The giant story book prop on stage adorned with “Peaches & Gin – A Burlesque Upon a Time” was the first indication that we were in store for quite a fractured Fairy Tale. While the drive time radio-style banter and MC’ing from Rohan Watts and Cara Louise didn’t quite cement this premise to my comfort, they did try to build the atmosphere with getting the audience comfortable with whooping and hollering as was appropriate.

Our first tease of what was to come was delivered through a clever silhouette routine through the pages of the oversized story book by Luna Eclipse & Sapphire Snow, culminating with them coming to life in the flesh much to our delight. This was followed by a musical number on the theme of “Until Death We Do Part”, by the Evil Queen of Hearts Cara Louise, which was delivered with humour & homicidal wit. No arguments, the gal can sing cabaret.

The un-coventional bedtime story continued with Sapphire as the jilted Princess, who gave us a most illuminating “black light” Cinderella routine. This was followed by a “Jeannie” I will probably keep dreaming about, courtesy of Ms Luna, who gave us a cheeky and entertaining Arabian Nights number, showing her personality is way to big to be kept bottled in a magic lamp.

The question as to whether one is a jiggler or a dangler came to mind as I contemplated Sapphire’s novel pastie-placement of tea bags in her clever “Mad Hatters Tea Party”. We were then graced by a visit from Luna’s Ice Queen on wings of silver, that culminated in a powerful grind to 50’s rock, a sensually staggered but stomping strip tease.

All together, we were given a well constructed story line and framework to support the talent and creativity inherent in these two burlesque babes. But to comment, another online critic has made an unkind quip that the props & performance of Burlesque Upon A Time is more reminiscent of a well put together talent show, but not a professional burlesque gig – which I think shows he completely misses the point of Burlesque as a performance movement.

Like Punk, the Burlesque revival has a strong do-it-yourself ethic – and when you have this in mind you can see the difference between corporate managed “faux-Burlesque” which is sterile jazz dance in corsets, versus performance from people who have built and supported their act from the ground up. Personally I prefer a little more Buzzcocks in my Burlesque, and a little less Toto.

When you want an evening of dark cabaret, a heady atmosphere like that of somewhere from the Deep South can’t hurt – and Adelaide’s weather has certainly come to the party on the eventide, a readily thickening humidity rolling over the Fringe site, amplified within the performance tent, pushed even further by the performances in Noir Revue.

Our Mistress of Ceremonies, the Blue Angel, an ethereal creature somewhere between Little Nell and Marlene Deitrich has promised us dark tragic beauties & troublesome fellows.  This they delivered and more.

Throughout the evening we had wonderful stylistic counterpunctuality between songstress Baby Blue Bergman & Dizzy, who delivered beautifully aching renditions of Blue Velvet and Bang Bang, set in a balanced dichotomy against the deep soul driven lamentations of Chantal delivering Blues in the Night and Folsom Prison Blues amongst her repertoire.

The theme of knife edge balance curiously continues amongst the routines of Paloma Negra & Missy – who together performed an erotically charged Chair Tango, reinforcing an old saying that the Tango is horizontal desire expressed vertically. When separated, each demonstrated no shortage of matched aerial skill – Paloma on the Delta Trapeze and Missy on a Trapeze Ring, the attention of the audience held not through circus trickery, but in the discipline each demonstrated in slow deliberate contortions.  The tightening of a muscle, a tendon stretched, maybe a bead of sweat delivering the fascination to the observer, each of us being compelled and drawn into the very restraint itself.

And old favourite, Mr Gorski delivers a new take on his amazing hat & cigar juggling skills.  Whereas the last time I saw him the routine certainly had a nod to the good Mr Chaplin’s physical comedy, Mr Gorski’s present incarnation presents a much darker, uncontrolled protagonist. Drunk, leering and pleasantly unwholesome, this Mr Gorski comes from a tenebrous corner of the psyche, a development I appreciate considerably.

