The Inevitable Edinburgh Fringe Come Down

Tags

afvs, another fucking variety show, Blues, cabaret, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, Fringe, Travel, variety

My god, nine months since I wrote a blog? I could have had a baby in that time. I haven’t, of course, I’ve been ridiculously busy trying to juggle six cats, a husband, a toddler and a career! It’s not the easiest thing I’ve ever done.

So I find myself at home after an amazing season in Edinburgh. A season of really hard work but good hard not bad hard. The sort of work that leaves your muscles aching when you finally slip into bed, buoyed by gin, and surrender yourself to the bone numbing fatigue and, (ignoring your million mile an hour monkey mind!) finally the oblivion of sleep, only to wake up the next day to do it all again. AFVS was a joy to do – an amazing venue staff, sold out houses, hilarious and generous guests and the best team I could ask for.

 

 

Edinburgh is a city seemingly built uphill. It doesn’t matter which way you go, you always seem to be going uphill but it is the soundness of one’s mind which goes downhill in Edinburgh! Gradually as the month progresses, your body clock changes, your ability to cook like an adult disappears. I think I ate more chips in this last month than in the rest of my life, put together! You begin to drink more, laugh more, cry more. You become, in equal measure, desensitised and uber-sensitised which leads to the threat of tears which glower behind your eyes like ominous storm clouds! You begin to see your own Fringe madness reflected in the faces of your friends. You treasure the moments of respite when you find yourself away from the Fringe. For me, it was an afternoon leafing through the archives at my tailors. Three hundred years of tailoring history crammed into books, rammed with swatches, drawings and letters. It was heaven. Thank you, Dan Fearn at Stewart Christie, it was more beneficial than you can know. It was an afternoon singing old songs around a piano with dear friends and glorious cocktails. It was sifting through vintage in Armstrong’s.

So then you find yourself at the end, with the sudden and bitter anticlimax that the finale of your final show brings. You chuck out your left over flyers, de-rig your Fringe life, stuff it into bags and wend your weary way home.

And then what?

It’s quiet. There aren’t teenagers howling ‘A Very Happy Un-Birthday’ beneath your bedroom window at an ungodly hour of the early afternoon. There aren’t ticket sales to check, running orders to send out, costumes to fix (who am I kidding? In this house the mending pile is a veritable Everest!), cast and crew to wrangle. There’s a stack of over-stuffed suitcases silently watching me and trying to trip me up as I stumble around, half asleep. They can bloody wait.

First morning home I wake early and alone. I lay in bed watching the grey fingers of the early dawn seep through gaps in my curtains. The crushing, and irrational, post-Fringe loneliness comes scratching at my heart’s door. “What now?” it whispers. “Who are you now?” I lay there, as the fear and depression seeps into my bones. I know it is only a temporary cloud. A week or two at most before real life rhythm is remembered like a familiar tune. Though for those two weeks, every mundane chore in my life is like a personal affront. Washing up? Laundry? Cat litter trays? Nappies? Unpacking? “I’m made for the stage and the glamour and wine and song” my mind thunders like a petulant child. I can’t find my clothes, I don’t remember where I packed them and frankly I don’t care. I find a pair of old harem pants and a discoloured baseball tee. They’ll do, for now.

I reason that I’m not the only one feeling the apres-Fringe blues. Thousands of other people are waking up feeling the same way. Happy to be home, sad to leave; that odd contradictory conundrum. I’m happy to indulge that dusky canine for a while.

I fill my days with work and child. I record an important new track for the Siren album, attend the weddings of several dear friends. The return of a favourite show in London at the weekend. I throw out clothes I don’t like. I spend time with my boys and my menagerie of creatures, all of whom are apparently thrilled to see me.

I ignore the unpacking – maybe I could just leave it packed for next August?

 

 

 

 

 

 

Lili’s Ladies of the Year 2014

Tags

amanda suter, Aurora Galore, cabaret, coco dubois, Frisky & Mannish, joanna woodward, ladies of the year, laura corcoran, sophie mason, the lilis, Vintage, women

It’s the second Lili’s Ladies of the Year (or the Lili’s as I have affectionately and slightly egotistically named them!) it’s a time when I reflect over the year and give a virtual high-five to women in my circle who are doing amazing, creative or just good old stirling work!

This year has a definite performing lean – this has been my busiest performing year yet and so it only follows that the women I come into contact with are from that world. The list is by no means exhaustive, I’m surrounded by incredible women who are all in charge of their business.
Working in the creative arts sometimes feels as though you are on a boat. Times of flying along with the wind in your sails followed by what feels like tides of doldrums and becalmed non-activity. It’s learning to ride the swell and keep your head down that gets you through. So, women, I give you a round of applause, which admittedly is just me clapping alone in my kitchen whilst a bemused dachshund looks on, however it is a round of applause nonetheless.

