Concorde2, 25th July

The Boutique Theatre troupe have been performing their own brand of titillating and teasing burlesque in a recent sell-out run of Brighton shows and have been touting their flirtatious fun since 2006. The show is joint brainchild of the aptly-named creators Just Lucky, Jonny Revolver and Madame Collier De Parlier. The shows have been an outstanding success offering a fun and relaxed introduction into the world of burlesque theatre. Corsets, feathers and saucy fun were in store as Jen Blakeley went to take a peek down at Concorde2.

The main room at Concorde2, most familiar as a dance floor at gigs and club nights, was transformed into an intimate setting laid out with tables and seating filled with a variety of couples, singles and groups. Placed on seats were ‘menus’ listing the delectable variety of burlesque beauties that were on offer for our entertainment this evening. Male compere, Just Lucky, a bubbly, ring-master type character introduced the audience to the eclectic selection of ladies at the beginning of the night and we were soon into the first of three sections of the show. A couple of performances in and I was immediately delighted by the diverse nature of the acts. Of course, there was the inevitable striptease but along with this there were elements of comedy, provided by Therese Le Tease with Alfred Hitchcock’s ‘The Birds’-themed striptease, and also a rendition of Sam Sparro’s ‘Black and Gold’ from the lovely Double D’Licious.

Throughout the night the acts were equally diverse, as we were treated to more singing from Double D’Licious and Gretchen Von Bitchen, amazing aerial silk work from Kitty Peels and good old striptease acts from Miss Brazen, For My Lady Lucia and Baby Bones. One of the outstanding performances of the evening was Romany who remained fully clothed but delighted the crowd with her own brand of Burlesque-inspired magic tricks with the help of two male victims (I mean volunteers) from the crowd.

The show really captured the appeal and essence of burlesque; the girls were all shapes and ages but this did not in any way restrict any of them from oozing sex appeal and confidence which was quite an empowering thing to see in today’s Size-Zero culture. The women all carried themselves with a sense of humour which had the audience at ease and from the responses of the crowd, I think Burlesque will continue its resurgence and popularity far into the future.

Words by Jen Blakeley
Photographs by Paul Fullylove