Our required dose of tease was delivered in medicinal spoonfuls by Scarlett Jezebel and Sarina del Fuego - both together and in separate routines, some parts deliberately understated, some exorcising any need for subtlety.  Scarlett was resplendent in glory in her amazing Peacock Feather Fan bustle, azure magnificence as she swayed and bumped her way before us, peeling away the layers to our delight.  And the divine Ms del Fuego delivered the naughty and naughtier, forgetting the nice somewhere along the way. Her Perdita Smoking routine was sensual and a source of ignition (not only from the cigarette), while her fan routine held something of the Norman Lindsay aesthetic, like some dryad celebrating release from one of his etchings.

I would hasten to add that like shadows, the full range of noir sensibilities is cast only in the presence of a suitable light source – and tonight’s performance carried enough light and shade from each performer to emotionally move one between states of engagement, from awe to sympathy, through titillation and doses of whimsy.

The remaining performances are Saturday 19th and Sunday 20th February, I suggest you start your 2011 Adelaide Fringe off with a bang, bump and grind at the Noir Revue.

Burlesque Beauties, by Kitty Kemble’s Mirror Mirror Company, at La Boheme has made something of point of difference in Americana inspiration, whereas many a burlesque and cabaret troupe give a good nod to the stylistic themes of Vegas, this performance took more cues from New York.

Chair routines, and somewhat tame but aerobic Feather fan performances to the likes of All That Jazz, show where a good dose of the aesthetic was pitched.  There were some very good traditional French style tease routines and acrobatics amongst the dancing, the latter quite commendable given the restricted stage area.

The Broadway nod continued with a rendition of New York New York by a shirtless, buff and highly capable male cabaret singer, Jesse James, with him really hitting his strides and owning the performance space by the second number, a soulfully delivered Cry Me A River.

Singer, Madison K, is a stunning performer who really impressed me with a particularly striking cabaret number involving murder and comedy – singing while manipulating a corpse on stage is no mean feat.

The laughs were maintained through some other well delivered cabaret favourites by other performers,  Whatever happened to class? and a witty fashion advice number with an unsuspecting audience member ending up as a Corey Worthington clone.

Again we have hit that interesting question of continuums between other forms of dancing, Show Girl routines and Burlesque.  Maybe one of the things I like about burlesque is that it is often a celebration of ‘beautiful imperfection’. The character portrayal, physicality and the delivery of routines have a certain realistic quality that are within the grasp of any woman (or man).

As a result, when I am presented with burlesque performed by athletically buff and stunning performers, delivered with a certain military precision, sculptured perfection and style of choreography I would normally associate with other exotic dance forms, it does give me moment to pause.

Maybe I feel we weren’t quite teased enough…that the bridge between performer and audience had not quite been traversed.

Did you know the domestic adoption and use of the vibrator preceded the home vacuum cleaner by nine years?

Neither did I?

And that once upon a time medically administered manual masturbation by your local doctor was the standard treatment for women suffering genital congestion and hysteria and that it was not regarded as anything to do with sex?

But could you claim it on Medicare?

All these tit bits, and historical pink bits, are contained in cabaret song and delicious silliness in this production by Isabel Hertaeg on “the little death”, La Petit Mort – The Orgasm.

Accompanied by her talented pianist, Geoff “Magic Fingers” Urquhart, this sexy siren, a metaphorical and literal Lady in Red, gets us into the mood with a good dose of Luciferian lavisciousness as she serenades the Devil’s horn.

Alternating between story and song she takes us from period Germanic art song dripping frank Freudian connotations to lesbian laments for labia left behind.  If I could critique one thing, it would be that the strength and delivery of her dialogue maybe didn’t carry the gravitas or conviction of her singing, less vamp, more vixen.

La Petit Mort has two more shows, 11 & 12 March at the Promethean Theatre.  Grab a ticket, but not yourself, and see why this show received rave reviews at the Edinburgh and Melbourne Fringe Festivals.

