Britney Challenge

I was struggling with a bit of writer's block one day, when my friend Ryan challenged me to come up with 500-1000 words on Miss Spears in 45mins as a way of getting the words to come out.

This is the un-polished, unedited result.

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The word ‘icon’ gets thrown around a lot these days. Airtime and a fizz of pizzazz has lead to numerous brands, dance moves and performers being labelled ‘iconic’ during their fifteen minutes of fame.

To be a music icon, you have to cause a stir. You have to change at least one section of the industry in such a memorable way that your defining moment is irreversibly seared onto that period of pop culture. Your entire persona becomes a symbol for the impact you’ve made- your clothes, your voice, your name- but that ever elusive X-Factor is what can transform the brief glitter of fame into full blown stardom.

For me, Britney Spears is an icon in the making. Every since her …Baby One More Time video hit screens around the globe, Britney has been confirming her position as a figurehead of pop culture with every move she makes. In the UK, The Spice Girls’ popularity was dwindling after five became four, ballads dominated the charts and moody indie types The Verve had lead the way at the BRIT awards. The last young woman to come out of America and have British chart success was LeAnn Rimes (with, yes, a heart-wrenching power ballad), and it very much seemed that transatlantic pop had lost its punch.

Cue Miss Spears. …Baby One More Time in all its pink pig-tailed, school’s out, back flipping glory brought some long awaited vibrancy back to the charts, and as a twelve year-old girl at the time, it felt like the younger generation were triumphantly reclaiming pop music. Finally, here was some more new music that you could dance and sing along to- something accessible but slightly naughty and something perfect for the early-teen market.

As Britney’s career progressed, it felt like fans like me were growing up alongside her. Looking back, album tracks like ‘Email my Heart’ and ‘Dear Diary’ are hardly deep, but during your teenage years (when every day feels like a rollercoaster) sometimes poetic lyrics and complex layered melodies aren’t what is needed. When you feel your early high-school life is dramatic enough, often the simplest of songs and concepts can help you make it through or lift your spirits until the end of the day.
The beauty of Britney’s music is it is catchy enough to stick in your mind, but malleable enough for you to develop your own memories and associations to complete the listening experience.

As for the woman herself, she has never been afraid to be own person. The outside media loved to portray Britney as a pop puppet, but the fans have long known of her sheer determination and love for what she does. To me and thousands of others, goofy and endearing Britney has always seemed human, but never more so than during her downward spiral between 2006-2008. For many people, such a sad time reminded them of the connection they felt to her, whether it be due to the constant background she provided to their past or their affection for a girl who was living their shared dream. However, what has made more of an impact on me is the way she has built herself back up and slowly begun to lift her head up high. The strength shown in having all you’ve known fall away and realising that the dream is not so perfect, but still dusting yourself off and carrying on has cemented her status as a resilient and committed entertainer.

Britney Spears is the little girl dancing and singing into her hairbrush and the star performing in front of millions. She is the daydream of an extravagant white wedding and the reality of an emotional divorce, the vixen on stage impressing countless fans and the doting mother desperately trying to give her sons the best start in life. She is laughing and dancing in a club with friends and scribbling in tear-stained a notebook after a break up; the front page headline and the name at the bottom of a family Christmas card. She is the embodiment of ordinary and the extraordinary and so with such recognition, influence and provocation of intense emotion across the board, she is a blossoming modern day icon (in my eyes at least).

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Which came first...?

It's official: Britain has slipped from being entangled in the phenomenon known as the 'credit crunch', into a full blown recession. As people tighten their purse strings, many are turning to cheaper alternatives in their weekly shop. However, an increasing number are taking things a step further and producing their own food. Figures and reports have shown that allotments are being fought over (with some sites having a ten year waiting list) and vegetable plots are springing up all over the country, but a surprising amount of people are ruffling a few more feathers with their recession-busting measures.

My first encounter with this particular solution to the pinch took place unexpectedly last Monday morning. At first, I was convinced I was hearing things (or at the very least, being repeatedly subjected to someone's novelty text alert), but after some enquiries found out that I was indeed hearing a real life rooster's deafening crow in the middle of North London. In a nearby street, a household has become one of the latest to join the urban chicken keeping movement that is spreading across the UK.

