Burlesque Through the Eyes of Minsky Malone
Charlie Robinson
Northcote Town Hall
September 29th – October 3rd
Tickets: $25 – $30

The thing I love about burlesque is the feeling of being transported to a completely different world or era. The iconic, Melbourne-based House of Burlesque take this idea of other places and times to a new level in their new show, Burlesque Through The Eyes of Minsky Malone.

Narrated by Hana Vraniqi, the show is a historical account of vaudeville burlesque, taking the audience on a dizzying whirlwind trip through the ages from the beginnings of burlesque in the 1800s to the mid 20th century. Have you ever seen that HBO show Carnevale? It’s about a 1930s travelling carnival, complete with dancing girls, a strong man and tarot readers. Multiply Carnevale by a billion, throw in a crack rock or two, fishnet stockings, stilettos and suspenders and you’ll get a bit of a feeling of what Burlesque is about.

Without giving too much away, the crowd is warmed up by a very special guest, who, by the end of his act, assures us that we’re up for an awesome show. Then, for an hour and a half, twenty five performers twirl, saunter, pirouette and glide their sultry selves around the stage in the classic art deco Main Hall of the Northcote Town Hall.

Written and performed by Minsky Malone, the show begins with a single Charleston dancer before diving into a deep, drrrrrty pool of controversy. Our narrator introduces us to Mata Hari, an exotic dancer from the Netherlands who, in 1917, was killed by a firing squad after being sent to trial and convicted of espionage.  I know, right? Who would’ve thought?

Some of the greatest stars of early to mid twentieth century burlesque all feature in the show including: Gypsy Rose Lee – a highly educated exotic dancer, Lily St Cyr – blonde bombshell and Josephine Bakre – the “Black Pearl”, Josephine Baker. During the interval, my companion, a male friend, asked me if I thought the dancers would be ‘getting their gear off’ in the second half. He clarified by commenting with much sternness that in, the modern era, burlesque became a bit more risqué.

There’s no nudity, but it does get more risqué with a peak performance by Minsky Malone herself. No wonder this chick has received rave reviews and opened her own burlesque school – she is mind-blowingly awesome.  Perhaps one of the highlights of the show is an amazing group performance of the can-can.  Highly energetic and bubbling over with big lashings of fun, the girls very gracefully pull off some very high kicks wearing gorgeous traditional can-can dresses and shiny stilettos. Like much of the show, you have to see it to believe it.

There’s a popular opinion that burlesque is dirty and perverted and just slightly less sleazy than a lap dance you’d get somewhere on King Street. There is, however, something to be said about the art of seduction and tease. Burlesque has been around for over a century and, when done well, it is a truly inspiring form of artistic expression. Ask Minsky Malone – she’ll (show and) tell you all about it.

Click here for Laneway‘s full coverage of the 2010 Melbourne Fringe Festival.