On the related topic of vibrators, and the absinthian cultural mores of neo-Victorian Steam Punk, here is a website by a creative genius who has managed to bring the two together.

The Promethean Theatre, an Edwardian era Church, one time Liquor Trade Union Hall, now a gothic grey and plush velvet performance venue, is an excellent and intimate location for a witty night of bad German accents and cabaret.

Supported by the virtuosic Berlin Cabaret Micro Orchestra (read three piece jazz ensemble), Gerhardt, Lux and Rudi play up to every hokey hun caricature straddling the Weimar era and period of Nazi ascension.

Gerhardt was the charming, crooning Master of Ceremonies for the evening, with plenty of bad-but-good puns and blue banter. Lux is the resident alcoholic lush, strutting the stage in fishnets, corsetry and wine bottle belting out her particular penchant for American jazz numbers. Overplayed to the max, but then I think this is a necessity (even if her German accent seemed to be sliding at times into Slavic territories like all so many invasions of the era).  Supporting act, the Tin Can Alley, are an extremely talented and ageing decadent duo who specialise in catchy cabaret – from well known standard such as “Non, je ne regrette rien”, or more obscure Indian show tunes about oversized tomatoes (in Hindi!)

The gangly, shy and awkward Rudi, however, steals the show.  One minute delivering operatic overtures with Wagnerian largesse, next (un)dressed as ol’ Adolf himself in a fetching negligee.  His voice is either angelic or infernal as the tune and context demands. Glorious stuff.

I’m not sure what it is about this particular company of performers, but the average age of the audience was closer to 60, which I found curious – but maybe the “classic” form of Weimer cabaret holds an appeal for the older set that differentiates them from the new generation of neo-cabaret. At the very least it demonstrates that the cabaret and vaudeville arts still hold a broad appeal across many generations, and that the Fringe is not just for the young and tragically Boho.

The Berlin Cabaret have two more performances this Fringe - alas all sold out. But keep an eye out for them at other events such as the Adelaide Cabart Festival.

Bogan’s are funny. And so are Catholics (thanks Tony Abbott). Regional centres where the world is as big as the town limits are will always be funny as long as it is mixed with a dose of nostalgic & affectionate pathos.

Make it into a musical gala and you have WrongTown.  Think of the Andrew Sisters after a drug binge. Performing in an outer suburban Westfield. Outside a Supré.

But oh, these girls can sing.

Why a musical tribute to the Snowtown Murders in the form of the Beer Barrel Polka (aka Roll Out The Barrel) has not been done before is beyond me?  If tour buses can now stop at the infamous disused bank in Snowtown so tourists can sniff under the door, then I say enough time has passed for us to laugh through song and wimsy at one of the more recent episodes in Adelaide’s Bizarre Murder Capital scrapbook of infamy.

Of course the mid-North Coast’s very own “Summer Bay” with industrial slag & drag, Newcastle, is not forgotten.  And if it wasn’t for the fact that Jetstar has tricked many a passenger flying to Melbourne, by taking them to Avalon Airport instead, well, would anyone know that Geelong existed?

But far from the industrial and residential wastelands often portrayed, these places are hotbeds of intrigue, with a song in the fractured heart of all these places: married mothers discovering lesbianism, Catholic schoolgirls in need of confession, burgeoning drug cultures amid Americanisation of white bread rural youth and suburban murder tales worthy of their own ballads.

WrongTown is your town. Admit it -  you grew up, got trapped, maybe escaped, and possibly returned to places like this. And when you can acknowledge that, WrongTown will stay in your mind for all the right reasons.

The promise of music, magic noir, comedy, escapology and modern vaudeville drew me to this performance held at Live on Light Square.  I came away feeling like a promise had not been quite fulfilled.

I would like to emphasise though the ability of many of the performers cannot be faulted. The first magician, Jamie, while being a bit of a nervous chap was very adept, and certainly his confidence and projection carried increasing weight as his performance progressed.  Consuming a banana full of razorblades and a classic escape from a straight jacket was well executed adorned with some quite witty banter.