Last month, the Guardian reported that sales of garden-friendly sized plastic chicken coops had tripled in the last 12 months, and that the re-homing rate of rescued battery hens has more than doubled. It is estimated that around half a million households are now keeping chickens, with the figures steadily rising. The combined novelty of a pet and food provider certainly sounds promising, and is obviously an idea people are buying into, but is it really worth it?


The average price of a hen is estimated at £12 and hens lay up to 300 eggs each year (meaning an individual hen could provide you with roughly a box of eggs per week). The cost of feeding a hen is 3p per day, and a box of organic eggs would normally set you back around £1.82. Factoring in the initial purchase cost for a single hen and some modest housing in the form of a wooden coop (to provide nesting space and protection from foxes, £117), you will have earned back your investment costs (through savings) in less than 18 months.

Aside from the economic factor, people seem to benefit from keeping feathered friends in other areas. Owners are quick to point out that their poultry produce an organic, nitrogen rich addition to the compost bin, and help to remove unwanted bugs from lawns and flower beds, all whilst aerating the soil with their scratching. Children can be educated about responsibility when caring for hens, and it is also claimed that urban chicken eggs are more nutritious than store bought counterparts, with higher levels of vitamins A and E, beta carotene and omega-3 fatty acids.

If you are seriously considering setting up your own flock, there are numerous online resources, mainly in the form of blogs devoted to the subject (many of which are based in the US, where urban chicken keeping has already established a vast following). These provide a round up of articles on the subject, as well as personal accounts from long-time coop-keepers and tips about essentials such as wing clipping.

A word of advice though: hens do not need the company of a cockerel/rooster to produce eggs. They can certainly be introduced to keep the hens particularly happy, but I'm not sure it'll have the same effect on the neighbours...


Stock photo source

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Q&A

I also spoke to the women performing at HMS Pin-up before and after their acts, in an effort to find out a little bit more about their individual experiences on and off stage.

How did you come up with your stage name, and can you perhaps choose one word to describe your on stage persona?

Tallulah Mockingbird: Funnily enough, my stage name was actually one of the first ones that I thought of myself (it’s a play on the whole ‘To Kill a Mockingbird’ thing). I did sit down with some very good friends of mine over a couple of glasses of wine and have a complete brainstorm about all the burlesque names that they could think of (and one friend was actually really great at it), but in the end it still came back to the one that I’d first thought of.

And my stage persona in one word? That’s a bit tricky…Cheeky is not quite the right word, but it has a sort of cheeky pin-up kind of feel. That’s what I like to go for in my act anyway.

Violet Va Voom: I got my stage name through my teacher who I spent last summer working with, along with some other girls. She asked us to come up with some words that we felt represented our personalities, what we liked about life, what we liked about burlesque, and then because she is deeply involved in the burlesque scene herself, she knew what names were already in use by other performers. She then tried to come up with something creative and new for each of her tutees, and that’s how I became Violet Va Voom!

“The Scarlet Sta” Miss Ruby Red: I’ve always been called ‘Red’; I’m ex-army and whilst I was in the army I had bright red hair, so I was called that then. Ruby was my grandma’s name and I think ‘Ruby’ and ‘Red’ naturally go together, whereas the ‘Scarlet Sta’ bit is so that when you Google the name, I come out near the top of the results!

And I would say my stage act is very ‘cheesecake’- very fun, flirty and girly.

Miss Golden De Licious: I came up with my stage name on a boat on the way back from Bestival (on the Isle of Wight) last year. I’d been waitressing in a burlesque tent and got to see all these great performers; it was absolutely brilliant and I thought ‘I really, really, really want to do this now’. So, on the way back on the ferry, we were coming up with stage names to give me some inspiration for my first routine, and I decided that I wanted my first act to have a temptation/garden of Eden theme.

