I'd never performed at a club night until last Friday at Dr Strangelove's Disco, but I was given a warm reception by the sweaty crowd! Some circus music was played to introduce me and as a warning for me to get onstage, and then my music began, everybody stopped dancing and watched, and then afterwards carried on dancing. Pictured is one of the dancers who was wearing a bizarre mask. It was a great night, and I'm back there again on December 14th. Lovely to see Scarlett Delights again too.

On Saturday the gig I had been booked for was cancelled, which turned out to be fortunate, as I got to go to my friend Kate's 40th in Windsor. Pictured is an action shot of the pinata fun!

On Sunday afternoon I was back in Kingston at Bawdsville. My act didn't go as well as I'd hoped, as I was trying out some new choreography, but hopefully there will be some good photos, as Richard Edwards was there, and he took some great pictures of me at The Burlesque Fever show last May. Good see Talullah Manhattan's 'Soul' act, which was very 'haunting', and the lovely Anna Larkin with her accordian. Always a pleasure with Eljai Morais!

There probably won't be any updates for the next few weeks, as I've got several weddings and birthdays taking up the rest of the month, although some exciting gigs are coming up for the end of November and December. I'm going to be flat out making costumes and puppets for The Mist: We are not cakes, so expect the next entry to include quite a few photos.

I'm really excited about a new venture that's been batted around for a while, but now has finally got going. I'm working with two  performers on a theatre piece inspired by the Oberiu, which was a collective of writers who staged absurdist happenings in the late 1920's. Wikipedia entry.
One of the company members is a musician, the other a singer and actress, and I will be making puupets and costumes for us, as well as performing. We will create lots of short vignettes to perform in cabaret contexts, and eventually we hope to shape a full-length piece from the material. We have our first gig booked already - it's Thursday 29th November at Cabaret Salon, Volupte. I have created a separate page for the company on this site, here it is!

I've been soaking up plenty of visual research for my costume-making, and last Monday involved a trip to the V&A to see the Hollywood Costume exhibition - which was very busy, but well worth seeing. I couldn't take any pictures inside, but I did take some of the other displays, and have been gathering some images to help me. A little selection follows...

I am fast approaching my 100th performance! It's this Friday at Dr Strangelove's in Winchester. Something of a homecoming, as Winchester was where I was born! The event details are here.

I'm very honoured to have been asked back to Bawdsville Cabaret and Curry at The Ram Jam Club in Kingston this Sunday. It's a Halloweeen themed event, and I will be performing a re-jigged version of my Black Market Baby Act.

Last Saturday saw me perform at Some one Call me a Cabaret, which is run by Belle Eve and Ginger Schnapps.  During the day I'd decided that the Crossroads act needed freshening up - what I hadn't expected was that I'd perform that night with totally new choreography. The act is hilarious now, and very high energy (my boyfriend was very helpful in the rehearsal process), and although in performance it was a bit messy, I'm much happier with it. It was great to meet Scarlett Delights, who told me about a weekly night that happens in Winchester at the Railway - good to know, as it's always worth a trip home!

The night before I'd had a rather intelligent sounding evening at the Tate Britain. Two of my friends who host a podcast called The Saturday Arts Club, were staging a live debate. There were several provocative statements on the arts that were designed to stimulate debate. You will be able to download the podcast for free on itunes. After we'd all been articulate and interesting art boffins, we all went to the after party and got very drunk!

It was a busy weekend, as on the Sunday night I attended the Buns n' Roses Rock Cabaret at Madame Jojo's. Pictured are El Duo Bongo (my boyfriend is the ukelele player). It was probably the best show that I've seen at The Finger in Pie Cabaret (and I've seen 2, and performed at 3) - I loved Jonni Music and Rayguns Look Real Enough, and it was great to see my lovely burlesque girls Roxi Kixx, Amazing Gracie, Ava Iscariot and Miss Phoenix all looking totally fierce!

The cabaret at The Broadway in Barking was fantastic! Over the course of the week we built up a bit of an audience following, many of whom were students from Barking college, it was good to bring them the type of theatre that wouldn't normally be accessible to them. Plans are underway for a Christmas Cabaret!

On Sunday afternoon I had a rare local gig in Kingston at the Ram Jam Club for Bawdsville. I performed my Allo Allo act, which seemed to blend with the other acts, and went down very well. I have been invited to perform there again next month for the Halloween themed cabaret. There was a really good blend of acts - not just the endless stream of burlesque - plenty of music, comedy and poetry. Read more about Bawdsville here.

I had a very strange assignment to fulfil on Monday. I had been put in touch with Phoenix Thomas during the week at the Broadway, who is studying for a Research in Performance Practise PHD at The Central School of Speech and Drama. She is a costume designer who is interested placing costume at the centre of performance creation. She had designed and realised a costume from Angela Carter's Story; 'Princess in a Suit of Leather' and wanted to film various performers interacting with the costume, for use in an interactive installation. The project is part of Collisions, and Phoenix will be showcasing her work this Saturday 6th October. I am excited to see which sections of my interactions Phoenix uses, and how this will work with the other performers - I have absolutely no idea what they did; Phoenix took care to keep things very open and non-directed. The project sounded fascinating, and I was very privileged to have the opportunity to take part.

Next week: Someone Call me a Cabaret, The Saturday Arts Club live podcast, and Finger in the Pie Cabaret.