BURLY Q: The Elegant Art Of Removing One’s Clothes – Adelaide Fringe Review

Grand Ballroom at Tivoli Function Centre, Sun 26 Feb. A pleasantly rotund Lady Cara, our MC for the evening, proudly told us we were making history. Burlesque was returning to The Tivoli for the first time since 1961. The original ‘Tiv’ was purposely designed to host burlesque way back in 1911 and continued to do so for the next 50 years. Burly Q consisted of seven gorgeous women taking their turn at dancing to a chosen theme song while finding various ways of removing their elaborate and eye-catching costumes. The audience is encouraged to whoop and holler to entice the ladies to go the next step and remove another piece of clothing. This is accompanied by lots of pastie-covered boob wobbling and bum/butt shaking. There is also a lot of ink on display – an added attraction for modern burlesque. Lady Cara returned mid-way through the show to congratulate us all for being there, and showing that Adelaide people had a touch of class! Parody and not taking yourself too seriously would seem to be an essential element of burlesque. She then treated the audience to a rousing version of the The Lady Is A Tramp. Desert Rose has a commanding stage presence and was the best of the performers. Ginger Pop looked delightful awash in feathers and boas, and won my heart with a surprising sign stitched to the inside of her clothing that made it very clear what she thought of Donald Trump. Viola Verve also looked elegant and mysterious in her routine with huge illuminated wings. All the performers brought their own stamp to the art of burlesque and together provided a fun night’s entertainment. Future performances of Burly Q we were told will feature different performers but the format I imagine will be much the same. Go along and be a part of modern history and enjoy going back to a time when taking your clothes off in public was sexy and harmless and not the least bit sleazy. 3 stars Michael Coghlan BURLY Q continues at the Grand Ballroom at Tivoli Function Centre from 8pm until Thu 9 Mar. Book at FringeTIX on 1300 621 255 or adelaidefringe.com.au. Click HERE to purchase your tickets. #ADLfringe