An Evening of Burlesque – Adelphi Theatre, Charing Cross 

Reviewer: Christine Stanton

“Cabaret Collection”

4 / 5

~This review was originally written for The Reviews Hub ~

For one night only Adelphi Theatre is hosting a collection of burlesque performers for an evening of cabaret artistry from some of the best in the business.  

Ivy Paige is the host for the show, shimmering on stage in a collection of beautifully sparkling gowns. Her relaxed nature and simple introductions for each act help the flow run smoothly, occasionally briefly interacting with the audience to re-energise the ambience. She has a few solo numbers throughout the evening that she performs  alongside the dazzling L’Sheila Showgirls, and although the performances are very toned down in nature, these are good palate cleansers between the other acts.   

Bell De Beauvoir and Velvet Jones are the first two performers to take the stage, both similar in nature, they perform multiple burlesque routines for the audience over the course of the evening. Bell De Beauvoir uses quite a lot of modern, fast-paced songs in her routines, which doesn’t generally fit the ‘traditional’ idea of sultry burlesque, but amping up the atmosphere helps to ignite the energy. Velvet Jones has a wonderful reverse striptease routine that she performs to perfection, a great addition to her earlier more ‘original’ burlesque performance. 

Aside from burlesque, there are also other acts that are part of the show that complete the cabaret evening. Comedy magician Christian Lee is fantastically entertaining, humorously utilising an audience member to be part of his silly but funny magic tricks. Matt Pang is initially introduced as the work experience kid, keen to have a go at performing, but is later revealed to be an international circus extraordinaire – escaping from a Houdini style straight jacket while balancing on a unicycle that is just as chaotic as it sounds! Saucy Davis Jr brings the vocal talent to the show, performing a number of songs such as You Can Leave Your Hat On. His confident on-stage presence works well with his smoothly seductive singing voice, while the L’Sheila Showgirls perform their burlesque routines in the background.  

Sebastian Angelique is the only boylesque performer in the show and does a fantastic job of not only performing his burlesque routines, but also wowing the crowd with a daring fire-eating routine that impressively features in the second half of the show. Another stand out is headliner Isabella Bliss, a Marylin Monroe lookalike with a champagne glass signature act for the finale. She, similar to Velvet Jones is burlesque personified – sultry, seductive and supremely well rehearsed. The glitzy final routine ends the show with a glamorous bang.  

Burlesque is often best in smaller, intimate venues, so the vast space of Adelphi Theatre at points can be a slight detriment to some of the performances, but each of them do well in utilising the space and projecting their act as big as possible. This is a wonderful evening of varied performers that are brilliantly talented within their respective crafts.  

Runs Until 10 October 2023 then continues to tour