It’s where audiences get to feel pleasantly naughty and, more often than not, simply astonished at the breadth of performance on display. The After Hours Cabaret Club is a case in point. A grand mishmash of all things delightful and debauched, it is a showcase that the vivacious Bettie Bombshell has been building for years. Better still, she’s managed to convince all of her burlesque besties and cabaret cohorts to join.
“I do have a core cast of performers,” Bettie muses as a mechanic tinkers over her broken-down car. It’s not an auspicious start to the day for the celebrated performer, but as she points out, she’s also wearing leopard-print, so that’s OK.
“[There’s] our five piece band, the MC and myself. What we do is so different. We have a huge range of performances, so I can count on them to do something spectacular and different every time. I’ve been planning this show in all honesty for about two years in my head. I’ll have an idea, and I’ll slowly research it, I’ll see other shows, and I’ll watch all the performers. And that’s how I’ve tried to keep it different. I have a little log book of performers in my head, from many years of experience.
“The main thing is, I predominantly wanted to showcase burlesque in this show. It’s a bit disappointing because a lot of our burlesque venues have closed down in Melbourne, and there’s not really anywhere we can we can showcase our art form. So I wanted different styles of burlesque, neo and comedy. We have Betty Grumble visiting us a lot. She’s a bit burlesque and a bit of a surreal showgirl. That’s how I try and keep it different. I think about what I would like to see in a show, see what’s available, and try and then go in the opposite direction.”
She laughs, but in terms of a modus operandi Bombshell is clearly on to something. She has toured the world, enjoyed standing ovations and drank champagne from shoes (one imagines). She headlined the Australian Burlesque Festival, and in just over a week she will be performing at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas – and yet, the burlesque industry ain’t what it once was. After the popular appeal of Steven Antin’s Burlesque in 2010 – starring Cher and Christina Aguilera – audiences came flocking. But soon, the tide receded.
“Most of the [Melbourne] venues are gone,” Bettie sighs. “There was Burlesque Bar, Bohemia Cabaret Club, Red Bennies, they were all dedicated venues, and they’ve all shut down. The last one shut down around two years ago. In burlesque, as much as I hate to say it, the movie really did help us out. When it came out, it put burlesque in everyone’s minds, it was a hot topic. There were more gigs than we knew what to do with. The more senior performers would be turning down gigs, they’d have three or four a night. It was amazing, booming, people wanted to come. But unfortunately, as everything, it goes up and it must come down. It’s also such a high-cost industry for producers as well. A lot of venues would be down $1,500 before the doors even opened, so I think honestly it comes in waves. It’s starting to boom again in Melbourne. It’s crawling forward.”
Given the dark delights of After Hours, you imagine the scene may well see something of a revival. Burlesque has been around for hundreds of years (thousands really, if you count Aristophanes), it’s hard to imagine it will ever drift very far from city stages. Combining cabaret, burlesque and more – the evening promises to be quite a tease.
“I don’t see why it’s necessary to have this strict cabaret corner here, your burlesque corner there. I think they’re wonderfully connected. That was the idea of the After Hours Cabaret Club. It’s supposed to be that anything-goes, cabaret-burlesque-circus-variety show. It’s vaudeville, I have a mime involved. It’s everything crammed together in one big celebration.”
