EARLY BURLY - MELBOURNE
EARLY BURLY, Butterfly Club, Carson Place, Melbourne, 14-18 December 2016.
Drawn to Early Burly with the promise of a night of burlesque and comedy to take away from the dreariness of Christmas shopping and with the added incentive of being at the unique and quirky Butterfly Club, I was eager.
The Butterfly Club is a space where rising stars hone their skills and are supported in doing what they want to “perform”; you also get to see the stars that have risen who come back for the comfort of the parlour space. Graduates of the Butterfly Club include Eddie Perfect, Tim Minchin, Sammy J, Phil Scott, to name a few.
What is good is that you become aware of how many writers, actors, singers and performers we have in Melbourne all with a story to tell. Some shows requiring more guidance than others. Early Burly is one that would have benefited from a strong visual hand (director) to keep it connected.
Our MC for the night, Adelaide Everheart (Adele Scott) clad in her burlesque costume and top hat, struts through the audience belting out a song. As she gets to the stage she encourages the small audience to bunch up and move to the front – a good move – and then takes us through the etiquette of being a burlesque audience where it is encouraged to yell “take it off”.
Scott is a graduate of the Vic College of Arts and you can tell by her presence and voice that she is a trained performer. She gave it her best but it was too loose, by being intimate with her audience it gave her too much license to be a trifle slipshod. No matter how small an audience is they have paid money to see the best of your talents. With direction she would be stronger.
Adelaide Everheart, with her “jokes” and occasional song introduces the performers for the evening. Ainslie Adams, who has two burlesque numbers – the very sweet Snow White dancing to Some Day My Prince Will Come who does, but only when she is down to her birthday suit. Her next piece, a fan dance, was excellent. A raven beauty.
Karlis Zaid followed with a sneak peak of his upcoming show in January. No burlesque. Zaid is an actor, writer and singer currently touring with Opera Australia in My Fair Lady. He knows how to work a stage. His new show Suburban Gothic is a satirical look at Australia (not hard to do in this political climate). His writing is dark, sardonic and funny. He had me with his first number, Hipster/Killer. He returned with Hair that you Wear accompanied on piano by the versatile Claire Healy.
Enter Claire Healy, singer songwriter and actor. Wearing a big frock and even bigger high heels, my attention drawn momentarily to health and safety. Her singing, ukulele and piano skills shift your attention from the shoes back to appreciation of her songs. She is also plugging her new show at next year’s Melbourne Comedy Festival.
Our MC brought the night to a climax with a change of frock (surely someone could have helped her with the zip) and a few lewd jokes. The small audience was appreciative and seemed to have a good time. I wanted the show to be tighter, with more control and more burlesque. The hallmarks are there: Scott just needs to believe in herself a bit more.
Logon to https://thebutterflyclub.com/show/early-burly for a list of Adelaide’s guests for the rest of the week including Mama Alto, Honey B Goode, Ruby Slippers, Taffy, Tiki Amazon, Loli Box, Leasa Mann, Ophelia Black, Petra Dish, Chastity De Vice…
