It's been a little while since a full burlesque show has had a long run in the West End. Miss Polly Rae's Hurly Burly dazzled the Garrick stage many moons ago and Dita Von Teese took the Palladium by storm in 2020. Though not a full run, but better than no tassels at all, Ivy Page brought her An Evening of Burlesque to the Adelphi last night.
The premise of the evening was simple. As long as the audience was willing to shower the glamorous burlesque dancers with applause they would shed their clothing for your viewing pleasure. And last night the audience certainly was up for it!
As the evening's chanteuse host, Ivy Page, explained tonight is all about the art of tease. We got teased by the seductive Velvet Jones with her nod to the classic fan dance, burning firecracker Sebastian Angelique and the sensual L'Sheila Showgirls with their beautifully choreographed Running Up That Hill. The show really turned up the heat with the showstopping star turn from Saucy David Jr. with his toe-tapping and all-singing masterclass of sweet and well-saucy.
The show is filled to the brim with variety acts and plenty of classic burlesque catalogue songs like Fever, Big Spender and Diamonds Are a Girls Best Friend. You can catch this show on tour and it will certainly brighten up a girls' night out or a cheeky Christmas party and will act as a perfect introduction to burlesque.
Running for nearly three hours, the show could take a leaf out of Page's book. While all the tease is fun we should always be left for wanting more.