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Elegant
skill in a helping of
fun An Evening of Burlesque
The New Alexandra Theatre
***** AS
REGULAR readers of this site know I am a big fan of burlesque, for its
humour, its elegance, its glamour and skill. But most of all for its
ability to entertain and enthrall through embracing beauty in all its
guises. A regular
feature at the New Alexandra theatre An Evening of Burlesque arrived for
another short and sweet one night run. The troupe have something of a
fluid roster meaning that you never know who you are going to get, which
I think adds to the show. It is to their credit that despite
always having a different personnel make up the show never loses its
slickness., Audience participation is
positively encouraged and many punters came to the show dressed to the
nines, which added to the vibrant atmosphere. There was a best dressed
section although this
The show was opened by Kiki
deVille who, as you would expect from someone who impressed on a BBC
homed talent show, had a cracking voice and a warm stage persona.
The quality of her vocals
adding to the value of the show and the overall experience. The
only aspect of her compering that I did not like was her inclination to
put herself down on occasion to make a joke at her own expense. As an accomplished and
glamorous artist in her own right, I would have liked her to do as
burlesque does so often and celebrate her uniqueness a little more. Often Burlesque shows start
with a crash course in burlesque etiquette, when done well this lays a
foundation for natural but enthusiastic audience participation. While Kiki did take the
audience down this well trodden path of initiation, for me the signposts
were not that clear and it never quite clicked. As a result the
audience never quite came alive. Although they were often impressed they
were unclear of what outlets of appreciation were available to them
unless explicitly prompted by performers. Every burlesque show that I
have ever been to has had a healthy dose of inquisitive newcomers, all
of whom benefit from been schooled in when and how to show their
appreciation appropriately. This may seem like an odd
thing to say, but unlike many other art forms burlesque does not benefit
from awe inspired silence, for it to work it needs some good old
fashioned whooping and hollering. The dancing portion of the
show was literally kicked off by the dancing troupe – The Folly
Mixtures, comprising of Ella Boo, Angie Sylvia and Oh La Lou, though
usually they would be accompanied by one or two fellow performers. This reduction in numbers was
not catastrophic, but it did leave them with a lot of stage to fill
between the three of them. In their four routines, which bookended
the production well, they performed with great energy, good timing and
despite a few mishaps good clasp management. They are a very good
introduction to burlesque for the uninitiated, easing you into the genre
in a way that is familiar but fun. After some more banter and
impressive Ladies don't come much hotter than Angie Silvia The variety show feel of the
evening was cemented by the arrival of Christian Lee, a very funny
magician who had a very collaborative style with the audience, that
allowed them to feel part of the show even before an audience member was
invited onto the stage as a magician’s assistant. Overall he worked the crowd
well and exploited this with aplomb when he returned in the second half
for a ballerina skit, that while a little too long for this reviewers
liking, it did play very big part in keeping the audience energized, not
least by getting four men up from the audience to dance. The headliner of the night was
Amber Topaz, who has a heady mix of excellent burlesque skills, a
fantastic voice and polished comic timing. This was the only
performer on whom my girlfriend and myself disagreed. My girlfriend felt that she
had too much comedy in her act and that on occasion this detracted from
the undoubted quality of her act and some truly sublime skills. To
me Topaz, odd as it sounds, was evocative of a beautiful and beguiling
Tommy Cooper. She expertly harnessed the skill required to perform
exquisitely while interspersing deliberate comedic acts of failure
perfectly, which only added to magnificence of her set. Whether it be her take on
Jessica Rabbit, which always has a fine mix of comedy and glamour or
some more traditional burlesque, Amber Topaz is one of the best in the
business. The show had a good variety of
sets, which provided something for everyone. Angie Sylvia
performed a Fire eating dance, with amazing grace and sensuality and
having seen her before I should say that as a performer she is clearly
growing in stature. Isobella Bliss was excellent
as she performed the classic champagne glass dance, with a poise and
smoothness that was genuinely impressive. Ooh La Lou literally sent
sparks flying with a fun and energizing Flashdance routine, although for
cinematic accuracy it would have been nice to see a bucket finale. Overall the show was very
entertaining and two Burlesque virgins seated next to me were full of
praise. The performers were skilled and sassy and it reminded me why
Burlesque is such an inclusive and fun evening. With a little
tweak or two in terms of audience education and one or two Folly
mixtures and this would have been a five. Christian Clarke
12-09-14
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did
seem to be limited to those on the front couple of rows, unless you were
lucky enough to be plucked from the darkness to tread the boards as one
gentleman was. It would be nice to find a way to include other
members of the audience, maybe spotting them in the lobby. 
vocals from the engaging Kiki, Ella Boo returned to perform the classic
balloon dance. While her timing was slightly amiss in terms of her
popping, her audience participation really helped to ramp up the fun in
the auditorium.