BREVIEW: The Gilded Merkin Burlesque & Cabaret @ The Glee Club (B’ham) 20.10.19

Words & illustrations by Emily Doyle

The nights are drawing in and the mornings are getting darker. But that does mean The Gilded Merkin is back for its biannual slot at the Glee Club… so it’s not all bad.

Compering tonight is Virgin Xtravaganza, a London based drag performer and comedian who’s appeared everywhere from Torture Garden to Radio 4.

Cutting an imposing silhouette in skintight blue velvet, Xtravaganza’s character is that of a shrill, sexually frustrated mother of Christ. Between joyously blasphemous musical numbers she finds the time to be genuinely warmVirgin Xtravaganza - by Emily Doyle (Old Bort Designs) in introducing the acts, alongside great chemistry with stage manager Mimi Libertine.

Scarlett Daggers is first to perform. The curator of The Gilded Merkin always has some impressive performances up her sleeve, and tonight is no exception.

Daggers totters onstage to ‘Monster Mash’, her body covered in balloons resembling eyeballs, and, grinning, pops them one by one in an up-tempo strip. She’s treading the line between goofy and sexy with the expertise of a seasoned performer. Later in the evening the audience see her more sultry side with a performance of her tried and tested ‘Cobra Woman’ act.

Scarlett Daggers - by Emily Doyle (Old Bort Designs)

Up and coming neo-burlesque artist Cleopantha struts through the audience in her first appearance as a lounge version of ‘Crazy in Love’ fades in over the PA. Her steamy fan dance and floor work to this number leaves a trail of crimson ostrich feathers behind for Xtravaganza to pick up. Cleopantha turns up the heat with her second performance, a vivacious striptease to Cardi B’s ‘Money’ in homage to animated sex symbol Jessica Rabbit.Cleopantha - by Emily Doyle (Old Bort Designs)

It’s not all G-strings and nipple tassels tonight, though. ‘The Tom Show’, aka Tom Balmont is on hand to provide some comic relief in the form of traditional sideshow acts – although it wouldn’t be unfair to say that Balmont leans on his good looks just as much as anyone else on the bill tonight.

He dislocates his shoulder to squeeze through a tennis racket a la record breaking Norwegian contortionist Captain Frodo. The sight of his limp, flailing arm as he jiggles the frame down over his shoulders elicits squeals from the crowd, who’ve been uncharacteristically reserved this evening.Tom Belmont - by Emily Doyle (Old Bort Designs)

Balmont also invites one hesitant audience member up on stage to check the integrity of a sword which he proceeds to swallow, before inviting the squeamish participant to pull it back out of his esophagus by the handle.Havana Hurricane - by Emily Doyle (Old Bort Designs)

Providing some of the evening’s more traditional burlesque is international performer and, “professional whirlwind” Havana Hurricane. A carefully paced routine to Doc Severinsen’s ‘Stardust’ feels timeless in its opulence, as Hurricane peels of layers of mint green chiffon and feathers.

Her second number is more animated, as she twirls her way out of yellow and pink boas like a seductive fruit salad sweet until she’s left statuesque in a thong and diamante pasties. Well, one pastie to be exact – both of Hurricane’s performances see her right nipple exposed in a wardrobe malfunction that could almost have been planned, leaving her to coquettishly cover herself with one hand as she takes a bow. Xtravangza delights in shouting “free the nipple!” as she leaves the stage.Duex Ailes - by Emily Doyle (Old Bort Designs)

The highlight of this edition of The Gilded Merkin comes from Deux Ailes. This wife-and-wife acrobalance duo treat the crowd to two routines of dance and hand balance feats, including a smouldering tango to José Feliciano’s version of ‘Roxanne’ from Moulin Rouge. Clad in matching red lace bodysuits and heels, the pair weave together lifts and balances in an electric performance.

Once again, Scarlett Daggers and co have put together a show that’s equal parts entertaining and alluring. From contortion to musical numbers to good old fashioned nudity, tonight delivered all the bang for your buck that we’ve come to expect from The Gilded Merkin.

