FRINGE: Cabaret – Burlesque Upon A Time – Nexus – 3K

By Julia Loipersberger

Burlesque shows have been experiencing a steady revamp in popularity over the last few years, as evidenced by the very crowded Nexus Cabaret on the opening night of ‘Burlesque Upon a Time’.

For all their popularity, though, and despite the enthusiastic requests for crowd participation, the assembled audience struggled to get into the performance, which was a real shame, as increased audience interaction could well have smoothed over the numerous rough edges of the show.

The show kicked off in high spirits, emceed by Rohan Watts and the incredibly vivacious Cara Louise, whose singing voice was incidentally very beautiful. Not surprisingly, the stunning Luna Eclipse and Sapphire Snow gave titillating performances which both of them clearly enjoyed (although a young member of the audience who was called up on stage seemed about to faint when confronted with swinging tassels). And yet the performance appeared unpolished and very much like a dress rehearsal.

There were particular problems with the lighting and audio, and it seemed as though the MCs had not rehearsed their lines or timed the length required for their – fairly excruciatingly lame – between act banter. The props – as Rohan Watts freely admitted – were generally cheap or homemade, and all of this gave the act the vibe of a really well put together talent show, but not a professional burlesque gig.

But despite all of these flaws, ‘Burlesque Upon a Time’ was really good fun. It’s like an evening out with a good friend – you can’t logically explain what you did that made your night entertaining, or why you enjoyed yourself, but you just did.

Don’t go expecting the most professional show of the Fringe. But do go expecting to enjoy yourself.

Kryztoff Rating  3K

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