Ministry of Burlesque

I am a huge fan of Burlesque and cabaret so a couple of weeks ago my husband and I took a trip to the Edinburgh Fringe to see a fabulous Burlesque show called 'High Tease' presented by Ministry of Burlesque.

Definition of Burlesque:- a theatrical entertainment of broad and earthy humor; consists of comic skits and short turns (and sometimes striptease) ; parody: a composition that imitates or misrepresents somebody's style, usually in a humorous way

When people think of Burlesque they usually think of someone like Dita Von Teese and her alluring striptease performances but there is a lot more to it and it usually goes hand in hand with cabaret performance.

'High Tease' was held at a venue called the Voodoo Rooms in Edinburgh (above) which is set within a wonderful period building with dramatic black and gold decor. A perfect backdrop for such a show.

The performances were pretty varied from Kittie Klaw (above, Founder of MOB) and her cutesy striptease to nonsence Can-Can dancers, a 'boy'lesque performance (below), Mr.B The Gentleman Rhymer who sang hip hop songs to the ukulele and The Kitsch Kats (below) - thanks lionlovingtiger on reminding me about them!! The audience were also so much fun with many dressed in a Burlesque or Vintage style. It's always great when everyone really gets involved in the spirit of an event!

The show was presented by Des O'Connor (No, not saturday night quiz show Des) but the cabaret legend who is also famed for his own show 'Desmorphia' and maybe more commercially as the musical Director of Scott Mills: The Musical! To say Des was anything less than hilarious was an understatement - he sang to the audience playing his ukulele (yes they feature a lot in cabaret it seems) ... the most remembered song of the evening definitely has to be 'Any Hole's a Goal!!' or maybe 'Jizz Mopper' - possibly not for the faint hearted but for anyone interested you can watch and listen HERE.

The Finale of the show was a special 'Star' guest - Amanda Palmer (below) of The Dresden Dolls. To be honest I hadn't heard of Amanda but she seems to be pretty famous on the cabaret circuit given the audiences reaction. She describes herself as 'Brechtian punk cabaret' and to be honest her sound and style is pretty unique. Some of her songs are quite haunting and others a mixture of pain and the comical. She is definitely not for everyone with some of her songs being quite controversial and dark but if you google her, you never know, you might become a fan?!In totality the show lasted just over 2 and half hours so a real treat and well worth the money! I am already getting geared up for my next evening of Burlesque and this time I think I will dress up too!

Is anyone else a fan of Burlesque? What shows have you seen?

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