Long days of sightseeing in London deserve good nights of first class entertainment. Whether you’re staying at one of the cheap hostal or have a suite at the Ritz, after a busy day you deserve to let your hair down in style. London has been a home to every cultural phenomenon and in the recent years one certainly started to sparkle and seduce - I’m talking about the art of burlesque. Originally a cabaret act intended to mock and ridicule, burlesque evolved into a fun but sensual dance art form and world class celebrities such as Dita Von Teese definitely helped to popularise it. Embracing the retro pin up style of the 1940s and 1950s, burlesque is storming the city!
If you’re in town in November, Chaz Royal, a producer of award wining burlesque shows and founder of The London Burlesque Festival, will be hosting a 10 Year Anniversary Celebration. To celebrate a decade in business the winners of World Burlesque 2012 Games, such as Eliza Delite, will take to stage to entertain and tease in a truly decadent fashion. The festival itself takes place in April and also has its spot at Edinburgh Fringe - I’d highly recommend pencilling those dates in your next year’s calendar.
Don’t despair if you miss the celebration or the festival - London is buzzing with burlesque performances on weekly basis. Bohemian Café de Paris every Sunday gives its stage to the Wam Bam Club - a weekly explosive mixture of comedy and burlesque. Wam Bam Club is one of the longest running cabaret nights in London and many of the 15 acts are residents well acquainted with the audience. Wam Bam stages boylesque acts as well, still a rarity among the ladies. The entertainment, complete with a three course meal, will certainly make for an unforgettable experience.
Majority of burlesque shows take place in the very heart of the City or around Mayfair, however should you fancy a more alternative option, Proud Cabaret in Camden comes to the rescue. Located in Stables Market in the old Horse Hospital, the venue brings extravagant glamour to the North of London. With their newest offering ’50 Shades Of Cabaret’, a burlesque and dinner show, this supper club is not to be missed. However for a more intimate experience head to the up and coming Stoke Newington, where at The White Rabbit on a Friday every month you’re invited to go ‘Down The Rabbit Hole’ - a new and exciting night, promoting fresh burlesque talent in the city. The venue itself is kooky and cosy and the intimacy will let you experience burlesque as if you were in a real Parisian cafe.
Burlesque will certainly add some glamour, sparkle and good laughs to your night time entertainment. If the shows themselves were not enough to make you come back - there are plenty of burlesque and boylesque academies, encouraging you to come in and try the art form yourself. Who knows, you might be the star of the next year’s London Burlesque Festival!
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