Adelphi Theatre, London – Tuesday 10th October 2023
Reviewed by Julia Spargo
5*****
The world might be spiraling out of control but last night I got to hang my woes behind the door of the Adelphi Theatre as An Evening of Burlesque made its West End debut.
What a treat! Billed as “a night of laughter, cabaret, mystery and glamour”, it does entirely what it says on the tin. From Bell De Beauvoir’s frenetic striptease to a sultry number featuring compere Ivy Paige and the L’Sheila Showgirls, we laughed, gasped, cheered and giggled our way through nipple tassels, fire-eating, circus acts, tap-dancing and a Marilyn Monroe pastiche.
I love Burlesque. A couple of years ago I went to see Dita Von Teese in London and was hugely disappointed because I found it sleazy, over-stylised and quite frankly, dull. This was quite the opposite. The costumes were gloriously sparkly and glamourous, particularly those worn by Ivy Paige (an excellent compere), Velvet Jones and the L’Sheila Showgirls.
The music was eclectic but familiar, from Tom Jones to Lady Marmalade and Sara James’ atmospheric cover of Running Up That Hill. The acts were varied and well-organised; sensual strip acts (all kept the right side of classy) were broken up by comedy and circus acts, highlights for me being the brilliant Saucy Davis Jr with his tap and singing routine and Matt Pang with his insane circus act, which (bravely) involved audience participation. A bold move, not least because it relied on the audience being engaged and up for it, and so all credit to the performers that the man pulled from the front row was (somewhat) happy to be involved in reaching between the legs of the act to do up the strap of his straitjacket before helping him mount a six-foot unicycle (yes, really. A highlight for me).
The varied pace sustained the attention for the full 150 minutes. I found my friend searching for local Burlesque classes during the interval (“I want their confidence!”) and she told me her cheeks hurt from smiling so the glamour and joy was clearly infectious.
A lot of fun and a real hoot. Gather your friends, get dressed up, leave the front row for the extroverts and enjoy an evening of saucy entertainment. Highly recommended.