Le Théatre de Décadence // Maddermarket Theatre, 26.09.12
Each subtle flex and pop of her garment-removing burlesque routines caused a mirrored thump in our arteries. - Emma reviews Le Théatre de Décadence.
I didn’t expect to go to Paris on a cold and wet Wednesday evening, but in just shy of two hours, I was delivered there, shown the delights of a bohemian cabaret and safely returned home, via the rouge draped doors of Le Théatre de Decadence. It was an evening combining burlesque performance, racy cabaret and enchanting story-telling, and for this evening, its home was the Maddermarket Theatre.
Burlesque is an artform; those that try to pass it off as ‘just taking your clothes off’ have never tried to seductively get out of a pair of skinny jeans, let me tell you. If hopping around with your ankle shackled by a denim cuff - whilst maintaining a look that wants to say, “take me”, but in fact looks like you’re doing algebra - is tantamount to burlesque, then let me take the stage.
Among the girls proving the magic in the discipline was Sophia St. Villier. She was heart-poundingly sexy. Each subtle flex and pop of her garment-removing burlesque routines caused a mirrored thump in our arteries. She had the mystique and captivation of a timeless diva; a humanised Jessica Rabbit, Lana Del Ray without the Testino-style lens separating us from the action. Her two incarnations, first as a nymph-like (in all senses) wisp, then a sultry deco tease were equally consuming; even as she came out for her applause in demure high waisted trousers, she oozed charisma that you just can’t teach.
Anaspitos was my fully-clothed favourite. From the beginning of his first act, he showed expert physicality, battling with an inert, floating suitcase. No, really. He stretched and squirmed around it, ‘til he unearthed its hidden treasure, bubbles and balls! His crystal ball manipulation was mesmerising and fluid and concluded the act. It was just an appetiser for his second act, however, as Anaspitos took the show to new heights, literally, deftly swinging himself up onto a wiry tightrope. The routine had humour, tension, a unicycle and all the drama you long for in a cabaret act. I once wrote a dissertation on where circus stopped and theatre began: Anaspitos, communicating so much, silently, balanced expertly on that precipice, for sure.
The whole show was given a fluency by our female protagonist and hostess, Natalya Umanska. We picked up her suitcase with her when she took us along the path from her eastern European homeland to the dizzy heights of ‘gay Paree’. She was endearingly naïve, open to adventure – especially when held by the hand by her green fairy, a shot of Absinthe – and delightfully vitriolic in revenge after being taken adventage of by the ‘Man of Lies’. The story, which wove a thread between the disparate acts, was humorously written and performed with sass and spice by our heroine, Natalya.
A note on the other acts: each had enormous merit, from the porcelain burlesque beauty of Miss Dolly Rose to the high energy Miss Bailey Bliss, who played with fire and didn’t get burnt. We were also given a taste of the macabre from Daisy Black and Alex McAleer, whose wincingly cavalier razor eating was enough to put you off your lunch, but evidently, not their metallic repast.
What an enjoyable evening. I can confirm that even without succumbing to the green fairy, I had bohemian dreams, which is just what the artisan ordered.
Emma Garwood
I didn’t expect to go to Paris on a cold and wet Wednesday evening, but in just shy of two hours, I was delivered there, shown the delights of a bohemian cabaret and safely returned home, via the rouge draped doors of Le Théatre de Decadence. It was an evening combining burlesque performance, racy cabaret and enchanting story-telling, and for this evening, its home was the Maddermarket Theatre.
Burlesque is an artform; those that try to pass it off as ‘just taking your clothes off’ have never tried to seductively get out of a pair of skinny jeans, let me tell you. If hopping around with your ankle shackled by a denim cuff - whilst maintaining a look that wants to say, “take me”, but in fact looks like you’re doing algebra - is tantamount to burlesque, then let me take the stage.
Among the girls proving the magic in the discipline was Sophia St. Villier. She was heart-poundingly sexy. Each subtle flex and pop of her garment-removing burlesque routines caused a mirrored thump in our arteries. She had the mystique and captivation of a timeless diva; a humanised Jessica Rabbit, Lana Del Ray without the Testino-style lens separating us from the action. Her two incarnations, first as a nymph-like (in all senses) wisp, then a sultry deco tease were equally consuming; even as she came out for her applause in demure high waisted trousers, she oozed charisma that you just can’t teach.
Anaspitos was my fully-clothed favourite. From the beginning of his first act, he showed expert physicality, battling with an inert, floating suitcase. No, really. He stretched and squirmed around it, ‘til he unearthed its hidden treasure, bubbles and balls! His crystal ball manipulation was mesmerising and fluid and concluded the act. It was just an appetiser for his second act, however, as Anaspitos took the show to new heights, literally, deftly swinging himself up onto a wiry tightrope. The routine had humour, tension, a unicycle and all the drama you long for in a cabaret act. I once wrote a dissertation on where circus stopped and theatre began: Anaspitos, communicating so much, silently, balanced expertly on that precipice, for sure.
The whole show was given a fluency by our female protagonist and hostess, Natalya Umanska. We picked up her suitcase with her when she took us along the path from her eastern European homeland to the dizzy heights of ‘gay Paree’. She was endearingly naïve, open to adventure – especially when held by the hand by her green fairy, a shot of Absinthe – and delightfully vitriolic in revenge after being taken adventage of by the ‘Man of Lies’. The story, which wove a thread between the disparate acts, was humorously written and performed with sass and spice by our heroine, Natalya.
A note on the other acts: each had enormous merit, from the porcelain burlesque beauty of Miss Dolly Rose to the high energy Miss Bailey Bliss, who played with fire and didn’t get burnt. We were also given a taste of the macabre from Daisy Black and Alex McAleer, whose wincingly cavalier razor eating was enough to put you off your lunch, but evidently, not their metallic repast.
What an enjoyable evening. I can confirm that even without succumbing to the green fairy, I had bohemian dreams, which is just what the artisan ordered.
Emma Garwood