So, the Lili’s this year go to:

Aurora Galore
Watching Aurora Galore make waves in her ‘Year of the Weirdo’ has been joyous. From globe-trotting to award-winning, Aurora has been doing awesome things both onstage and off. From her make-up vlogs and her creative costuming to her fierceness and fearlessness onstage, it has been a bumper year for Aurora.

A woman of many skills, her fan dancing has to be seen to be believed and this year she has been passing those skills over to other performers in her sold-out fan dance workshops.

In June she won ‘Most Innovative’ at the Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekend in Vegas with a performance of such ferocity and kookyness that it left the audience open-mouthed and on their feet.

If you get the chance to see her live in 2015, do, she’ll knock your socks off.
[photo: Aurora Galore]

Joanna Woodward/Coco Dubois
As a host, I rarely get to work with other hosts and I have to watch their careers run parallel to mine on various social media. At the tail end of this year, I got the chance to work with Coco at the Black Cat Salon des Artistes having wanted to work alongside her for ages. We were down an act and she stepped in at the last moment after her show was unexpectedly cancelled and she absolutely killed the audience, who quite rightfully gave her a standing ovation. She is a performer who manages, successfully, to have a foot in both cabaret and musical theatre. As I write this blog, she has just started rehearsals for a new West End production of ‘Beautiful – The Carole King Musical’ having already appeared in the hugely successful revival of Sondheim’s ‘Merrily We Roll Along’.

As well as having an astonishing voice, she has also been an outspoken voice for mental health and size issues on her blog, which is both emotional, honest and truly gives a glimpse into the, at times, fragile psyche of an artist. As well as writing, singing and hosting she has also been nominated for a London Cabaret Award this year.

 

So cabaret’s loss is musical theatre’s gain – for a while – I hope she’ll come back!
[photos: Andrew Nash & Lovany Manson]

Amanda Suter
I’m a complete vintage addict and Amanda Suter is one of my favourite vintage dealers. If I had to pick one place to get my fix in 2015, it would be Butchwax Vintage. Her stock is divine, like seriously world-class, A grade, stunning vintage. I’m never more thrilled than when a glorious piece she posts in her Etsy shop is not my size!

From gowns made for Persian royalty to frocks from Hawaii and everything in between, she is my go to gal for beautiful pieces that make me smile. She has an amazing eye for vintage that is unusual and rare as well as just downright divine.

Looking at her gorgeous clothes really does bring a smile to my face and I’m always enjoy it when she lists her new things and there is an internet scramble for the choicest morsels! Her parcels come beautifully packaged and wrapped with love and I’m always excited when one drops onto my doormat. I urge you to look at her fabulous Etsy shop.
[photos: Amanda Suter]

Sophie Mason
Three years ago, I started my variety show, AFVS, at the Edinburgh Festival. I was in the early stages of being pregnant with my son and I was aware that my lifting, carrying and people organising abilities were slightly compromised! I decided to take on an intern for the Fringe and I put the call out. I sifted through a raft of applications and one caught my eye. It was from a teenager from Dundee.

She didn’t have much experience, she hadn’t worked in cabaret but something kept bringing me back to her email. I decided to interview her and adored her immediately. I was concerned at her age so decided to take on a different chap and offer her work experience for the month. It was the worst decision ever, the chap turned out to be utterly incompetent and Sophie saved the day after day after day! She learned quickly, was efficient and awesome to be around.

She is amazing at organising, wrangling performers and keeping everyone (including me) on the straight and narrow. Since then, she has become a fixture of our team and even though she is now studying stage management at the Mountview Academy of Theatre Arts in London, we can’t imagine doing a variety show without her. Once she’s graduated, I’m sure she’ll be fighting off offers of work and I will be thrilled to see her doing amazing shows.

Laura Corcoran/Frisky
Miss Corcoran has had a rather fabulous year, a sell-out season of a brand new Frisky & Mannish show at the Edinburgh Fringe with her partner-in-crime Mannish (Matthew Floyd Jones), followed by a very successful tour and directing the Elaine Paige show and national tour.

 

I have been lucky enough to work with her regularly at the Cafe Royal for the Salon des Artistes and her powerhouse vocals and inspired interpretations never fail to make me applaud very loudly. Her rendition of Florence & the Machine’s ‘Girl with One Eye’ remains one of my favourite interpretations of 2014. When Frisky goes freaky it’s fricking fabulous.

I look forward to working with her more in 2015 – hurrah for sisterhood.

So those are some of the ladies who inspired me this year. I can’t wait for 2015 and to be inspired again by all the creative, clever and funny ladies with whom I get to pass time. See you next year!

