There’s something to be said about Fringe World Festival and how it gives artists from all walks of like a platform to showcase their essence. In this case, it was the confident ladies of Scarlet Bell Burlesque that would be enthralling us on a Saturday night.
If anything, The Weird & Beautiful was more beautiful than weird as the Scarlet Bell Burlesque troupe showcased the art of the tease. With Perth Town Hall being a fitting venue in line with the show’s vaudeville theme, we were told the show was sold out for the night – giving us all the more reason to (in our emcee’s exact words) make double the noise.
Introduced one by one by our ever-charming emcee Sugar Du Joure, each performer brandished elaborate costumes as they sashayed their way onto the stage for their respective acts. There are two words to describe our first freaky circus-esque act – that being, sexy clowns. With clown duo Autumn Daze and Foxxxy Curves dressed head to toe in tulle and colour, the crowd went wild for their knockabout dynamic, water guns and whips.
Next up, our stunning mermaid Lilah Sin and the sultry Mistress Mustang gave us more dramatic performances as they sashayed and twirled around stages. Perhaps my favourite routine of all was Pixie Lust‘s ‘dangerous’ tightrope act, which was backed by an instrumental sax cover of Doja Cat’s ‘Juicy’. And if you thought any of these cheeky performances to be particularly out-there – trust me, it gets weirder!
All in all, there was plentiful laughter and applause for the mighty gorgeous troupe, who proudly represented women of varying sizes in burlesque. If there’s one thing I’ve learnt, burlesque is for everyone, but not everyone can do burlesque. It takes courage, charisma and a whole lot of confidence.
