Under the bright city lights of Brisbane’s Powerhouse, ‘Bombshell Burlesque’ kept patrons awake – daring to make our hometown the city that doesn’t sleep.
A show filled with glitter, feather boas and glamour, it featured dancing and circus tricks with a bevy of beauties tempting audience-goers in more ways than one.
For opening night, the audience was excited and you could sense the buzz in the air. Not to mention, the line up just to get into the Visy Theatre snaked all the way to the outside river bar.
‘Bombshell Burlesque’ has clearly left its mark on Brisbane, returning to the stage this festival after a sold out season at last year’s Wonderland. It was time to see what all the fuss was about and if it could give audiences the same amount of pleasure.
When we were finally in and had taken our seats, it was all systems go and the crowd was ready. Kicking off to a promising start, the show delivered some solid routines. However, it was evident that opening night nerves got the better of majority of the performances.
It can only be imagined how hard it is to hop up on stage and bare more than just your soul. The performers oozed confidence and were downright sexy. They kept things going, despite costume mishaps, rushed routines, forgotten lines and missed cues.
Credit where credit is due, but with a title claiming to bring Vegas to Queensland, it would be expected the evening show would be a little more polished.
The emcee, Ella Fontaine, struggled to keep the audience engaged. Her bants explaining the hidden secrets behind Sin City just didn’t connect and sometimes we missed what she was saying. In fact, there was no jest as her lines felt too scripted and rehearsed, and the crowd completely dismissed her attempts as they talked amongst themselves during each act transition.
It’s hopeful that a lot of these criticisms are due to opening night jitters, but it was disappointing the lack of hype generated between each performer. It made things feel lacklustre.
The saving graces of ‘Bombshell Burlesque’ were the performances by Jacqueline Furey, Lila Luxx and Cello Bordello. They are skilled masters of this art form and were highly entertaining.
In fact, Furey was the stand out. Making burlesque seamless, sassy and sexy, she was comparable to a Dita Von Teese in the making. She was just right, endearing and appealing – a true kitten with claws. Furey deserves her own show dedicated solely to her tricks and teases.
‘Bombshell Burlesque’ is a bit of fun and quirk. It’s great to see burlesque taking the stage and women with confidence strutting their stuff.
Despite things mentioned, this production makes you want to get up and flaunt your own goodies. I’ll be honest and admit I’ve already Googled where to find a burlesque class in Brisbane.