Love Lili. x

Lili’s Life Through a Rosewood Tinted Lens

Tags

burlesque, cabaret, Cafe Royal Hotel, coco malone, Dusty Limits, London, rosewood hotel, sammy dinneen, scarfe's bar, variety, Vicky Butterfly, Vintage

There is a huge trend in London at the moment for what has been termed ‘luxury cabaret’. Many of London’s finest hotels boast their own resident cabaret show, including The Savoy and The Cafe Royal Hotel. Now one of London’s most glittering five star hotels has tossed its gilded cap into the ring with ‘Cabaret at Scarfe’s’ which is just starting the second month of its residency under the expert hand of one of London’s finest cabaret singers, and someone of whom I am immensely fond, Mr Dusty Limits.

The venue is akin to something you may find in one of the stately homes of England, a drawing room from an earlier time. Glitteringly dark, bedecked with velvet and displays of glass-domed butteflies. The fire flickers welcomingly, drawing you in with its soporific glow, inviting you to fill your glass and relax into the bosom of friends. Dusty’s aim was always to create something that felt like the post-supper gathering at a country house weekend. Not a show but a party, a collection of friends. With that in mind, the cast mingles freely before the show, sharing drinks with guests and creating an atmosphere of louche decadence. When Dusty takes to the floor to start the evening’s entertainment, the crowd is already warm and welcoming which makes it very easy to slip into the show.

Curated by Dusty, the performers are plucked from London’s finest; Vicky Butterfly bedecked in downy white feathers, the delicious musculature of Sammy Dinneen, the velvety honey drenched voice of Coco Malone and I; I sing a bit.
In a space not naturally designed for performance, the show emerges from different parts of the room, Sammy upended on a table, me seated on the bar amid glasses and bottles and Vicky Butterfly stalking the aisles in her glowing cloak. I hope that the audience feel included and enveloped by the proximity of the performers. It is quite an astounding thing to have a semi-naked hand balancer mere inches from your face, his toes threatening to dip into your champagne.

As any good party should, the night gradually grows in debauchery and crapulence, with the hosts ending up close to the floor, or on it, indeed whilst the strains of the the Lorde song ‘Royals’ are played by the incredible musicians, Michael Roulston, Jonathon Kitching and Tom Mansi. More recently, I have found that there has been a glorious return to live music in cabaret shows and that is a delightful thing. A backing track can never replace the comradery of having real live people playing real live instruments playing music with you. It would be a wonderful thing if we were to see a complete absence of shows with track, although I realise that this is utter pie in the sky.

The show ends and dancers, beautifully attired in vintage clothing, take to the floor as the band play Irving Berlin. The crowd watches enraptured and transported to another time and place, a place of decadence and debauchery, where echoes of those Bright Young Things resonate still.
Join me at Scarfe’s Bar next Sunday for the next one of these amazing evenings, meet me by the fire, bring champagne.

Love Lili.
x

Cabaret at Scarfe’s
Rosewood Hotel
Doors 7pm, show 7.30pm
Buy a ticket HERE

 

 

 

 

 

Edinburgh Fringe – Part 2 – The Comedown

Tags

afvs, another fucking variety show, burlesque, cabaret, edfringe, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, Fringe, glamour, lindy, Pleasance Dome, swing, the Fringe, Tom Barnes, variety

So the Fringe is done and dusted for another year. Edinburgh’s cobbled streets are returned paperless to her residents. Venues are stripped bare, blacks folded and stored and flight cases packed. The Fringe ‘family’ created over the month return to the real world, each of us a man alone.

Now is the time when one finds out whether those amazing friendships, love affairs and chance meetings are something more or simply smoke and mirrors veiled in misty rain.

I had, quite simply, the most wonderful Edinburgh Fringe. A Fringe quite unlike any other.

 

 

 

Another F*cking Variety Show was an epic, joyous and chaotic marathon of variety. We had around sixty acts in over the month, acts of all kinds from the weird and wonderful, to the strange and beautiful, to the uproariously hilarious and mad.

I loved every single second. I had the pleasure of taking my audiences on a rollercoaster journey every night, introducing them to people they had never met or maybe even people they knew very well. We had performance art icons, stars from the fetish scene, many a musical genius, some of the biggest names on the comedy scene and intenational burlesquers who left everyone feeling steamy!

 

You throw it all together, with a room full of smoke, some wonky sparkly letters, five costume changes, the most divine piano player Tom Barnes and my ‘Girls Friday’ Anna Newton and Sophie Mason and you have ‘Another F*cking Variety Show’; but it couldn’t happen without the audience.

 

Dave the Bear, Me, Jaz Delorean and Mr B – The Gentleman Rhymer

The audience, that night after night gave us their energy and their applause and sending us out to the bar on a high and often very late! The team at the Pleasance Dome were superb, professional and very understanding of our cabaret cons (glitter, candle wax and champagne…you get the picture!) Let’s hope that they’ll have us back next year!

Outside of the show, life in Edinburgh was really busy, for the first two weeks we had Rafferty up with us so life revolved somewhat around him. The odd kids show, my favourite being ‘Funz and Gamez’ (Rafferty even received a Copstick review in the Scotsman for his cameo). Swing dance Flash Mobs organised by the wonderful Tricity Vogue made me smile.

