Burlescape
I Film I Kids
Kirstin Innes discovers why the Glasgow Cabaret Festival is a shot in the arm for the neo-burlesque scene
hat is it about burlesque just now‘.’ There‘s a
new club or class popping up every day.
hundreds of dancers queuing tip for slots at nights like Club Noir and Rockaburley. and now here comes the Glasgow Cabaret Festival. a week-long festival all over the city. More burlesque. right‘.’
Wrong. as co-organiser Frodo McDaniel. who also runs the very successful Glasgow branch of Dr Sketchy‘s Anti-Art School. explains.
‘My partner Louise ()liver came tip with the idea. because she feels that cabaret and variety have been somewhat usurped by this neo-burlesque movement that’s going on at the moment. Suddenly. burlesque cabaret has become synonymous with relatively untrained. amateur goth girls taking their underwear off. Now. don‘t get me wrong: I‘ve nothing against goth girls taking their clothes off. But we felt that we needed to educate audiences in the sheer eclectism and variety that cabaret. and burlesque in the true. original sense of the word. can involve.‘
And they mean that. McDaniel and ()liver‘s festival takes in everything from visual art (an exhibition. The Art of the Temptress. at Art de Caf). cabaret aimed at children. including an open mic slot. at the Rio Cafe. a tribute to Scottish music hall legend lvor (‘utler featuring some excellent local bands. and a variety performance night. The Missy and Leyla Show.
‘lt’s that sort of old-school. Play Your Can/s Rig/ii kind of game show. hosted by Missy Malone and
Leyla Rose. who are Scottish burlesque performers in the true sense of the word: they mix cabaret. humour and something darker into a burlesque routine.‘
As well as a roster of excellent local talent across various art forms. ()liver and McDaniel are bringing international stars of the contemporary cabaret scene to Scotland for their own full-length shows. From San Francisco comes worldwide cttlt star Kitten on the Keys. a circus—trained. ukulele-playing. puppetcering pianist. with the liuropean debut of her show Does This Piano Make My Ass Look Iiigf’. From London comes Dusty Limits. a cabaret singer who McDaniel describes as ‘an absolute star in the Weimar. 1930s Berlin cabaret style‘.
Weimar exotica aside. McDaniel‘s own ideas of cabaret formed around the cosy familiarity of
Saturday tea time television in the 1970s and 1980s.
‘I miss shows like Opportunity Knocks and New I’uees. where all the acts were great. and you were really watching the stars of tomorrow. Those people who will dismiss the (ilasgow (‘abaret Festival as not for them are the very ones who sit in on a Saturday night. wading through bad performance on Britain 's‘ (ior 'liilent when they could be watching genuinely good stuff. livc.‘
Glasgow Cabaret Festival runs Sun 5-Sun 12 Jul, with proceeds going to the Britannica Panoptican Music Hall. See www.9lasgowcabaretfestival.com for full listings.
I Books I Clubs Comedy
32 I LGBT 60 35 I Music 61 41 I Theatre 81 43 I Visual Art 87 59
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=i< Famous Scots Exhibition exploring the ancestry of six famous Scots in turn. Learn about the family history of Garbage’s Shirley Manson. Scotland’s People Centre, New Register House, Edinburgh, until Fri 17 Jul.
* Handmade Heaven Shop for groovy treats without worrying about children in sweatshops working their wee fingers to the bone. courtesy of the Glasgow Craft Mafia. The Buff Club, Glasgow, Sat 27 Jun & Mono, Glasgow, Sun 28 Jun. * The Scottish Minority Ethnic Achievement Awards 2009 A night of recognition and celebration with a five-course meal and speeches. which will be televised by Sony Entertainment Television Asia. Hilton Hotel Glasgow, Thu 25 Jun.
* Greetin’ Glasgow Walking tours of the East End of Glasgow that delve into the histories of immigration, football, riots and murders. Dou/ton Fountain, Glasgow Green, Glasgow, Thu 25
Jun— Thu 9 Jul.
* The Fallacy of Creativity: Speaking Up For Inspiration Alexander Stoddart, the Queen’s newly appointed sculptor in Scotland. discusses the lost concept of 'inspiration’ in the modern arts. National Gallery of Scotland: Hawthornden Lecture Theatre, . Edinburgh, Tue 7 Jul. ;
25 Jun—9 Jul 2009 THE LIST 29