We went through all the usual types of suggestions, with ‘Fifi’, ‘Cherry’, ‘Trixie’, ‘Sparkle’ and everything else, and nothing fitted, so I decided that the best thing to do was use the name of an apple [to link with the theme of my proposed act]. We tried ‘Miss Appley- (Whatever)’ and ‘Pink Lady’, and it didn’t really work, but then ‘Golden’ came up (and my hair’s ginger, so that worked) along with ‘De Licious’ (which is quite an apt name), and so ‘Golden De Licious’ it was!

And my on-stage persona? After tonight’s show, I think it’ll have to be ‘crazy’ (in the best possible way!) ‘Unique’ possibly…I’m going to say ‘unique’.

How did you get into burlesque, and how long have you been performing?

Tallulah Mockingbird: I’ve been performing for about three years now. I did a course with a woman called Jo King (aka ‘Good Time Mama Jojo’) up in London a few years ago, as I thought it was something that I kind of had in me, but didn’t ever have the confidence to express by myself. I was lucky enough on that course to meet six other women [whom, along with Tallulah, would later become ‘The Teasemaids’] who at the end of it all, all thought ‘I wonder if we could actually get on stage and do something like that?’

So, Jo King worked with us to choreograph an act, and we eventually got to perform at Bethnal Green Working Men’s’ Club. We did it once, but then we thought ‘Ooh hang on, we were all a bit nervous that time. Was it just a fluke [that it all went smoothly]? Maybe we should actually get up and give it another go?’

That was three years ago, and we kind of haven’t stopped since!

It was probably about two years ago that I sort of said to myself, ‘Well, that was all really good fun. These women have become my best friends and they’re really great people, but I need to challenge myself a bit more and get up on stage by myself sometimes and see what happens.’

Violet Va Voom: I happened to pick up a flyer that was advertising classes whilst in a fetish-y shop in Manchester. I thought ‘that sounds like a good idea…’- something new, something to get me out of the house, something a bit of fun and something that would help me get a little bit fitter. I wanted to build my confidence, to try something completely different, and so I took classes once a week (I think it was a ten-week course).

I have been performing since the beginning of this year, finding gigs in my home area (Manchester) and now this evening in Portsmouth.

“The Scarlet Sta” Miss Ruby Red: I’ve been performing for about a year and a half. I actually got into burlesque when I was heavily pregnant with my second daughter, after my husband bought me a book on Dita Von Teese, but it’s something I’ve always been interested in. I also saw the ‘Faking It’ special with Immodesty Blaize and Scarlet Fever (who I’ve actually worked with) and thought ‘well if someone off the street who’s a cleaner can do something like that, why can’t I? Let’s go for it and see how it goes!’ And we are here, a year and a half on, so there you go!

How much of your burlesque identity is actually ‘you’, and how much of it is a stage persona that only comes out when you step out in front of the audience?

Tallulah Mockingbird: That’s a good question, as I think the line has got blurred. There is a certain amount of truth in saying that now, my stage persona is actually the real me in a way. I was really quite shy for many years; I liked to make people laugh and knew that this was inside, but didn’t know how to express it.

I’d say that through becoming more confident (burlesque has definitely given me so much more confidence; I feel self assured and certainly not degraded in any way),the person that I am on stage, when I’m giving you a nod and a wink, is actually more ‘Tallulah’ than the Tallulah at her desk job sometimes. More of that has now fed into my personal life really, than my personal life feeding back into my act. It’s very much a positive thing, yeah.

Violet Va Voom: I think in all performance there has to be an element of self because it’s about identifying with music or colours, or movements that feel comfortable, familiar and enjoyable. You would find it very difficult, I think, to try and put something together to a piece of music that you didn’t like or identify with, or to move in an unnatural way. That’s my way of thinking about it.

“The Scarlet Sta” Miss Ruby Red: What you see is what you get I’m afraid! I’m like this most of the time, so I don’t see myself as having two different sides.

Miss Golden De Licious: Ah, that’s a good question. A lot of it is purely stage: I’m not really like my very over the top girly-girl act, but then again, I don’t go around holding my crotch constantly either! I do think that because burlesque builds your confidence so much, you tend to have more confidence everyday as well. A lot of [my stage persona] has reflected back into my day-to-day [life] as well now, which is positive because I am more confident now as a result of being on stage.