There were nights of drinking and dancing, those ‘Dixey’ boys are diamonds and one particular afternoon of ‘Ripping Tweed’ for Walker Slater which will remain with me for many memories to come. Gin, dancing and tweed, what could be nicer? I mean, it might have been better if it hadn’t rained but doesn’t that add to the charm? A private courtyard with dripping moss walls, a hidden tweed paradise in the very heart of the Old Town, it was a delight to share a stage with the ever-elegant Mr B the Gentleman Rhymer for an audience of beautifully attired people sipping cocktails. Getting ‘steamy’ with Tigger and Jett Adore and the conversations that went with meant the world to me, just that hour out of the Fringe madness is so very necessary. I found time to visit Studio XIII, my favourite place to get tattooed and had a pirate tattoo on my thigh done by the amazing Jack Peppiette for my JackJack. It’s not quite finished, we need to get more colour in there, but my pain threshold gave up after three hours! I’ll need to go back to Edinburgh next week, (oh how dreadful!)

So now, I find myself at home. How does one decompress from the Fringe experience? Be kind to yourself. Hole up, allow yourself to be a bit down, relive those happy memories, treasure and build on those new friendships. Keep in touch with your friends, let them reach out to you and don’t be afraid to reach out to them. Remember that you are not alone, there are thousands of people feeling exactly like you right now.
If all else fails, just remember that it is less than 365 days until it all starts again. See you there?

Love Lili.
x

All photos: Melanie Smith, Jack Peppiette, Lili la Scala & Clive Holland

Edinburgh Fringe – Part 1

Tags

burlesque, Burlesque Hall of Fame, cabaret, East End Cabaret, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, Fringe, Frisky & Mannish, Gamarjobat, King of Burlesque, Mat Ricardo, Pleasance Dome, Ray Gunn, Red Bastard, Russell Bruner, Sam Wills, Stage Door Johnnies, Tom Barnes, variety

So here we are at the biggest Fringe Festival in the world. The Mile is full of, what seem to my eyes to be, twelve year olds who look like they’ve raided a dressing up box. There is the usual assortment of nuns and soldiers, lingerie-clad nubile blondes and buff young chaps wrapped in sheets and enough logo’d sweatshirts to keep a small print shop in business. Strains of ukelele, violin and tambourine waft upwards mingling with the snatched snippets of songs. It’s 10 am and already I have heard a varied programme of songs including, (but not limited to) Brush Up Your Shakespeare, It’s a Long Way to Tipperary and something which may have been in the charts recently but now it is in unaccompanied close harmony sung by American students! The smell of kerosene vapour drifts through my window from the street performer below.

We arrived on Monday and after a thorough clean, our flat seems more like home. We have unpacked and cooked enough food for the month, all neatly packaged in the freezer. On Wednesday, I was invited to the preview show of a brand new all male burlesque revue, Dixey. The line up is utterly stellar and crowned burlesque royalty and I was incredibly excited to see them perform. They didn’t disappoint; Tigger, Russell Bruner and the Stage Door Johnnies are a fabulous example of the ‘Boylesque’ genre. I was particularly enamoured with Russell Bruner, (so adorably kooky, he’s like a silent movie villain made real complete with splendid moustache) and Ray Gunn might just be the most hypnotic, sexual being I have ever seen. In short, it’s the only chance you will get to see real Kings of Burlesque (they have all won crowns at Miss Exotic World in Las Vegas) performing together, here in the UK. If you are here in Edinburgh, you must go!

My show, Another F*cking Variety Show, opened last night. We have new songs, we have a piano player (the amazing Tom Barnes) and we have some very sparkly letters. The heels are high, the dresses are big and the reception was very warm. Added to that, the most killer line up; we had Frisky & Mannish, East End Cabaret, Red Bastard, Mat Ricardo, Sam Wills and Gamarjobat and they took the roof off! There were a couple of hairy moments, the odd forgotten lyric and a nearly finished gown (thank you Miss Cherryfox!) but we open properly tonight and hopefully those little things will be ironed out.

So good luck to all my fellow cabarati, see you at the bar!

Love Lili.

Lili’s Essential Edinburgh Fringe Survival Guide

Tags

advice, afvs, another fucking variety show, armstrongs, burlesque, cabaret, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, Fringe, Mat Ricardo, ondine, stuart goldsmith, the dogs, the Fringe, walker slater

Every year, a plethora of ‘Fringe Survival Guides’ are written so I thought that I would add what little wisdom I have gathered. I have been to every Edinburgh Fringe since 2005, first as a street performer with a double act with my sister, then as a street performer alone and cabaret/burlesque guester. Then, after I met my husband, we moved indoors. Several solo shows and a variety show further down the line and here we are. Along the way, I have learned some stuff and I thought that today, two weeks before AFVS opens for its third season, I’d share it with you.

