No One Knows The Setlist

• Running time: 45, 60, or 90 minutes

• Minimal technical requirements

• Works with house pianist or touring MD

• Built for repeat programming — no two shows the same

• Designed for main theatre audiences

• Available in multiple themed editions

• Motown, Musicals, Sixties, Rat Pack and more

• Currently sixteen curated editions

Designed for Theatres and Cruise Stages

There’s a moment just before the music begins.

The audience has made its choices.

No one knows what they’ve created.

A pause.

Then the first chord lands

and the reaction is instant.

Laughter.
Recognition.
Surprise.

It spreads across the room — from seat to seat —

until everyone is sharing the same moment.

Not just watching.

Part of it.

What That Moment Creates

Every audience doesn’t just watch the show — they shape it.

What follows isn’t a fixed performance, but a sequence of moments created in real time — by the room, for the room.

The result is something rare in live entertainment:

A shared experience that feels personal, unpredictable, and completely their own.

No two audiences experience the same show.
And no one leaves feeling like they’ve simply watched something happen.

For venues and bookers, that translates into an audience that is engaged, responsive, and already talking about the show before it’s even finished — and asking when it’s coming back.

Press Reviews

"Mellifluous describes Gary's voice very well."

Mike Dixon
Musical Supervisor & Conductor
(West End, BBC & Royal Albert Hall)

"Gary's character has a frequent reprise of 'A Man Doesn't Know', a tribute to the love, faith and support of his onstage wife. I hope he goes home every night and serenades his offstage wife with it too."

Terri Paddock
WhatsOnStage

"After a promising debut in Damn Yankees at the Landor, he is taking his first lead as Aimable Castagnet, the Baker in The Baker's Wife, and doing a terrific job. He has a most pleasing baritone, bolstering the sincerity and honesty of his acting. He could easily have overplayed his gently drunk scene at the end of Act I but got it spot-on."

Jeremy Chapman
Musical Theatre Review

"The most beautiful baritone voice I have ever heard"

Janie Dee
Olivier Award-winning
stage and screen actress

"Bland's warm tone and crystal-clear voice is perfectly suited. He's also incredibly likeable as a performer: natural and relaxed, welcoming and inclusive."

Craig Glenday
Musical Theatre Review

"It is really worth wondering why Bland came into the business so late, but he is a shining illustration of the good old saying that “it’s never too late".

His voice, rich in texture, can croon all the way from the sweet and mellow to the grand and striking. Furthermore, his stage presence falls in between the cute boy-man and the guy next door, appealing to a wide variety of audiences. Not only he can sing, but he can tell a story and instinctively connect with his audience. A thoroughly enjoyable night out."

Thanasis Kalantzis
Cabaret Scenes Magazine

Built on Structure - Driven by Surprise

The Cocktails Show™ runs on a simple, repeatable framework:
the audience selects from an on-screen menu, and each choice reveals a randomised number linked to a pre-curated song within that Edition.

Behind the spontaneity is careful design — a musical architecture that ensures the show remains coherent, paced, and theatrically assured.

The result is a performance that feels completely unpredictable to the audience, while always remaining controlled, balanced, and professionally delivered.

How The Show Works

A Very Brief Introduction

1

2

Cocktail Name

The audience makes their first choice

Spirit Name

The second choice is made

Modifier Name

The third choice completes the selection

Most live shows ask you to sit back.

This one doesn’t.

There’s no pressure.
No awkward participation.
No sense of being put on the spot.

Just the quiet thrill of knowing
that what happens next
is partly because of you.

Every choice creates a reaction.
Every reaction spreads across the room.

Energy builds.
The audience leans in.

And from beginning to end,
the room stays with it —
engaged, responsive, and connected.

3

Curated Editions.
One Format. Endless Variations.

Each Edition is a fully realised version of The Cocktails Show™ — from Motown and Soul to Broadway & West End, The Sixties, Country, Christmas and more — curated in advance for style, balance, and audience impact.

The audience shapes what happens, but the show never becomes a free-for-all.
The theme remains clear, the tone stays consistent, and the musical journey is always satisfying.

Because the choices change every time, an Edition can return again and again — without ever feeling repeated.

Designed for Professional Programming

The Cocktails Show™ is built for ease of
programming across cruise entertainment,
theatre stages, and curated live events.

• Clear running times

• Repeatable structure

• Light technical requirements

• A format that stays fresh without changing the production

Reliable to schedule.

Straightforward to deliver.

Different every night.

Designed for professional venues and live audiences, The Cocktails Show combines a clear format with genuine audience interaction to create a performance that is both reliable to programme and unique every night.

Why Book This Show?

Flexible running times

Available in 45, 60, or 90-minute formats, allowing it to fit seamlessly within theatre programmes, cruise schedules, and event line-ups.

A structured interactive format

Audience participation is built into the design — ensuring the performance remains polished, well-paced, and musically balanced.

A different experience each night

Audience selections shape the running order in real time, creating a performance that feels unique while remaining consistent and dependable.

Suitable for a wide range of venues

Designed for theatres, cruise stages, cabaret rooms, and private events — adaptable to different audiences and performance environments.

Straightforward technical requirements

Requires a singer, pianist or musical director, projection screen, and standard venue lighting — making it simple to programme and stage.

An experienced stage performer

Gary Bland has appeared in West End and National Theatre productions, bringing professional stagecraft and strong audience connection to every performance.

Technical rider and supporting materials available on request.

Designed for professional venues and live audiences, The Cocktails Show™ combines a clear, structured format with genuine audience interaction — delivering a performance that is both reliable to programme and unique every night.

Interested in programming The Cocktails Show™?
Enquiries from theatres, cruise venues and event organisers are welcome.

The Cocktails Show is suitable for international cruise entertainment programmes across major cruise lines including Cunard, Holland America Line, Celebrity Cruises, Princess Cruises, MSC, Norwegian Cruise Line, Saga, Royal Caribbean, and Viking.

Gary Bland Short Biography

Gary Bland is a British singer, actor and writer who specialises in live performance formats that combine music, storytelling and audience engagement. His work spans theatre, cabaret and broadcast, with a particular focus on creating shows that bring people directly into the experience of live performance.

He is the creator and presenter of The Cocktails Show, an interactive music format in which audience selections shape the running order of the evening, and Forty Shades of Jazz, a radio series exploring classic jazz recordings and their stories.

Gary continues to develop new performance concepts for theatres, cruise venues and live audiences.

Crafted for Confidence.
Delivered with Precision.

The Cocktails Show™ is not open-ended audience participation.

It is a structured interactive format designed for professional environments.

Each Edition is curated in advance.

The musical arrangements are prepared.

The pacing is engineered.

The audience shapes the experience, but the architecture ensures the result is cohesive, musically satisfying and theatrically assured.

This balance between unpredictability and control is what makes the format exceptional.

The Cocktails Show is an interactive live music format created and presented by Gary Bland.