Where do you get your costumes from?

Tallulah Mockingbird: Ah, bit of a mixed bag. I’ve now got the most fantastic corset maker in the world- love her to bits and she does an excellent job. I’m wearing a sailor costume tonight that I’ve made myself, so part of the joy of it for me is actually creating costumes and other bits and pieces too. I’ve also got a fabulous pasty maker who makes great nipple tassels- so yeah, a bit of a mixture, but sometimes it’s better left to the experts!

Violet Va Voom: My wardrobe, primarily! I’ve only just begun performing on a regular basis, so I’m not in a position as yet to create or commission pieces. I have to be creative with what I own already and find mainstream outlets for the pieces that I need (such as nipple tassels or stockings), but there are purveyors through Myspace/Facebook who are available to provide items that are a bit more bespoke.

“The Scarlet Sta” Miss Ruby Red: I usually make them or find them in shops and alter them a little. EBay is always good too!

Miss Golden De Licious: Ah, dropping names here! Adora Belle- she’s got to be my number one for costumes, she is absolutely wonderful. I’ve got a couple that have been sort of EBay magical finds that I’ve glue-gunned to death with sequins, but I have to say, Adora Belle will make you a fabulous costume.

Have you had any favourite performances so far that particularly stood out?

Tallulah Mockingbird: Ooh gee, that’s a good question. Some of my favourite performances have been with ‘The Teasemaids’ as a troupe because you do get a really good reaction to the troupe. We did a performance at The London Burlesque Festival this year (we were actually the very first act on and so we sort of opened the festival), and we did an act where we dressed up as ponies and did a kind of dressage number. The reaction to that was great and we all came off the stage with a real buzz, feeling really empowered. The audience were fantastic.

Violet Va Voom: I think, given that I only have three acts to my repertoire so far (being fairly new on the scene), the two that I performing currently are my favourites. The first act is the act that I put together for the end of my class, and each of the other girls in the group did the same (they chose a piece of music and we worked together with our tutor to put something together). That was more of a test piece to see if I had what it takes to move forward and develop as a performer. I have two very different acts coming up this evening that represent different sides to my personality. I like that about burlesque; it’s not about having to stick to one path of expression, you can chop, change and choose to suit mood and tone.

“The Scarlet Sta” Miss Ruby Red: My ‘Forces Sweetheart’ routine where I perform en pointe (I quite like that one), and just the classic striptease to ‘The Stripper’ as everybody knows the music and so they get involved more!

Do you have a favourite pin-up girl/ performer who inspires you or that you aspire to be like?

Tallulah Mockingbird: Well, Immodesty Blaize is the reason why I started out, so I would probably say her. I’ve never had the opportunity to watch Dita Von Teese perform, but Immodesty is billed as the queen of UK burlesque and I went to see some of her shows (probably about four years ago) with some friends. We had a few drinks, and I was sat there saying ‘I could do that!’ and they were going ‘Yeah, yeah you could’, so I’d blame her! But she is great; she’s very sexy and she’s not a skinny little minx either. She’s a really curvy, fulsome woman which I think is very, very sexy.

Violet Va Voom: There are women in pin-up and burlesque who I certainly admire, but it’s not so much aspiring to be like them, but more what they have done and knowing that there is a place for my own style within that greater spectrum. An obvious name that would come to anyone’s mind when they hear ‘burlesque’ would be Dita Von Teese, and she’s probably been a bit of a trailblazer for burlesque across the western world. However, it’s not about wanting to emulate or reach the same heights, it’s about admiring what she does, appreciating her look and feeling a certain level of identification with that.

“The Scarlet Sta” Miss Ruby Red: I have a few: Dita Von Teese, Immodesty Blaize- they’re obviously the ‘new’ ones [in terms of burlesque/pin-up history]-, Bettie Page was always a good one for photo work (pin-up and whatnot), but performance-wise perhaps not that interesting. Everybody seems to like her more than everybody else, but I don’t know whether that’s because she’s one of the icons for fetish!

