So there we were, at Madama Jojo’s, sitting in front of a small, but nevertheless rather glamourous looking stage in anticipation of what we would see later on (I hadn’t wanted to have a look at the Shimmy Shake website beforehand, since I wanted the whole thing to be a surprise). My friend and I were both what the lovely hostess of the show, Ivy Paige, would later call ‘burlesque virgins’ – mind you, we weren’t alone in this, I’d say at least half of the people in the audience had never seen a burlesque show before.
I kind of knew what burlesque was about, that ‘back in the day’ it used to be a sort of cabaret, intended to make fun of bourgeois forms of entertainment such as the opera or the theatre by putting half naked ladies (SHOCKING!) on stage that would do little dance routines.
And I can’t say we didn’t get THAT (referring to the half-naked ladies and their dance routines), but it was so much more. First of all, it was a great laugh, the hostess (the aforementioned Ivy Paige) not only guided us through the night with countless puns & saucy remarks, while embarrassing members of the audience (they loved it) by, for example, reading out loud a love letter which she claimed a gentleman that happened to sit in the front row (don’t sit in the front row if you don’t want to be included in the fun!) had written to her. But Ivy was also reminiscent of a drunk Victorian prostitute (in terms of her outfit as well as her language!), although in the best, most charming way you can possibly imagine (now, try hard, it’s worth it!) –I don’t think she would mind me saying that, since, in the end, (apart from the fact that she was probably sober) she’s an actress and the fact that she had that effect on me just goes to show how amazing she was. In short, she was hilarious and extremely entertaining.
Des O’Connor, came on stage in an evening suit, with a bow tie and some sparkly make up around his eyes, with his lips painted. For some people, that might be entertainment in itself, but the actual act was him, dressed up and made up like that, with a tiny ukulele. He would sing songs about all sorts of wonderful things but of course – a true master of his genre – take the p***, errr I mean, sing about things in a very comic manner - ‘Blanketty Blanc’ for example was about “the beauty of cheap shite white wine” (his words not mine, in case you’re wondering) or ‘Pretty little Miss Dismorphia’, which was a song about a girl’s struggle to live up to the predominant (fake) image of beauty of our modern society. If that sounds like your cup of tea, check out his Myspace page to get a better idea of his music.
Sapphira, the director and producer of Shimmy Shake performed herself several times during the night – she is a real professional when it comes to burlesque matters as well as belly dancing. Whether in a tiny, sailor-like costume or as a glamorous, swan-like act all in white, she certainly knows what she is doing!
Violet Crumble who performed later during the night, was a perfect example of burlesque elegance.
Hollywood’s belly dancing queen, Princess Farhana performed right at the very beginning of the show and again later on – if you see her routine you'll know why she’s the belly dancing queen of Hollywood. Another performer, Suraija was no less of a talent, that’s probably why she’s won an international competition for professional dancers.
Another belly dancer performing that night was Hanna, who is also a member of the trio AnaRkali, the belly dancing troupe that hit the stage of Madame Jojo’s later that night; their routine wasn’t accompanied by traditional belly dancing music, oh no, they performed to The Prodigy’s ‘Smack my b**** up’. Now, for those who don’t know the song – it isn’t exactly the sort of music you’d expect when it comes to belly dancing. But these three ladies really made it work, it was absolutely brilliant.
The DJ of the night, Peter von Sleaze, played everything you could have imagined in that sort of environment. From rockabilly, to exotic beats here and there plus the odd surf or salsa tune. (I believe the other stuff he played is called ‘lounge core’. Anyway, it doesn’t matter really, what it’s called, does it?) I enjoyed the fantastic music and it gave the whole thing that extra special atmosphere, which is what counts.
Well, if what I’ve said so far doesn’t sound like fun in your opinion then I just don’t know what’s wrong with you. Only kidding, but seriously, mark my words, it’s a night that is absolutely worth going to (despite the £13 to get in (£10 if you book online) and the rather pricey drinks), completely different to what you’d normally see. Nostalgics, people that like Tim Burton movies, belly dancing fans, admirers of colourful, lush costumes, people into old-fashioned cabaret-style comedy – THIS IS YOUR NIGHT.