I cannot stress enough how important it is to eat and drink. Eat properly, try to have three meals a day. It is a bloody slog doing shows but it isn’t just shows. You’ll be flyering for anything from two to five hours a day, potentially on very little sleep. I’d advise a really good breakfast, a Berocca and at least two litres of water a day, or more if your show is particularly physical. There is plenty of moisture in Edinburgh, generally coming down in stair rods but unfortunately the human body has yet to find a way to drink via osmosis so make that Evian bottle your friend. Hydrate your head – it will keep you sane.

If you are a London performer, don’t think that because it is August you will need your summer wardrobe. Edinburgh has the most delightful way of throwing many seasons at you, sometimes all at once. I tend to take my Autumn wardrobe, so a field of tweeds and tartan wools. I have the most delicious tartan cape which I adore wearing at Fringe time, it’s floor length, warm, it has a Scottish Widows hood and a Sherlock Holmes-esque mini cape. It is also bright yellow. It is actually my favourite thing, I found it at Armstrong’s Vintage three years ago.

Be nice. To everybody; but be especially nice to the doorkeepers of the industry bars. They are the gatekeepers to a world of fabulous networking – and isn’t that really what we are all there for? Occasionally an A-lister might wander in, I remember a few years ago Hugh Grant came in, the Catholic priest I was with offered him a blessing although to be honest, Hugh was so stoned he probably thinks he imagined that! My observation is that Four Weddings was a long, long, long time ago. Ah! The onward march of time. Unkinder to some than others, thank heavens for post production.

Remember that Edinburgh, the City, doesn’t owe you anything, you are but a mere visitor grubbing around the hem of her tartan gown. Treat her with courtesy, please don’t piss in her alleyways, throw up in her gutters or leave your sexual detritus littered in her nooks. Aside from anything else, you never know who you might see and do you really want that casting director, song writer or future spouse’s first image of you to be a piss-soaked, vomit-sprayed huddle? Unless that is what you are going for.

You will be tempted to be drunk for days, we’ve all done it in that 24/7 melee that is Edinburgh Fringe. By all means get so wasted you forget your own name but remember that Edinburgh Fringe is a marathon not a sprint, so don’t spend the rest of the month broke and hungover. Save it for that final week when the reviews are done, the audiences steady and the pressure is lessened.

Someone once told me that Edinburgh is a dance not a race (I believe it was the gorgeous Mr Stuart Goldsmith). It will be tempting to compare yourself to your friends and compatriots. This is a one way street to absolute sure-fire self destruction and self-doubt. Everyone has their own Fringe, have yours. It might be your year to sell out a huge venue and get a galaxy of five star reviews, it probably won’t. Don’t crow if you are doing well, be humble because the very next person you come across might be having the hardest month of their life.

Whilst we are talking about reviews, I would always say DON’T READ THEM! It is simply one person’s opinion and it will give you a false sense of where you are at; even if you get a five star from the Scotsman, I’d still say don’t read it (maybe read it when you get home in September). Just enjoy your journey and don’t buy into the press that surrounds you, or anyone else for that matter. It makes me feel incredibly old to say I remember a time when social media and online blogs didn’t exist at the Fringe, it was a happier, less pressurised time. Now, as you check in every ten minutes, blog, tumblr and tweet, try to find time to not; live in the moment you are in right now without checking to see who is watching from afar. It is no longer a case of ‘what happens at the Fringe stays at the Fringe’ but more likely ‘what happens at the Fringe is watched, commented on and liked by your mother’s neighbour’s cat in a multi-platform way’. So keep that in mind when you meet the sexual partner of your dreams whilst your partner is dog-sitting at home.

I will leave you on a piece of advice that will keep you sane. Take time out from the Fringe. Yes, it is an amazing month, a creative, fabulous, social and professional trade show whirl, but it can be draining, exhausting and depressing. Take a day, or half a day to get out. Go eat in a restaurant that has real cutlery (I recommend Ondine or The Dogs), climb Arthur’s Seat, try on/buy suits at Walker Slater (that’s mine) or jump on a train to somewhere else entirely. You step outside of the Edinburgh Fringe bubble and suddenly the biggest Fringe in the world seems so very tiny.

To those about to Edinburgh Fringe – I salute you.

Love Lili.

PS. In all seriousness, if the Fringe does start to overwhelm you – seek help. Fringe Central have heaps of amazing performer services so don’t be afraid; they literally have seen it all before.