For more on The Gilded Merkin, visit www.gildedmerkin.co.uk 

For more from The Glee Club venues, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.glee.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any of the issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.

BREVIEW: Reginald D. Hunter – Just the Tonic Comedy Club @ Rosies Nightclub 01.11.19

Words by Charlotte Heap / Pic courtesy of Just the Tonic Comedy Club

Reginald D. Hunter headlined Just the Tonic Comedy Club special on Friday 1st November at Rosies Nightclub on Broad Street, with support acts Simon Wozniak and Darius Davies – ably compared by regular host, Thomas Green.

Just the Tonic Comedy Club was founded in 1994 and has been running at venues across the UK ever since. Firstly, I must grumble. Doors closed for the show at 7.15pm, for an 8 o’clock start: arriving after work, this reviewer was hungry. I was surprised that only Chicago Town pizzas were on offer which were pretty pricey considering they are essentially frozen pizzas (and no crisps! – criminal). It’s a generous line-up too, meaning the show lasted nearly three hours: I soon decided to splash out on a pizza and was a little cranky to discover they’d sold out. The place was busy but not packed: this peckish punter would have appreciated better preparedness from the Friday night organisers. The scarcity of sustenance, however, did mean the lubricated audience lent a lively spirit to the show.

Rosies Nightclub is an intimate venue, a real old school comedy club with long tables (imagine the darts but much more ‘date night’) and large leather booths. Every seat has a good view and they even set out a free front row for the fearless or foolish, a foot from the stage: a chance we leapt at (I’d had four gins in quick succession on an empty stomach). Thomas Green (an acerbic, bearded Aussie who, like most Australians, makes liberal use of the C-bomb) worked the crowd well and deftly dealt with drunken hecklers. His quick banter built an audience bond which the acts bounced off. Spooky Halloween spiderwebs (and skulls which initially blocked the stage lights) stuck to each act and it was great to see how they each improvised to capitalise on the physical comedy.

As to the acts: Darius Davies (an Anglo-Iranian from London) was a decent warm up, funny if a little predictable (to be fair, I was ‘hangry’ at this point and he made the typical ‘Birmingham is shit’ joke, which nearly pushed me over the edge). Simon Wozniak’s set was better, slick self-deprecation delivered dripping in snark, which had the audience roaring. By the time Reginald D. Hunter arrived, his familiar large frame dominating the small stage as his grey dreads caught up in the cobwebs, the crowd was pleasantly pissed and well warmed up.

An American who has made the UK his home for the last two decades, Hunter is by far one of the most familiar faces on the comedy circuit in the UK today. Known for his acerbic wit delivered in honey tones: I’m most familiar with his tackling of subjects like race and sexuality on TV in his smooth South Georgia drawl.

Having enjoyed that comedy rarity of both critical and commercial success, his stand-up has become almost secondary to his television career, although he does tour regularly. His shortish set (around half an hour) seemed somewhat patched together from a longer show; he touched on race (the N-word), politics (the B-word) but then swung to love/sex/relationships jokes. Hunter is a seasoned pro: being given a glimpse into his personal life humanised him, but with richness in the political landscape right now it would have been great to see him riff more on the ridiculousness of both his adopted and home nation’s hubris. This is a niggle, however, Hunter was entertaining, showing a different string to his bow and we spilled out onto Broad Street happy, if very hungry.

Just the Tonic Comedy Club gives Brummies the chance to see comedy in a cosy setting: three quality acts and a compere for fifteen quid is a bargain night of entertainment in the centre of Broad Street. Be prepared, however: pack some snacks.

For more on Reginal D. Hunter, visit www.reginalddhunter.co.uk

For more from Just the Tonic Comedy Club (Birmingham), including further event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.justthetonic.com/birmingham-comedy

For more on Rosies Nightclub (Birmingham), including venue details and further event listings, visit www.rosiesclubs.co.uk/birmingham

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any of the issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.

BPREVIEW: Reginald D. Hunter – Just the Tonic Comedy Club @ Rosies Nightclub 01.11.19

Reginal D Hunter / Courtesy of Just the Tonic Comedy Club

Words by Charlotte Heap / Pic courtesy of Just the Tonic Comedy Club

On Friday 1st November, Reginald D. Hunter is headlining Just the Tonic Comedy Club special at Rosies Nightclub on Broad Street – with support acts Simon Wozniak, Darius Davies, and Thomas Green completing the line up.

