Absolute Burlesque

"Every body is a burlesque body" we are told, I agree. Learning burlesque leads to self confidence, I agree. We love burlesque, we always make sure we see some at the Fringe, but this was not what we expected. The venue has sightline problems and was more strip than burlesque, though there was no actual nudity. I quickly felt this was more an end of term show for a burlesque school and this was later confirmed to be the truth. In most burlesque, the performers have some skills beyond the strip and engage wit hthe audience - at the very least they make eye contact. If anyone is embarrased at burlesque it should be the audience not the performers. With some notable exceptions, those on stage lacked the over the top performances burlesque really calls for. It is great that they have learned this skill, fab that they can put it out there but selling it as a show is stretchng it.

At £12.50 (no concessions) this is quite a pricey fringe show. The evening I went it was pretty full of family and friends (filming and photographing, one at least with flash) which bolstered the performers (the smiles told you which section of the audience they related to) but was a bit intrusive for other audience members - your mileage may vary.