Another F*cking Variety Show – 31st July – 23rd August – Queen Dome, Pleasance Dome, 11pm

 

 

Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender – part 2

Tags

Aurora Galore, BHoF, burlesque, Burlesque Hall of Fame, cabaret, Du Barry, Ivy Wilde, Legends of Burlesque, Titans of Tease

So Friday morning arrived and due to my wonderful jet-lag, I was up with the lark and on the hunt for breakfast. American breakfasts are huge and I adore breakfast so I was thrilled to find a decent huevos rancheros. Having stuffed myself to the point of bursting we decided to head to the home of rhinestones, Du Barry. We met up with of some the other UK performers, Aurora Galore, Havana Hurricane, Daisy Cutter, Ivy Wilde and Trixie Pash and after a quick cab ride in the scorching heat we arrived at a Mecca for magpies. Du Barry’s is literally groaning under the weight of so much sparkle, more sparkle than I had ever seen in one place and it gave me palpitations and I felt slightly sick! The burlesquers dashed from station to station filling baskets with sparkle, much like a BHoF Supermarket Sweep. After an hour of bedecking ourselves in gowns, necklaces, bangles and rings we all paid for our hauls and decided to head to the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum. We stepped outside into the blistering heat and found that there were no taxis to be found. I felt sure that my time had come – I spend most of my time avoiding the sun like some sort of nosferatu. Although at least having visited Du Barry, I would sparkle like something akin to a Twilight vampire! We waited for what seemed like an age before we (I) made the decision that we would walk to the intersection to try to get a bus back to the city. We trudged along with the sun scalding us, laden down with bags of sparkly shit – we must have looked quite the sight.

English girls hit Du Barry hard! From l-r Ivy Wilde, Havana Hurricane, Me, Aurora Galore and Louise (Aurora’s pal)

Having made it to the intersection my wonderful husband managed to hail a cab and we piled in and headed for ‘Old Vegas’. The cab dropped us outside the Mob Museum and we strolled down Fremont Street. It was easy, with the old buildings and the neon signs, to imagine The Rat Pack partying there.

UK Showgirls in Fremont Street? Well, we had to take showgirl pictures.(Me, Daisy Cutter, Aurora Galore, Ivy Wilde, Havana Hurricane and Trixie Pash)

We wandered further down until we came to the Burlesque Hall of Fame Museum, we stepped through the door and paid homage at the shrine to American burlesque collected, treasured and displayed  by Dixie Evans, before her death. It was amazing to see the detailed timeline of burlesque emblazoned across the walls punctuated by artifacts and costumes. It was fascinating but time marched ever onwards and we dashed back to the hotel.

Above: The Aussies and I on Legends Night. What a show, thanks for the tissue scraps ladies!

I managed to catch a snooze before the time came to drag myself out of bed and get myself ready for the evening’s entertainment, the much anticipated Titans of Tease Showcase, also known as Legend’s Night. It’s the heart and soul of the weekender I wore my chartreuse Vicky Butterfly gown as the theme for the evening was green. As we came downstairs, there was a sea of green and sparkles. We took our seats and the show began, it was just incredible to see these women, some of whom hadn’t performed for thirty years, absolutely owning the stage and bringing the crowd to their feet time and again. It is so important to learn from them, to watch and support them; the strings of connections go back through them to burlesque past and through us to burlesque future. It was also incredibly comforting to see that despite detractors and censors over the years, burlesque has and will endure. I wanted to load up a bus full of burlesque-antis so that they could feel the love and admiration in that room and see those incredible performances. `
We wept, we laughed, we cheered and paid homage to those who had died including an incredible tribute to Dixie Evans. The hostess of the show, The World Famous BOB was just amazing. She whipped the crowd into a frenzy with her passion for the art. The audience was left humbled and emotional after seeing these incredible burlesque stars still shaking what their mothers gave them. I loved watching Ellion Ness (The untouchable!), Lovey Goldmine and Miss Penny Starr Snr (Her bump and grind had to be seen to be believed). I think the whole audience felt honoured to be there watching our burlesque history in action. I can only hope to be so awesome as I grow older!
Elated, I dashed up to get an early night, I had a feeling that the next day was going to be enormous!

To be continued…

 

 

 

Lili goes to Glasgow for a Wild time.

Tags

cabaret, Edinburgh, Edinburgh Fringe, Frank Sanazi, glasgow, Gypsy Charms, Paul L Martin, variety

Let me share a story with you.

Way back in 2008, I was doing the Edinburgh Fringe, guesting one evening at a late night cabaret show run by Paul L Martin. I was on the bill alongside some silent comedy chap, the man with sticky tape on his head, or something and also a can-can troupe. Now, I was done and getting dressed backstage, (at that time I was doing my operatic burlesque routine, La Butterfly Deshabille) and the can-can troupe were on. Halfway through their routine, it all goes west. The chap is supposed to catch one of the girls and instead, his leg makes contact with her face. Blood running from her nose, she tries to carry on the routine hoping that the audience won’t notice. Sadly, it’s hard to ignore plumes of blood flying horizontally on every spin. She calls time and makes a dash for the dressing room.
“My fucking nose” she shrieks, “Do you have any idea how much this fucking nose cost me?”. As blood streams from her nose, I lean over and wrapping some ice cubes in my vest top, I offer it to her to stem the flow. “Your father’s a surgeon,” she yelled at the terribly apologetic chap “He better have a fucking good plastic surgeon friend if my nose is fucking broken!!”.After twenty minutes, we’d stopped the bleeding, ascertained that the nose was not broken and she gave me back my soggy, bloodstained top.
I packed up my costume and slipped out of the venue, sans top!