Doors open at 6.30pm, with tickets priced at £15 (£12.50 concessions) – as promoted by the nationwide Just the Tonic Comedy Club. For more event information, including venue details and links to online ticket sales, visit www.justthetonic.com/birmingham-comedy/shows/friday-1-nov-2019/

Just the Tonic Comedy Club was founded in 1994 by Darrell Martin, a stand up in his own right, and has been running at venues across the UK ever since – ‘consistently boasting the most interesting line ups in the country’, according to The Times. According to Just the Tonic’s website. Promoting a show every Saturday at Rosies Birmingham, Just the Tonic has brought some well known faces from the comedy circuit to the second city, including Ross Noble, Milton Jones, and now Reginald D. Hunter – with Stuart Lee describing the club as ‘a really valuable part of the UK comedy scene’ in a 2010 interview.

An American who has made the UK his home for the last two decades, Reginad D. Hunter is known for his acerbic wit delivered in honey tones; tackling subjects like race and sexuality in his sweet smooth South Georgia drawl, his comedy can be controversial but is always cleverly articulated and dispensed with conviction. Hunter is by far one of the most familiar faces, and voices, on the comedy circuit in the UK today.

A television regular, Hunter has become a staple on panel shows such as Have I Got News for You, 8 Out Of 10 Cats Does Countdown, Never Mind the Buzzcocks, and QI. He’s also branched out into documentary making: Reginald D. Hunter’s Songs of the South and its equally successful follow up Reginald D. Hunter’s Songs of the Border explored the growth of American music on BBC2.

Having been first nominated for Edinburgh Comedy Awards Best Newcomer in 2002 for his debut solo show I am What I am, Hunter has enjoyed that comedy rarity of both critical and commercial success –  so much so that his stand-up has become almost secondary to his television career, although he still tours regularly.

Just the Tonic Comedy Club brings Birmingham comedy fans the chance to see some of the circuits best loved acts perform in an intimate setting on Broad Street: less arena tour, more old school stand-up show.

Reginal D. Hunter performs at Rosie’s Nightclub on Friday 1st November, supported by stand up comedians Simon Wozniak, Darius Davies, and Thomas Green – as promoted by Just the Tonic Comedy Club. For more event information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.justthetonic.com/birmingham-comedy/shows/friday-1-nov-2019/

For more on Reginal D. Hunter, visit www.reginalddhunter.co.uk 

For more from Just the Tonic Comedy Club (Birmingham), including further event listings and online ticket sales, visitwww.justthetonic.com/birmingham-comedy

For more on Rosies Nightclub (Birmingham), including venue details and further event listings, visit www.rosiesclubs.co.uk/birmingham

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NOT NORMAL NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any of the issues surrounding sexual violence – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL NOT OK website.

BREVIEW: The Gilded Merkin Burlesque & Cabaret @ The Glee Club (B’ham) 17.03.19

Words & illustrations by Emily Doyle

It’s St Patrick’s Day, and rather than elbowing their way through Digbeth with a Guinness in hand, the patrons of The Glee Club tonight have opted for an altogether more opulent evening. Once again, Scarlett Daggers has assembled a not-too-motley crew for another edition of The Gilded Merkin.

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Since its inception in 2012, The Gilded Merkin has dazzled audiences up and down the country, and tonight is set to be no different. Our host for the evening is Joe Black, dark cabaret performer and musical comedy extraordinaire.

Dripping in sequins and chiffon, he kicks off the evening with a histrionic performance of the Rocky Horror Show’s ‘Sweet Transvestite’. He makes a point of directing some choice lines (“I’ve been making a man/With ginger hair and no tan…”) at Stage Door Johnny, another regular host at the Merkin, who is sat in the front row. By the end, Black is a little out of breath, but jubilant.

“I bet some of you thought, ‘Oooh, we’ll see some nice dancers, and maybe a man in a suit will come out and sing us a song.’ And here I am, dressed as the moon.”

