more boring, but it’s the changes of energy and tone that make the show succeed. There are beautifully tender moments when she covers Cleo Sol’s ‘Sunshine’ and sings at the piano for a devastating rendition of ‘Anything For Love’, but moments later she’s thrashing about on top of that very piano during a raucous performance of breakout hit ‘Be the One’.

For the encore, it’s truly heartwarming when the troupe of singers part like the red sea to reveal a beaming Elton John, who reveals a genuine chemistry with Lipa as the pair tear through a jubilant version of ‘Cold Heart’. The gap between this show and her soon-to-be-stadium tour is then cut by the introduction of her dancers, who add a much-needed dynamism to a live debut of Barbie track ‘Dance the Night’ and the closing ‘Don’t Start Now’.

This was a show that hinted at revolution for Lipa’s catalogue, and though it stops short of delivering that, it doesn’t diminish the power of these potent pop songs and confirms her as a true entertainer.

Dua Lipa played:

‘End of an Era’
‘Houdini’
‘Levitating’
‘Maria’
‘French Exit’
‘Sunshine’ (Cleo Sol cover)
‘Training Season’
‘These Walls’
‘Whatcha Doing’
‘Love Again’
‘Pretty Please’
‘Illusion’
‘Falling Forever’
‘Anything For Love’
‘Happy For You’
‘Cold Heart (with Elton John)’
‘Be the One’
‘Dance the Night’
‘Don’t Start Now’