Fast forward six years.

I get a very exciting email about a new cabaret club opening in Glasgow and would I like to come up and host a weekend. Now, I’m not great with a) leaving home and b) new people or places. Being a creature of habit, I’m very happy to reside comfortably in my comfort zone. So the day comes and I hop on the plane at Southend Airport bound for Edinburgh. I’m met at Edinburgh by the completely delightful Gypsy Charms, whose world has revolved around mine for years. We’ve met briefly here and there but never managed to share a stage. Until now.

We drove through to Glasgow and got to Wild Cabaret, an amazing purpose designed cabaret club right in the heart of the Merchant City. I sound checked and then Gypsy sat down beside me on the floor of the dressing room to go through the running orders for the night. As we chuckled together, I glanced at her profile and a memory sparked. I asked if perhaps she had once been kicked in the face in a can-can in a late night show in a drippy cave? She burst out laughing and we cackled together about that ‘bloody’ show. The laughter continued throughout the weekend, through two shows and one hilarious drive back to Edinburgh where I was regaled with tales of strippers for the whole drive. If you haven’t had the pleasure of Gypsy’s company, you have missed out, she is one funny lady. I haven’t laughed so hard in an age.

The shows were amazing, the venue glamorous, the crowds were warm and welcoming and to top it all, the gorgeous Frank Sanazi left me some strawberries in my hotel room for a late night, post show snack. After a long day and a late show, I have never been so happy to see strawbs! I even got to meet a very affectionate dove called Athena.

I’m back up for more fun on the 27th and the 28th June, so Glasgow, get your tickets here and join Gypsy and I and a host of glorious cabarati for a hilarious evening of fantastic variety.

Love Lili

 

 

The Oscar Wilde Bar rehomes a Stray Cat…

Tags

Black Cat, burlesque, cabaret, Cafe Royal Hotel, Ceil Chapman, champagne, costumes, Duncan Walsh Atkins, Dusty Limits, Frisky & Mannish, Lili la Scala, London, Marcella Puppini, Michael Roulston, music, Nicola Enigma, Oscar Wilde Bar, Salon des Artistes, Sarah Louise Young, Singer, Tattinger, the Black Cat Cabaret, variety

Now I know I have written about the Black Cat Cabaret before, but there has been an evolution for this kitten. After slipping away from the gaudy Cafe de Paris last year, the Black Cat has been rehomed by the gorgeous Cafe Royal Hotel, in the historic Oscar Wilde Bar (formally the Grill Room). The room is an extravaganza of gold leaf and mirrors with a baby grand piano in its centre and it is there where we set our stage.

As a singer, it is always a treat to be given the chance to interpret lesser known gems and as a regular attendee of the ‘Salon’ I get the chance to sing songs that would normally see the light of stage in a more conventional recital, as well as interpretations of other favourite songs of mine that I have hoarded in my collection. In many cabaret clubs we all slip into our comfortable staples, (normally those songs for which we can find the backing tracks) but the joy and delight of the ‘Salon des Artistes’ is the addition of the musicians; and what musicians they are! We are regularly graced by Michael Roulston, Nicola Enigma, Duncan Walsh Atkins and fabulous bass players like Tom Mansi. They enable us singers to perform music which is not normally found loitering around in other cabaret haunts.

We have also been lucky enough to have had some of the world’s top cabaret singers through the doors of the ‘Salon’ including Frisky (of Frisky and Mannish fame) is a regular and so is the amazing ‘La Poule Plombée’ with her carer, West End star Sarah-Louise Young. Lady Rizo stopped by when she was in town, Ali McGregor came along (avec enfant), Marcella Puppini (the founding Puppini Sister) and even Alfie Boe, (OK, he may not have sung a song, but he definitely was in the room – we’ll get him next time!)

Dusty Limits is the compere and director, although yours truly steps in on occasion. Otherwise, I get the chance to pull more unusual songs from my repertoire, soak them liberally in Tattinger (pink Tatty on occasion) and unleash them on our intimate and adoring audience. At the moment, I’m enjoying Lizst and Léhar as well as a little Radiohead. I’m contemplating some Mozart and some Poulenc for later in the year. Add to the mix, the muse – a gilded Vicky Butterfly, a devastating hand balancer, (you can count Reuben Kuan and Sammy Dineen amongst our guests!), resident danseurs ‘Cabaret Rouge’ and the best looking bar keeps in town (do make sure to look out for the heart-achingly gorgeous Tiago – Dusty’s particular favourite – although Tiago himself prefers a little Lili in his life, I’m sure!)