The line-up for the evening offers something for all tastes. Didi Derrière’s blonde bombshell looks lend themselves to classic burlesque, which she performs with a jazzy twist. Her first performance is a smouldering strip-tease to Madonna’s ‘Vogue’, complete with top hat, cigarette holder, and a tribute to that eye-endangering bustier by John Paul Gautier. All duckwalk and motorik arm movements, Derrière’s choreography is precise and full of character. We see her more playful side come through in her second performance of the night, a bejeweled tribute to Marilyn Monroe set to ‘Diamonds are a Girl’s Best Friend’. Rhinestones fly and she shimmies out of a magenta gown – Black is quick to gather them up once she’s left the stage, shouting “MINE NOW” through the curtain and stowing them in his shoe for safekeeping.

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Storm Hooper comes across as one of the night’s more modest performers, in manner if not necessarily in attire. She bills herself as ‘one of the UK’s leading Hula Hoop speciality acts’ on her own website, but apparently when Black asked her how she’s like to be introduced, she just told him she didn’t mind. Black takes this as a challenge, and proceeds to do his impression of a wild cat for what he himself describes as “an awkward amount of time”, pausing only to shout back through the curtain “IS THIS WHAT YOU WANTED??” When Hooper makes it onto the stage, it’s clear she needed no introduction. Clad in a neon yellow, leopard print bikini and clutching an array of light up hula hoops, she performs a bombastic routine to ‘Born to Be Wild’, bathed in suitably seventies blacklight. Her second routine, a showcase of her contortion abilities, is a little heavy on the floorwork for the venue, but the front few rows of the audience seem suitably taken aback.

Arran Shurvinton brings a complete change of pace to the evening with his Nosferatu character. Whether he’s wandering on stage before his queue or lurking at the back of the room while the other performers are on stage, his affectionate portrayal of ‘Noss’ is captivating. The unreal makeup plays a big part, the but the core of the character is in his facial expressions, which range from petulance to a shy smile. Some audience members might recognise Noss from a certain viral video, which sees him shimmying through the racks of Brighton vintage shop Beyond Retro – wearing bloomers and a sequined crop top.

Former winner of ‘Best Newcomer’ at the London Cabaret Awards, Lilly Snatchdragon has a lot to live up to. Her neo-burlesque stylings don’t disappoint, as she manages to be sexy, funny, and confrontational. Her first act plays on the character she builds on social media of a SE Asian women on a quest for a British husband and the passport to match.

Snatchdragon climbs out of a laundry bag and explains her plight in a series of Subterranean Homesick Blues-esque signs, before launching into a striptease routine that makes the audience squirm in their seats. It culminates with her removing her dress to reveal a Union Flag, which she proceeds to floss between her legs. Some would argue Snatchdragon gave herself a hard act to follow, but those people obviously didn’t expect her to return for a second performance wearing an Ewok costume. She removes this, piece by piece, to reveal some light up lightsaber nipple tassels, in a routine that’s as entertaining as it is baffling.

Of course, it wouldn’t be The Gilded Merkin without a performance from the evening’s cackling puppetmaster: Scarlett Daggers. She treats the crowd to two routines tonight – the first sees her totter onstage in an oversized gift box; Daggers dismantles the costume panel by panel until she’s stood on stage in nothing but a pair of diamante nipple pasties and matching C-string. Long suffering stage manager Mimi Libertine, the woman who keeps the show running like a well oiled machine, quickly gathers up the discarded props in time for the next act.

Later in the evening, Daggers performs her iconic ‘dragstrip-tease’ to the sounds of Aerosmith. A spin on the classic fan dance routine, Daggers waves two chequered flags coquettishly as she shimmies out of a thoroughly rockabilly get up, complete with gingham shirt and neckerchief. She produces a bright red oil can to ease her way out of her skintight leather pencil skirt, which she pops open with a twitch of the thighs. With the room in the palm of her hand, it’s easy to see why Daggers is the showrunner.

