Burlesque Review

Review by Kelly Anson on Wild West Burlesque's Spies & Super Villains at The Warehouse, Bristol, Sat 1st March

I must admit, I was a little cynical about reviewing the latest Burley night claiming to be Bristol’s premier burlesque social club Wild West Burlesque. A bottle of Bombay Sapphire gin swung the deal so I went along convinced I’d be presented with yet another selection of amateurs.

The house was packed and the atmosphere was highly charged when I arrived, something must be going on here I pondered. The early birds had snatched all the good seats around the stage so I perched on the landing, not a bad vantage point to see all the shows.

Nero Bonaparte played classic spy movie soundtracks and cool thriller funk from movies like Shaft or Bullit along with a taste of Rat Pack swing, adding to the brimming tension and expectation.

The live music is usually a let down at burlesque events but not tonight, we were treated to Stanley Forbes and the Masters of Destruction. Stanley came on with just his guitar to begin with and his smutty, filthy, potty-mouthed songs were hilarious. The band then came on, were highly skilled and proficient, I have never seen a burlesque crowd so gripped by the music section of a show. The gag reflex was in full throttle when they performed their scatological song, “Two girls one cup”, vile and brilliant at the same time!

 Nero Bonaparte & Leonie Laws

Why do we always get to the bar just as everything starts?! Slapstick funny man compere Nero Bonaparte and Leonie Laws (Breakbeat Era) his cheeky sidekick introduced the first act, Lilly Belle who was dressed head to toe in a pink cat suit. She was charming after a nervous start and soon had the crowd eating out of her hand with her diamond thief themed striptease.

Next and without a pause between acts we saw Cherry Belladonna perform a sultry classical burlesque show with plenty of bump and grind to get the crowd wild. She had all the poses and moved like a pro, hard to believe she's a newby. Great tats too. 

Mitzy Bear hit the stage and... Oh My God! what a wicked show, she was in character as Cruella DeVille and after snatching a toy Dalmatian puppy from a girl in the audience she cut off its head and tossed it out from behind a screen. Her evil expressions and naughty antics were such a departure from the usual cutesy mainstream. She finished the strip with little card signs that read, “Puppies?... What Puppies? Then she revealed her puppies and twirled her tassels and the crowd went into nuclear melt down. What a breath of fresh air Mitzy Bear is, this is what new Burlesque is all about, innovative and highly entertaining, come on the Bear!

 Mitzy Bear

There was a short gap so we could draw breath and grab a drink, Leonie Laws measured every inside leg in the house with her extendable tape measure, she then proceeded to hump Nero Bonaparte from behind with it while he wasn’t looking. 

They then introduced the most stunning burlesque performer I have ever clapped eyes on, Agent Lynch.

There was an audible gasp as she entered the stage and I heard a man behind me say with true awe, “Oh my god”! She was so beautiful and demure dressed from head to toe in a black PVC cat suit in character as Emma Peel from the Avengers TV series. She slinked around the tiny stage wowing us with her slick magic cane trick and sassy, flawless dance routine. She could have kept her clothes on and the audience would not have noticed, so seized were they by her enthralling performance, but we all know what comes next and it was a real show stopper as she unzipped her eternally long zipper! Wow!

We hardly had time to finish our rapturous applause when the headline act Stella Plumes arrived on stage. She wore a jump suit with swastikas on each cheek of her bum, her character, a Second World War German spy named Molotov Cocktease.

Her poetry was cut-throat sharp, although due to sound issues we missed the first part. Her strip was so avant-garde, goose steps turned into ceiling chipping high kicks and her wild eyes and staccato movements made those on the front row flinch once or twice. Absolutely astounding, unique and off the wall.

Just what we need to rattle the dust out of a few feathers and shake things up, well done all the Wild West Burlesque, fresh, exhilerating and unexpected, I can’t wait for May 3rd.

Kelly Anson - West Country Correspondent