If you haven’t yet had the chance to come along to the ‘Salon des Artistes’, I suggest you unleash your inner artist, dress elegantly, slip through our door and wallow in the champagne-soaked decadence of our stunning home. It is a privilege to perform in such splendour and you’ll feel equally as astounded as the performers envelope you in their demi-monde of Parisian chic right in the heart of Piccadilly. I thought I’d leave you with a scattering of my favourite pictures taken by Clive Holland, one of modern cabaret’s greatest supporters.

And once you have finished gazing in wonder at the pictures, maybe you should stop by here and buy a ticket, go on, we’d love to see you.

Love Lili.

The Show’s The Thing (or how Adelaide Fringe created a Siren)

Tags

adelaide fringe, cabaret, gown, jema hewitt, ralph bogard, siren, songs, Vintage

When I started to gather songs for ‘Siren’, I wasn’t sure what I was creating. I knew I had to create a new show, ‘War Notes‘ and ‘Songs to Make You Smile‘ have both almost had their day (although, they are open for booking should you be so inclined!). So I knew I had to create something. Now, I work well under pressure, so given a year of procrastinating, moving sheet music from pile to pile and then arranging the piles into alphabetical order and then rearranging them chronologically I started to form the basis of an idea.

My life has been in a state of flux over the last year, I think that many cabaret performers sometimes feel the same. The work is neither consistent nor assured and although I’m often lucky to be busy and in demand, that could change tomorrow. I also had a baby, with all the added pressures and responsibility that he brings along with his toddling and giggling. My husband is often away on tour and marriage is sometimes really tough. No one tells you that when it’s all hearts, flowers and engagement rings.

So I haven’t been in the most creative frame of mind, and yet this show was booked into Adelaide Fringe way back in September. So I had to create something. Anything. I sensed a theme amongst my chosen songs, they were eclectic, but all vaguely nautical. I wanted to do something deeper, more mysterious and more enchanting. It wasn’t easy, but nothing that is worth something comes easy to you. I couldn’t find the flow, I couldn’t find the links and so a very dear friend of mine, Ralph Bogard offered to help me find my way in the darkness. And boy, did he. We worked intensively for two days and it was exhausting both emotionally and physically. We explored the song choices and the reasoning behind them and therein lay the links. Some funny, some feminist and some just plain painful. He forced me to delve deeper and share those locked away emotions and hurts that make the songs real.

I originally wanted a costume that would come apart as the show progressed and my fabulous costumier, Jema Hewitt made me the most amazing disintergrating ‘sea wraith’ dress but once I rehearsed with it, it felt contrived and I couldn’t find the truth in it. So I ditched that idea, grudgingly, let me tell you! So I was costumeless. It was a problem, as one of my techniques to bringing a show together is building from the costume. You find the perfect visual aesthetic and everything else seems to fall into place. I happened to be browsing a vintage store in Auckland and I came across this deep sea blue and green 1940’s gown. It was glamorous but a little tatty, a little fragile, coming apart at the seams – much like me (under the bravado). As soon as I put it on, ‘Siren’ was born.

Now, I’ve spent a month here at the Adelaide Fringe, it’s been really hard work but I have had good friends around to counsel. My ‘work spouse’, Mat Ricardo, has been an absolute rock. He’s been a shoulder to lean on and an ear when I needed to rant, cry or talk and we have also laughed. I think it is always hard when the material you are doing drags up from the depths of your soul the past hurts and emotions that you had locked away in a little box and buried deep. What is the quote from ‘The Go-Between’? – ‘the past is a foreign country, they do things differently there’. The past was a different country, I was a different person. In a way, ‘Siren’ has been a gift of closure of some open wounds which I had just packed with glitter and tit tape – like a cabaret war wound! It’s shown me that emotional honesty onstage can be an incredibly terrifying thing but to be able to share that with an audience and take them on that journey with you is an exhilaration. Through the show, I’ve confronted, literally, those weights laying heavy within me and reaffirmed that in my life that I have made the right decisions, no matter how painful they were at the time.

So my message this morning is don’t be afraid to use your hurts and emotional weak spots to create art. Use them, share them, allow your audience the privilege of seeing deep inside you to where those cuts are still raw. It both hurts more and hurts less as time goes on. We are so caught up in our own fear to fail, our unwillingness to commit, our emotional baggage; how freeing it is to take control of it, harness it and say “Bitch, you work for me now”.  It’s working for me, (so far, I’ve evaded the men in white coats) ‘Siren’ has grown into a fully fledged show and has been incredibly received by audiences (who have bought me gifts of songs and vintage brooches!) and critics alike and for that, I give thanks for my multiple broken hearts and wounded pride.

If you are reading this in Adelaide, you have three more chances to catch the show, get your tickets here. If you are in London, I’m coming to London Wonderground in June and you can get your tickets here.

Love.
Lili. x