Miss Golden De Licious: Good Time Mama Jojo has got to be my big inspiration because if she can do it, anyone can do it and she is fantastic. She’s got gall, she’s got guts, comedy by the brimful and she’s just a larger than life personality. You go to one of her nights and watch her, and just go ‘Jesus! I really want to do this…I can do this.’ She’s inspirational and she’s fantastic.

Do you have a favourite element of burlesque or a favourite part of your act?

Tallulah Mockingbird: Anything that gets a laugh out of people. I like it when you actually manage to surprise people so they are not quite sure what’s going to happen next.

I’ve got a spot in a balloon act that I do, where I turn around, bend over and there’s a balloon there on my bottom that wasn’t there before, so I pop that…moments like that are really good fun. There’s also a moment in my sailor act where I- Let’s just say I pull out a prop that people weren’t expecting to see and it makes people laugh. It’s the element of surprise!

Violet Va Voom: I think it’s about being able to identify with an audience who appreciates what you are doing, understands what you are doing and also about those little five-minutes of fame. You’re the centre of attention in a room full of people who are cheering, appreciating the gumption that you have in getting on stage and taking your clothes off, and being free to do that whilst knowing (hopefully) no one will criticise what they see from beginning to end.

“The Scarlet Sta” Miss Ruby Red: I just like the whole glamorous aspect of it; being able to get dressed up and not having to hide behind your control pants and your jeans!

Miss Golden De Licious: I always like a change in my music. Most of my acts tend to start with a beginning where I’m one person and a second half where I’m a completely different persona. That minute when the music changes- my tummy starts to swirl and I think ‘Yeah, this is it now! This is the bit that everybody likes’- that’s my favourite bit.

And finally: what three things could you not do without on stage?

Tallulah Mockingbird: Ooh…tassels, high heels and a cheeky wink!

Violet Va Voom: A piece of good music- that’s absolutely essential. I’ve yet to see a burlesque performer who did it in silence, but I suppose that could be one very interesting aspect of performance that could be challenged! I think that it’s important to have reliable props, so that you know what’s going to happen at each point in your routine (and hopefully nothing will malfunction), and I think that it’s important to end on a high for your audience, which means timing things well along with the piece of music so that everything flows.

“The Scarlet Sta” Miss Ruby Red: Makeup, music and a decent audience. Then again, you’ve got to work it and see how it goes anyway!

Miss Golden De Licious: A nude thong (because it covers a multitude of sins), heavy duty, industrial double-sided sticky tape (because I have big knockers and a lot of my pasties are quiet heavy as well, so you need them really gelled on) and a third thing…I would never go on without a pair of false eyelashes because I think once you stick them on, that’s it- you are that different persona. It’s all in the false eyelashes!

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The ladies putting the tease back into striptease…

It’s a rainy night in Portsmouth, but even the weather cannot dampen the spirits of the crowd gathered in the softly lit room at the back of the RMA Tavern. The walls behind the small stage are hidden by classically draped curtains and twinkling fairy lights, the bright outline of a golden anchor stands out from the deep red fabric, and the swinging sounds of a man singing 1940-50s cabaret classics drifts amongst the conversations at the bar. The noise is reduced to a murmur as the music quietens, the compere introduces the first act, and the audience watches as the sassy Miss Violet Va Voom takes to the stage and slowly peels off her entire outfit to rapturous applause.

The audience at ‘HMS Pin-up’ are gathered here to watch one of an increasing number of burlesque nights that are taking place across the country. Once the preserve of late nineteenth century and early to mid twentieth century cabaret, the art of burlesque has enjoyed a somewhat renaissance in recent years, with high profile performers such as Dita Von Teese emerging as household names and prime-time television shows seeking to transform everyday women into flirty, feather-wielding artistes.

From the reaction of Portsmouth’s diverse crowd, it is clear to see that the revival of live burlesque is pleasing a wide array of audiences, but what of the performers who get up night after night and boldly show off their bodies in nothing but their underwear and a pair of killer heels? What drew them to the stage (and burlesque in particular) and how do they feel about those members of the public whom, perhaps upon encountering their acts for the first time, cannot see past the sequinned nipple tassels?

