Edinburgh Fringe – Part 2 – The Comedown

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

Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender – part 1!

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BHoF, burlesque, Burlesque Hall of Fame, competition night, glamour, King of Burlesque, Las Vegas, Miss Exotic World, Queen of Burlesque, red carpet

Once a year, at the beginning of June, the burlesque world converges on Las Vegas for a convention quite unlike any other, The Burlesque Hall of Fame Weekender. Now, as everyone knows, I have been a longtime advocate and supporter of the art of burlesque and I was thrilled and honoured to be invited this year to host the big competition night on the Saturday. Now, when I say big competition night, I mean big. It’s the night when the panel of judges decide who should be crowned Best Debut, Best Group, Best Troupe, Best Boylesque (The King of Burlesque) and finally The Queen of Burlesque, also known as Miss Exotic World. It’s no mean feat, even to get through to Las Vegas, the performers have gone through a stringent judging process. So it’s the best of the best, being judged by the best.

We arrived in Vegas on Wednesday night with three suitcases stuffed to the brim with sequinned gowns, high heels, Swarovski crystals and enough lashes to make a broom. After a short limo ride we arrived at The Orleans, where the conference was being held, and I had just enough time to sling on a frock and some heels before we dashed out to catch Piff the Magic Dragon, Laurie Hagan and Nate Cooper in ‘Rose Rabbit Lie‘ at the Cosmopolitan.

It was a great show, some things weren’t where I would have put them, but hey, it isn’t my show. The acts were all phenomenally talented and I appreciate that in a variety show. By the time the show had finished and we stumbled out, bumping into many old friends on the way (including David Ladderman and Lizzie Tollemache who we have known for years in New Zealand. Big world, small world!) I was shattered and we returned to the hotel to sleep.

Thursday was registration day, we went along and I got my special wristband and a medal. I’m not sure why I got a medal but it was very nice to have one. Then it was time to rehearse for Saturday, I had never met my co-host before and it is terribly hard to create a rapport with someone you don’t know. However, Kingfish was a complete gentleman and put me at my ease and we put the opening of the show together. There were dancing girls, The Fishnet Follies, and Kingfish even had his own reverse striptease to do! After rehearsal I just had time to dash upstairs, sling on a frock and come back down for the first night’s festivities. The first show was the Burlesque Movers, Shakers and Innovators, a show jam packed with people doing new and creative things and for the stars of tomorrow, it also featured step-down performances from Swing Time (featuring Russell Bruner – a fabulous swing dancer and King of Burlesque 2012!) and King of Burlesque 2013 Ray Gunn. It was also hosted hilariously by Blanche DeBris and Jonny Porkpie. Their interplay and banter absolutely stole the show and I appreciated the hard work that had gone into their double act. Blanche, in particular, stole my heart with her cutesy voice and hilarious clowning. The red carpet was amazing, I have never had the honour of being surrounded by so much haute glam – it was a complete delight to see how much effort everyone made. There were lashes, wigs and sequins like you have never seen. The highest of heels, the most sparkly rhinestones – it was almost too much for the eye to take in. The audience response to the show was immense with standing ovation after standing ovation. I was completely overwhelmed by the number of people, the sheer glamour, the excitement of meeting people I admire and I decided to have an early night as I knew what the following days held in store for me.

To be continued…

 

 

Lili and the Black Cat

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Black Cat, burlesque, cabaret, Cafe de Paris, Dusty Limits, entertainment, glamour, London, Offenbach, Paris, Vicky Butterfly

Last Friday, I was lucky enough to be invited to perform at The Black Cat Cabaret at the Cafe de Paris in Leicester Square. The C de P is one of my favourite London venues and it is based on the design of the decadent first class dining room on the Titanic. Over the years, many of my idols have sung there including Cole Porter, Marlene Dietrich and Noel Coward and you can feel the history oozing from the velvet covered walls, at least I think it was history, it might have been something entirely different.With the stage now back in it’s original position underneath the grand double staircase, the atmosphere is better than ever.
The Black Cat Cabaret is the brainchild of the divine Vicky Butterfly, Dusty Limits and David Harris, formerly of the Boom Boom Club and their absinthe-soaked touch is apparent through every seam of this fabulous cabaret. I had the chance to chat with Mr Limits about the evolution of the The Black Cat and he told me “David came up with the name and in discussion, largely drawing on Vicky’s encyclopaedic knowledge, we came up with a rough idea of what kind of show we wanted it to be; something a bit timeless and magical and evocative of the past without being a museum piece. We want to take the audience into another world to a degree, so we avoid things that are too topical.”

It isn’t often that I get to dust off the operetta and sing it to a cabaret audience, but it is an experience I absolutely relish. On this occasion I sang my non-burlesque version Olympia’s Doll Song from the Tales of Hoffmann to a wonderfully warmed up audience. Their response was very favourable and I had such fun. It’s wonderful when a song which is less mainstream evokes such a positive response from a potentially uninitiated audience. If only I could sing Poulenc & Debussy all the time to such acclaim.
The other acts on the night were all glorious, from the living art work and the artistic stylist of the evening, Vicky Butterfly, the saucy Cabaret Rouge ladies to the marvellous Jess Love and Missy Macabre too but the night really belongs to it’s host, the marvellously louche and gin-soaked Dusty Limits. He really is the compere beyond compare. The men want him, and the women want to be him – he’s like a consumptive Dionysis, a demi-mondaine of the highest degree and being this, he is the very essence of Montmartre, reborn en Angleterre. In passing, I asked Dusty what the future holds for this inky feline and he told me that “the next big step is to make the show seasonal, so instead of one-month runs, we’ll have a 13-week run with a fairly stable cast, so we’ll have an Autumn season starting in September.” What a brave new step for London cabaret, to make a show that is more akin to the Vegas shows like Absinthe or the Australian La Clique, Dusty agreed, “we’re excited about this because it gives us a chance to shape something really theatrical, which is a lot more difficult when you’re changing the show every four weeks”. Bravo, for this bold move, I feel it is a perfect move for the London Cabaret Scene.

Anyway, back to me! I wore my newest costume, although it is actually made up of various bits and pieces that I have found here and there. The bodice used to be a Queen of the Night costume, but with a mini-tutu and a tricorn it has a certain Parisian circus feel. It has the most fabulous vintage jet beading on the front.

I had the most marvellous evening and I’m lucky enough to be appearing there throughout June. So if you find yourself near Piccadilly and at a loose end, come along to the Black Cat. I must warn you, it is sold out most evenings so do buy your tickets in advance and I have popped a link here.
Maybe see you there?

Bisous

Lili

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