Debbie Dorday shows cabaret class and longevity

In the space of eight hours, Debbie Dorday and her sidekick Jim Jolls have set up their show at Onehunga's Pearce St Hall, performed an exhaustive routine with 50 costume changes, chatted with the appreciative audience and signed CDs - before packing everything into motorhomes and heading to their next venue.

It's a procedure the seasoned entertainers have down pat: they've spent 13 years repeating it at halls, restaurants and community centres around the country.

You'll probably remember Debbie as the cabaret dancer who appeared in TV ads in the 1980s, famous for the the immortal line: "See you at Burgundy's!".

"I don't leap about anymore but I'm still in fishnets, eyelashes, glitter and sequins," she says.

Jim also appeared on the small-screen - in a regular spot on 1960s music show, Country Touch. He was having difficulty finding acts for his touring show, Wheeltappers and Shunters at the same time as Debbie was looking for a new direction.

Jim says they met and got on like a house on fire: "We've been going like a rocket ever since."

Each show is adapted for its audience - from retirement villages to Cosmopolitan clubs - and includes a mix of songs, comedy routines and monologues. Their show earned the title of New Zealand's Best Variety Show at the entertainment industry awards last year. Debbie says pairing up with Jim Jolls, an accomplished guitarist and singer, was the best thing she could have done.

"He's very talented and very straight."

The duo have the elderly Onehunga crowd in the palms of their hands with their often bawdy, larger than life characters. They sing the hits of Liza Minnelli, Bette Midler and Elvis in perfect harmony, getting the crowd joining in and tapping their toes.

Debbie's husband, Michael Stickland, is a member of the team, running front of house, lights and sound.

"The three of us created a magical two-hour show," Debbie says.

It's mostly repeat bookings.

"We don't need to advertise. Jim sends out brochures and the next thing it's solidly booked."

They've built up a loyal following, but promise new acts every year so nobody will see the same show twice.

Debbie emigrated to New Zealand from the UK with her family as a two-year-old and they followed her father - a vicar, to his many postings around the country. She attended 17 schools and discovered an affinity for dancing. At each town she'd find a ballet school and it became clear she had talent.

While the family was living in Ngaruawahia her parents decided to send the 10-year-old to the Sadler's Wells Ballet School in London.

"I went to England, auditioned and got in," she says. "But Mum found out about the Ada Foster Stage School, where you learn about everything. I auditioned and got in there as well.

"Mum said: 'I think you'll have more use for the stage school, but don't tell Daddy.'."

She didn't and he never found out. "I wasn't deceiving him, I just didn't say it was different from the one he thought."

The school gave her broad skills.

"I learned the whole business - singing, comedy, falling down stairs without breaking your neck. I was taught to fight for my position and to never miss anything, no matter how you're feeling."

Debbie recalls being accompanied by a chaperone for filming at television studios then having to complete three hours of schoolwork a day.

Photographers were attracted to her freckly face and long curly hair - and because shehad a childlike look.

"I always looked a bit scruffy. They liked that I didn't look like a beauty queen."

She started to enjoy acting until performing in a play about nuns.

"I was a 14-year-old hiding from the Germans - I was crying and screaming every night. It was so nerve-wracking, I decided I never wanted to do it again ... I'd rather be in costume singing and dancing."

She was accepted into the Moulin Rouge company in Paris as the age of 16 and spent a year touring with the troupe.

"It's where I learned the cabaret world and developed a stage persona that's taken me through."

After marrying her first husband, Alan Dorday, and having three children, she decided to leave the stage and return to New Zealand. But it didn't take long before it beckoned her back and she began appearing at Auckland cabaret venue, Annabelle's, in Fort St in the 1970s.

"I spent four nights a week there for eight years. People still mention it to me."

Cabaret was a new phenomenon in New Zealand at that time and Debbie recalls her neighbour saying: "You've just had your third child and you're working in a nightclub?

"She was very shocked."

By 1984, she had established her own venue. With help from investors, she and Alan bought an old cinema in Parnell and renamed it Burgundy's. It had 17 backdrops, 46 staff and shows included dinner and a drink.

"I wanted a fabulous place for dancers to work. I auditioned them when they were 17 or 18 and found the best. People came from all over New Zealand."

Debbie and Alan drifted apart in the 80s but remained good friends until his death a year and a half ago. Debbie married Michael on the stage at Burgundy's in 1989.

By 1996, Debbie was exhausted by Burgundy's and didn't renew the lease.

"I didn't want to dance much anymore but I wanted to see more of New Zealand. I'd been in Auckland for 22 years."

And so, as they say in the trade, they took the show on the road and are now well accustomed to the gypsy lifestyle.

"We still have to find a laundrette, grab food on the run and keep the van clean and tidy."