Tallulah Mockingbird, a bright and effervescent antipodean, explains that the re-emergence of burlesque into public consciousness has been a largely positive thing for performers such as herself. “You know, whenever something goes a bit more mainstream, you feel a little bit precious about it because it’s partly your baby… and you don’t want everybody to have a piece of it. But then on the other hand, [burlesque entering more mainstream culture] has created lots more clubs and a lot more events to go and perform at.”

‘Yeah, it’s been noticeable’, adds Miss Golden Delicious, a young performer who has travelled down from Hull, ‘especially after the ‘Faking It’ Christmas special. There’s been a big influx of new performers, which is great because it’s spreading the word and bringing burlesque to the masses, and a lot more people are a lot more educated about what burlesque is. More people are coming to nights like this, more people want to take part.”

“Also, you’re less likely to come up against a crowd who when you start performing, kind of deadpans you because they’re not quite sure how to react to a woman taking her clothes off on stage”, reveals Tallulah. “More people are kind of aware now that it’s alright to whoop and holler, and that’s what we are up there trying to get you to do!”

However, I sense a tempered frustration in Miss Delicious’s voice; is there perhaps a downside to burlesque re-entering the spotlight? “You do sort of get stereotyped and lumped with a bunch of burlesque performers that aren’t really into burlesque; they just see it as stripping and think ‘Ah, brilliant! I can be a stripper’”, she says disappointedly. “They get up there, put a pair of tassels on and think that that’s enough to be a burlesque performer- that’s not great, especially since [burlesque] is getting a bit of a bad name in certain areas [as a result]. Other than that, it’s good thing!”

How do burlesque performers then answer to those who, despite increased awareness, still simply discount what they do as stripping and argue that it is degrading? It is certainly a topic that many feel strongly about. “They need to be educated!” retorts ‘The Scarlet Sta’ Miss Ruby Red. “They obviously don’t know anything about [burlesque] then. Perhaps they know bits and pieces, but should come along to a night and see what they think!”

Others also feel that is unfair that such comparisons still persist. “I’ve got friends who, whilst they wouldn’t label it as a degrading thing, have actually come to see me and decided that it’s not for them. They do think it’s a little bit too close to stripping, especially when it’s one of their mates’ girlfriends up on stage doing it. That’s fair enough; they’ve given it a go and decided it’s not their thing,” admits Tallulah.

“I mean, I’ve seen strippers (and whilst I’ve seen some amazing women strip and I wouldn’t like to belittle what they do as it’s a really hard job), I do think that there’s a different element of control involved in burlesque” she reasons. “I’m giving the audience a real nod and a wink and in a way, it’s really quite old fashioned because of that. Also, I’m very much in control of what’s going on and the situation will stay that way. I would say that the power of the gaze is switched round: it’s not that you’re there to be admired (although possibly, that is what some people want), but it’s actually about making people laugh and making people feel okay about making fun of themselves… and feeling okay about someone else having a bit of fun with them as well.”

“Well, it is stripping- there’s absolutely no getting away from it: you take your clothes off (you ‘peel’/ you ‘strip’); that’s it”, admits Miss Golden Delicious. However, she maintains that the significant difference lies in the commonly misplaced emphasis that appears in comparisons with stripping: with burlesque “you tease because it’s striptease.” “Burlesque is all about over the top humour (and making a t** of yourself on stage most of the time!)” she laughs, “but it’s fun; that’s what it’s meant to be. It’s all about the tease and that’s what people should remember; it’s not just ‘stripping’ it’s ‘tease-ing’.”

Lady Burlesque IV- Print by Karen Dupré

This important difference certainly feeds into the idea of burlesque that each individual performer holds. “To me, [burlesque] basically means having a good time” says Tallulah. “I love looking at people like Dita Von Teese; I think that she looks fabulous, but she looks fabulous. I really enjoy making people laugh, and I enjoy burlesque that make me laugh too. It really is about me trying to have a good time, and also trying to help the audience to have a good time as well.

