Birdy decided to mix it up a bit with some indulgent variety cabaret; Vive La Variete was a great deal of fun, with a few laugh-out-loud moments, and some fabulous performances.
As some of you may know by now, I love burlesque. Tonight, I decided I’d mix things up a bit with burlesque, followed by a variety show described as a mix of Vaudeville, comedy and cabaret (including burlesque), followed by… you guessed it, yet more burlesque!
Vive La Variete was the ideal filling for my burlesque sandwich, the perfect cream between my buns, with some great acts and musical numbers from the likes of Pete Saunders, Twonkey (sometimes known as Mr Twonkey, and his doll – who may or may not be a tad under the weather), Belle de Beauvoir, Roxy Starmuffdust (I keep getting that wrong!) and Ivy Paige.
Bear in mind, the acts do change every night, so, without further ado, let’s have a rundown of tonight’s Vive La Variete acts.
Twonkey
When Twonkey was announced, with his Boris Johnson-esque hair, I didn’t really know what I was going to get at first – and I was pleasantly surprised with a couple of bizarre musical numbers. His doll had unfortunately been on the micro dots – oh dear – and he had an entire song dedicated to it.
By the end of his set, I’d really rather warmed to Twonkey, and found his style quite charming – I may go and see his show, Twonkey’s Greatest Twitch – also on at the Voodoo Rooms!
Pete Saunders
I was pleased to see the charming Pete Saunders was back on the keys again in this show – having just seen him in Blues and Burlesque – with a couple of cheerful numbers. Again, Pete stressed he wasn’t one of the burlesque acts of the evening (just in case we were in any doubt).
Pete’s got a bluesy, occasionally gritty style that reminds me a little of Tom Waits at times – with some surprising covers mixed in. As mentioned above, he and Belle de Beauvoir have another show on at the same venue – Blues and Burlesque – which I’ve actually reviewed right here.
Belle de Beauvoir
Next up was the glorious Belle de Beauvoir (pictured above), who again completely stole the show for me. Her burlesque performances are smooth, polished and absolutely scintillating, so I already knew we were in safe hands when she was introduced to the stage.
I honestly don’t think I can take a bad photo of Belle, she’s just that photogenic (which is why I’ve got two in this review) – and her outfits are to die for. I found Belle’s performance to be another showstopper, and is definitely one of the strongest burlesque acts I’m going to see at the Fringe this year.
Roxy Stardust
Roxy Stardust commanded the stage; hell, she completely dominated it and had it whimpering in a corner. Hot damn, that woman gives off the perfect IDGAF attitude, whilst pulling off the perfect burlesque moves (and her clothes with ’em!).
I was so captivated by Roxy that I accidentally took her flyer for the second time that night, but she joked she had loads so it was fine! She did kind of stick the first one under my arm because I had no hands free, so it wasn’t entirely the same. You can see Roxy’s show at the Three Sisters at 18:45.
Ivy Paige
What a delight when Ivy made her appearance with her floor-length, jewel encrusted dress. I was in awe – and her joke about her curves being down to Gregg’s sausage rolls made her instantly relatable!
She has the vocals, the moves, and has been described as a ‘real-life Jessica Rabbit’ – it’s not hard to see why! Ivy did a bit of audience participation, which was a nice addition to her set, and her entire performance was utterly fabulous.
Her show Burlesque Bombshell is also on at the Voodoo Rooms, and you can enjoy a nice Ivy Paige photo collage from me below.
Overall
I had a fabulous time at Vive La Variete! This was such a fun show, a chocolate box of full of devilishly delicious acts – and, a bit like Forrest Gump would say, you never know what’choo gonna get…
Vive La Variete is on at 22:30 most nights in the Ballroom, Voodoo Rooms (19a W Register St, Edinburgh EH2 2AA) and you can get your tickets here.
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