Sugar Blue Burlesque demonstrates the range of its stars in a variety show with an educational twist, showing the development of the burlesque art through the ages.
Fanny La Rue was Sugar Blue’s gorgeous MC for this homage to the greats of burlesque. The De Parel Spiegeltent was a wonderful choice of venue for such an historical showcase, and the pre-show display of various showbills and posters of yesteryear set both the scene and expectations. From one of the Barrison Sisters, with her disturbing pussy and vaudeville act, through to Dita von Teese and the modern day burlesque revival, short clips, snippets of information and still photographs accompanied live sets paying tribute to featured performers.
The research, costumes and sets were impressive, as was the scope of the attempt. However, one hour was not enough to do justice to each of the eight different styles and eras, and despite Sugar Blue’s impressive talent line up, it seemed unlikely that the abilities of the individual tribute artistes would enable a longer show.
There were significant strengths and weaknesses to each act. The Barrison tribute was cutely charming, with music hall patter and innuendo, but the routine itself seemed wordy and repetitive to modern eyes. It worked as part of the history lesson, and contrasted with the Folies Bergère dance routine which featured lovely moments with beautiful dancers, but as a whole displayed a nervously amateur feel. Tempest Storm’s deputy stood out with her costume and dance style reflecting the era, but her facial expressions spoiled the impact – a Luna Park mouth did not enhance the show. Other small details detracted: while various intimate tattoos were lovely, they were anachronistic and clashed with some styling. However, this was small change compared to the shock of a Caucasian Josephine Baker, despite the treat of seeing the gold banana skirt costume in the flesh. The Dita von Teese routine was particularly daring in referencing a contemporary great, more familiar to many in the crowd. The well-structured powder puff vignette, not rushed or abruptly ended, was a brilliant finish to a patchy evening.
The sets, props and costumes were all beautifully prepared, and were arranged and collected by Fringe World’s sauciest, sexiest stage crew. Lighting was competent, but there were other technical hitches that irritated, mainly to do with errors in projection, an iTunes screen displaying randomly, and slides and clips failing to change on cue. Radio mic failure was dealt with sweetly by the dancer affected, but should not have been an issue.
While the concept was sound, and provided a great opportunity to demonstrate the breadth and depth of local burlesque talent, limitations of time and ability hampered successful delivery.
Rating: 3 stars out of 5
The Chronicles of Burlesque
Presented by Sugar Blue Burlesque
Directed by Melanie Bruyer
Performed by A’dora Derriere, Agatha Frisky, Coco Poppin, Clara Cupcakes, Cecile Mimieux, Johnny Domino, Kitty Litteur, Lulu Liqueur, Ruby DeLure, Ruby Slippers, Scarlet O’Harlot and Fanny La Rue.
De Parel Spiegeltent, Perth Cultural Centre, Northbridge
20 – 23 February
Fringe World 2013
www.fringeworld.com.au
25 January – 24 February