Matt the Mentalist came across quite reserved and shy, but this is part of an act where the harmless introvert unexpectedly proves an uncanny ability to dig into the unsuspecting mind, innocently read body mannerisms and reveal that which is hidden – or have an unwitting audience member perform some quite dangerous acts.

Then came Dan the comedian.  Billed as confronting and politically incorrect, frankly he was a bore who told dirty jokes that related modes of transport to sex acts with a complete absence of comedic timing and delivery. This was the evening’s achilles heel if anything.

Concluding the evening was the most debonaire MC/magician Kamal who delivered some nicely delivered comedic moments amongst some quite simple but impressive trickery. If the whole performance can infuse a good lick of his delivery and savoir-fair in future it will solidify the dynamics for their next performance on the 12 March 2010.

I must sympathise with the performers though, in that the venue decided to start the doof doof music of its neighbouring dance club before the performance had even finished – rather bad form I thought.

One of the great things about getting off the Garden of Unearthly Delights trail for the Fringe is discovering some of Adelaide’s less well known performance venues, such as the Holden Street Theatre housed within a delightful sandstone heritage church building.

On this occasion I am here to be delighted by the Vari-A-Tease troupe who have successfully assembled a broad cast of performers highlighting tremendous individuality and artistic flair.

Mr Gorsky was the first act, with some classic performance mime and balance work invoking physical comedy archetypes reminiscent of Chaplin or Keaton – whether fighting against an ill wind that blow’eth his way or demonstrating his dexterities with a derby on his dome, his routines were extremely well staged.

Kitty van Horne is the sort of school teacher you remember fondly about, elegant, stylish but always the sense there was something hidden and noir about her.  Thus emerges her alter ego, The Queen of the Nile, who belts out show tunes to gyrations and gutsy gesticulations guaranteed to bring your father to the next parent teacher night.

Maxi Man blurs the gender divide with a very Victor Victoria woman being a man being a woman routine. Dark, dirty and evocative with rampant use of processed smallgoods. Beware of her bung fritz dear Fringe-dwellers.

The Divine Danica Lee oozes sensuality and sass with her classic fan dance burlesque and highly imaginative rendition of events in the Garden of Eden – if she had been teaching bible class I’m sure I would have paid more attention, although with commensurately more reason for frequent confession.

Speaking of the infernally good, Cherry Valens showed us the Devil inside her with catchy well choreographed bump and grind, her routines extending to south of the border down me-hi-co way in some classic Tex Mex tease.

Poppy T - bright and stygian in equal measures – inviting us to an evil night together in a modern burlesque number or something more turn of the century with fine Belle Epoque sensibilities and titillation.

Whether flinging herself on a horizontal pole as everyone’s favourite living dead doll, adorned in shibari rope and PVC, or revealing the naughty world of bored housewives discovering how much joy a wooden spoon, decent cake mixture and a Britney Spears soundtrack can bring, Zahra Stardust is a truly versatile performer.

Liam Power added some conjuration and illusion to the proceedings with simple but clever card tricks (with oversized audience friendly cards so we could genuinely ooh and aah over his hand quicker than eye machinations), and supplementing his iron intake with a fist full of steel pins down the gullet.

And then there was the crowd favourite, Missy, acrobatic aerialist pole dancer extraordinaire who brought us a Puck in the Green fantasy routine, like some untamed wild Maenad but showing great discipline and skill in her balance and movement.  Her mechanoid Android routine left no one sleeping, let alone dreaming of electric sheep.

With remaining shows tonight (Friday 26 February) and tomorrow night (Saturday 27 February), both at 10.30pm, there is time to get out now and see the show – let them give you a damn good Variateasing while you can!

