By Peter Maddern
Unless one is obsessed with seeing near naked ladies gyrating around a stage, the traditional burlesque dance routines of swirling pasties, bouncing buttocks and thrusting pelvises can quickly tire. But burlesque has always meant to be more than that – a night of tease and torment where dancing and ribald humour intermix in a good hearted assault on the visual and audio sensors.
Burlesque Beauties delivers such a night with Marcel Lucont as the ideal compere and the dancers aided by a string of Fringe comedians. Lucont survives on much more than an endearing French accent and his dancers similarly than their figures. All were enthusiasts for the tasks at hand with the dance routines tight with the mandatory array of glitter and feathers and none of the boring routines that can dog similar events – the I Dream of Jeannie schtick quickly and enjoyably redefined a childhood memory and thankfully that was it.
The show had a few guest artists including the uncompromising Svetlanka and perhaps not enough of the birthday girl, ‘Stage Kitty’ and only one ‘wardrobe malfunction’ that the dancer blasted her way through wonderfully.
On the comic front, Iman (perhaps the shortest man you will ever see) and local beanstalk, Moataz entertained but with due respect, Lucont’s removing of clothing to deal with the Adelaide heat was the laughter highlight.
If you are into burlesque, then I doubt whether there will be anything more entertaining and enjoyable as this in Fringe 2013. These burlesque beauties are much more than next to nothing and Lucont a light amongst the stand-ups.
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