“It definitely means having fun- that’s why I do it”, agrees Miss Va Voom. “I’m not out to make a career of it, as I know some girls do (and they are very, very good at it). For me, it’s about being able to develop a creative side that I didn’t know I had; it’s a chance to meet other people who like the same things that I do and build on a really knowing friendship base.”

Ownership of the stage and a sense of independence is also a big part of the attraction of burlesque. Far from being exploited during their act, each performer embraces the limelight and struts confidently to the centre of the stage, toying with the audience whilst retaining their attention and complete control of the routine’s progression.

“I like to be able to have something for myself- I’m in control of what I do: I come up with my routine and what I represent; it’s not being given to me. It’s about ownership and confidence”, confirms Miss Va Voom, whose second act of the night stood in contrast to her coy tea themed opener, and contained a bold and individual music choice in the form of a contemporary Muse track. ‘The Scarlet Sta’ Miss Ruby Red reveals that to her, burlesque involves a particular “having a life other than being a full-time mum.” Having left the army to have children, she confesses that it was simply “something else to do on the side. [A way] to go out and enjoy myself.”

The controlled exposure and acceptance of one’s body also plays a part in its allure. “Burlesque is more about empowerment for women”, argues Miss Violet Va Voom, “I think that it’s [new popularity is] bringing a new style of performance to people’s attention and actually whittling away slightly at the feelings a lot of people might have about burlesque when it’s bulked in with other performance genres (such as lap-dancing or stripping), despite it being something rather different.”

“If you look at audiences, they do tend to be more female-centric rather than male centred like they are in other areas,” she continues. “I feel it’s becoming more about women finding confidence, self-expression and a way of having fun as well as meeting other like-minded women (regardless of body shape, size, colour…any of those issues which can impede or affect women wanting to do something similar in other areas).”

There is no doubt that the UK burlesque community is strong. Networks of performers frequent sites such as ‘The Ministry of Burlesque’ and many women meet on the circuit or in classes run by seasoned performers and form strong friendships. Burlesque then seems to be about getting to know and understanding others, as well as yourself and your audience.

Overall, Miss Delicious feels that the underlying power of burlesque and its unifying quality lies in its use of parody: “the whole thing is parodying something that can be sexual” cleverly making it into “something that’s easy for the masses to understand and enjoy,” she explains. “As soon as I hear ‘burlesque’, I think ‘striptease-r’, comedy. It’s always got to be comical and you’ve got to be aware that you are making fun of yourself, your own body.” The delicate mix of self depreciation and celebration is vital to burlesque, and inspires awe and admiration from audience members, as well as a quiet understanding from fellow performers. “Everyone knows that twirling your t*** around isn’t exactly a sexy act”, she continues, “but you’re making the most of what you’ve got.”

What these women have undeniably got is guts- by the bucket-load. Their acts have poise, exude playful sexuality, and are all delivered with a consciously over-the-top yet appealing theatricality. As burlesque goes from strength to strength, performers are able to practice their art on ever growing stages. “The biggest crowds I’ve performed in front of were probably at festivals”, Tallulah tells me. Her troupe, The Teasemaids, “have done the Lovebox Weekender before” as well as a high profile “corporate gig with Immodesty Blaize in Amsterdam”. Celebrities are also embracing burlesque entertainment; “I performed at Kate Moss’ 34th birthday party recently too”, she adds. “I had to do a fan dance in about two square-feet of space, with Ronnie Wood standing behind me, people bashing their way past me the whole time, and Kate there looking a little bit like she was almost having too much of a good time… certainly the most bizarre gig! Never to be repeated!”

As the curtain falls on the final performance of the night, the costumes and props ranging from parasols to oversized music boxes are hurried away, and the whimsical air fades. Judging by the acts on show in Portsmouth, I cannot help but think such tongue-in-cheek romps are set to be repeated in years to come, turning expectations, social norms and even the tasselled performers’ genders (in the case of Miss Golden Delicious’s final fruity flourish) on their heads. Innovative, dramatic and perhaps still slightly controversial, UK burlesque continues to triumphantly shimmy forward with a polished glitz and an ever present wink.

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