Salutations Libertarian’s all,

there is a smorgasboard of decadent entertainment, titillation and whimsy coming in a few short weeks with the Adelaide Fringe on our doorstep once more.  We will be giving extra attention to the burlesque arts this year with the following on our shopping list:

Vari-A-Tease – with the divine Danica Lee, mischievous Missy and a cast of performers delivering a menu of burlesque, vaudeville, magic and cabaret.

A Deli Burlesque – A cross-pollination of neo-burlesque and vintage charm.
Babes on bikes; hula-hoop aerobics; exotic bird rituals and more.

Burlesque Beauties - Reminiscent of 1920s, 30s, 40s and50s, three sassy burlesque beauties present their unique blend of classic burlesque, comedy, music and vintage sass.

For events closer to hand – 2pm Saturday the 13th of February at Gallery Serpentine, in Newtown (Sydney) are having  special Valentine Day event, with Jocelyn from the Cult of Scent showcasing a range of new and favourite hand crafted artisan fragrances.

Come and find out which of the Cult of Scent perfume best suits you and - if you’re very very nice -get your bottle of Cult of Scent perfume customised especially for you!

That Countess of Cabaret entertainment, Sarina del Fuego, must be among the hardest working lasses in industry at the moment.  Seldom in one place long enough to let the grass grow under her feet, she is nonetheless ensuring that all the Eastern seaboard, including the oft-forgotten Tasmania, will get a taste of her style - from art exhibitions, charity galas, Halloween Spectaculars and hands on workshop.

There is something for everyone this October - although maybe not the kiddies. To be sure I would have appreciated my parents more for taking me to burlesque shows…oh anyway..here are the dates.

Friday 9th October - Cita Daidone’s exhibition opening
Bondi Beach Opening Night October 9th at 7pm. Come and see Cita’s paintings of the female muse, birds, cats, trees and flowers whirling in an imaginary dreamscape. Sarina Del Fuego one of Australia’s top cabaret artistes will be performing.
Exhibition Dates- 9th October until 13th November 2009 7:00pm - 10:00pm Ruby’s Place Performance Cafe @ Bondi Beach 95 Roscoe Street (crn Gould St)

Saturday 17th October - Gangster’s Ball at the Tivoli, Brisbane
The Gangsters’ Ball 2008 was an amazing success, selling out 700 tickets some 4 weeks in advance with nearly 200 people queuing at the door for up to 3 hours to purchase the remaining 50 tickets… It was widely regarded by those who attended as “the best event of its type ever held in Sydney” and voted by the Drum Media Street Press Magazine in it’s 2008 Readers Poll Edition as the “best Swing/Rockabilly Event of 2008”.The Velvet Set, along with Meow Meow and Sarina del Fuego, Mark Winmall, Rosy Rabbit, Imogen Kelly and many more.

Sunday 18th October - Girl’s night Out - Fundraiser for Breast Cancer
Get the girls together and join us for our annual Cancer Council fundraiser to help raise money for the fight against women’s cancers! WHEN: Sunday, 18 October, 2009 WHERE: Pink Salt Bar & Restaurant, 53 Cross Street Double Bay THEME: ‘…A touch of pink’ TIME: GIRLS from 3pm / GUYS from 5pm TICKETS: $70 per girl (Includes a glass of bubbly, canapés, a gift bag, entertainment, guest speakers)

Saturday 24th October- Burlesque Basics Workshop in HOBART
Come learn the basics of burlesque performance - classic movement, along with how to use props such as gloves, boas, stockings, suspenders, feathers and fans!

Saturday 24th October- Toussaint (a Halloween Spectacular)
The Playhouse Bathurst St Hobart Tasmania. The Southern Belles are proud to present “Toussaint” the biggest burlesque show Hobart has ever seen. Starring Burlesque Sensation Sarina Del Fuego. Also featuring Miss Kitty’s Meow Madame Goulash Miasma Sister O Plus many more for $15. From 19:30 - 22:30. Tickets can be purchased at centertainment.