And so, the night comes to an end – though not without a few more musical numbers from our host Joe Black, including a deeply unsettling re-imagining of George Formby’s ‘When I’m Cleaning Windows’. As the lights go down on another night at The Gilded Merkin, it’s a sad thought that there’s a whole seven months to wait until the next one.

For more on The Gilded Merkin, visit www.gildedmerkin.co.uk

For more from The Glee Club venues, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.glee.co.uk

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NOT NORMAL – NOT OK is a campaign to encourage safety and respect within live music venues, and to combat the culture of sexual assault and aggression – from dance floor to dressing room.

To learn more about the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK campaign, click here. To sign up and join the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK campaign, click here.

If you have been affected by any of the issues raised in this feature – or if you want to report an act of sexual aggression, abuse, or assault – click here for information via the ‘Help & Support’ page on the NOT NORMAL – NOT OK website.

BPREVIEW: The Gilded Merkin Burlesque & Cabaret @ The Glee Club (B’ham) 17.03.19

Words by Emily Doyle

It’s that time of year again; The Gilded Merkin is coming to The Glee Club, back in Birmingham on Sunday 17th March.

Minimum age of entry is 18years old, with doors open at the Arcadian venue from between 6pm and 6:45pm. Advance tickets are £15 +booking free and can be bought directly through The Glee Club, click here.

Last time Birmingham Review headed to Scarlett Daggers’ acclaimed cabaret, we were treated to Chap-Hop, a human blockhead act, and the go-go stylings of Dave the Bear. So, what’s on offer this time around?

Dubbed ‘one of the leading forces in the dark cabaret genre’, Joe Black is sure to make an impression. He’s shared stages with Eddie Izzard, The Tiger Lillies, and is a regular performer at London’s infamous Torture Garden nightclub. To top it off Black puts on a regular revue, the House of Burlesque, in his hometown of Portsmouth, so he knows how to run a show too.

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Character burlesque performer and member of queer performance collective The Family Fierce, Lilly SnatchDragon will also be performing.

SnatchDragon’s performance is informed by controversial South East Asian stereotypes – as she puts it in her press bio, “Lilly discovering she maybe getting more marrying interest if she doing the Burlesque dancing as well. Lilly do so good showing western peoples how silly they looking at S.E Asian women, she win ‘Best Newcomer’ at London Cabaret Awards 2015”.

Known for their disarming makeup skills (and despite a very committed online persona, their entry for the NYX Face Awards 2016 confirms it is makeup), Arran Shurvinton will be performing as their much-loved Nosferatu character – that’s ‘Noss’ for short. It’s certainly an offbeat choice, but Shurvinton is strangely pragmatic about it: “While I was trying to develop my character persona for stage work, my physicality and art deco gothic aesthetic pointed the way to the 1922 Nosferatu by F.W Murnau”, he told Beyond Retro in 2017.

Bringing some classic class to the proceedings is blonde bombshell Didi Derrière. Her cleverly choreographed acts adds a jazzy twist to classic burlesque, and her pin-up looks have seen her featured by vintage lingerie brand What Katie Did.

Storm Hooper will also be taking to the stage, bringing a taste of the circus to The Gilded Merkin. One of the UK’s leading Hula Hoop speciality acts, Hooper was a featured performer at the sell-out internationally touring Evening of Burlesque theatre show – seeing her perform internationally with her hoops to places as varied as Milan, Beirut, Latvia and the Seychelles.

Last but not least… it wouldn’t be The Gilded Merkin without an appearance from the lady behind it all, Scarlett Daggers. A fiery redhead whose looks are only outshadowed by her talent, Daggers’ rockabilly flair makes her a favourite at car shows and tattoo conventions up and down the country. Known for blending traditional striptease acts with fire-eating and fetishes, Daggers is certain to leave you hot under the collar one way or another.

The Gilded Merkin presents a showcase of burlesque and cabaret at The Glee Club on Sunday 17th March – presented by Scarlett Daggers. For direct show information, including venue details and online ticket sales, visit www.glee.co.uk/performer/gilded-merkin-birmingham

For more on The Gilded Merkin, visit www.gildedmerkin.co.uk

For more from The Glee Club venues, including full event listings and online ticket sales, visit www.glee.co.uk