Burlesque Rocks at Orange Rooms (From Daily Echo)

Burlesque Rocks at Orange Rooms

5:13pm Tuesday 6th July 2010 in

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BURLESQUE legend Anna Fur Laxis stripped to her tassels for a whooping crowd at Southampton’s Orange Rooms, writes Gareth Lewis.

Looking every inch the recreation of fifties pin-up Bettie Page, she was the undisputed queen of the bar’s Burlesque Rocks Independence Day Special - a night of flirty fun for a packed house comprising everything from hardcore rock-a-billy quiffs to corset sporting students. Even a couple of septuagenarian dames had turned out, barely batting an eyelid at the fruity goings on.

And what sights there were – an exquisite fan dance straight out of a prohibition-era speakeasy, a stripping Stig from TV’s Top Gear and a history of America through the novel medium of striptease.

That’s not to overlook host Mister Joe Black’s attention grabbing efforts that included having a nail removed from his nostril by the teeth of a reluctant “volunteer” hoiked out of the audience.

Other highlights from Cat Aclysmic and Fay La Foe together with riffs and rhythms from the Devil Wrays ensured a compelling night which was somehow saucy without ever being sleazy and risqué but never really rude.

With cocktails being consumed enthusiastically all around, the night was itself a tart blend - two parts seaside postcard with a shot of rocky horror show, a squeeze of Betttie Boo and more than a dash of vintage style. Orange Rooms proved burlesque’s bawdy re-imagining of stripping’s past glories past has a big future in Southampton.

Don’t miss the next one on September 19