The large cast of Heavenly Burlesque have an enormous amount of fun presenting their unorthodox, silly, eclectic, low-budget mix of magic, interpretive dance, song, aerialism and trapeze, to a friendly, accepting opening night audience.

Although some who read the PR material for Heavenly Burlesque might compare them to the likes of La Clique, there is no point. La Clique built a world class precision show from a series of outstanding vignettes of entertainment. The Heavenly Burlesque troupe take a radically different approach to their entertainment, by refusing to take themselves seriously throughout their evening of mostly bawdy, bumpy disorder. The results are mixed.

The opening act is a fat woman shedding her skin behind screens, redefining the term tossed salad along the way, to reveal a strong supple frame in silhouette. To further divulge her entity for the evening, she steps out from behind her screens, and dons black plastic wings, becoming a pouty angel not to be messed with. The act is a bit of a mish-mash, but she makes her point.  

Host "Vinyl Burns" puts in a stellar effort, opening the show with a humorous magic act and keeping the night alive with his offbeat clever wit and commentary.  His "Sweet Child Of Mine" on an out-of-tune beat-up ukulele, was as extraordinary as it was entertaining.

The level of skill of some in the cast is impressive, as exemplified by Magenta Diamond, in her hoop-artist-come- dominatrix routine. Her whip act at the top of the night, while also skilful, seems to lack dramatic cohesion…  although the front row is fully engaged.

The juxtaposition between Vinyl Burns’ witty introduction and remarks during Tom the trapeze artist’s graceful act is a well-crafted and conceived skit. The duo on trapeze, to a sultry soundtrack of "Harlem Nocturne", is also one of the night’s highlights.

In post show discussions with audience members, the general agreement is that the evening needs the outside eye of a firm director or producer as many acts are either too long and technically sloppy (bunny eared gal dances under black and white camera); unable to clearly articulate a good initial premise (anxious sexually repressed gal goes shopping and gets trollied); miscast (scary striking Amazonian goddess on the prowl in the audience: she deserves a star role in a show like this, just not a singing one); or totally at odds with the tone of the rest of the evening (beautiful, long, sensual but ultimately out of place, serious dance solo by Taiaroa Royal).

During the show’s less raunchy and weaker moments, the audience seems confused or loses interest, preferring to chat with friends. Shows of this nature are vogue, so if you have the term "Burlesque" in your title be prepared for the crowd’s expectation.

In terms of the male dance troupe and their blow up doll? While the boys had fun being sugar plum fairies and the pink suits were fab, there is a thin line between having the skill and comic ability to successfully take the mickey, and just looking a bit silly.

The evening started with huge promise – the venue decked out with cabaret seating and the burlesque performers, roaming the room, improvising their way through the audience, engaging with those who were keen to interact. The mood is good and we definitely feel we are in their den.

Unfortunately, even taking into account that "rough and raw" seems to be the point of difference the team are going for, the evening comes across as patchy and loose, with uneven levels of skill and ability. If you’re looking for something different, and don’t mind a bit of "hit and miss" in terms of quality, check it out.
_______________________________
For more production details, click on the title at the top of this review. Go to Home page to see other Reviews, recent Comments and Forum postings (under Chat Back), and News.  

Copyright © in the review belongs to the reviewer