In Reviews

“The Greatest Show(lesque). Ladies and Gents this is the moment you’ve waited for…”

Would you enjoy an extraordinary evening of Cabaret, Circus and Burlesque? Of course you would! I certainly did. (Oh, maybe I ruined the review by saying that straight away. But carry on reading, I’ve got lots to tell you.) This was an evening crammed full of the beautiful, the breath-taking and the damn-right bonkers. Curious? You should be!

Roll up, roll up….To the Showlesque Entrance (not the main entrance!) of The Walrus every Saturday night. With never the same show twice, and you will discover a tantalising evening of entertainment. But not only that, your ticket price includes a Three Course Meal too. You need to pre-order this, so ensure you book tickets well in advance to avoid disappointment.

“You can leave your hat on…” when you are shown to your seat because it’s not you who will be removing any items of clothing. (And, for goodness sake, please don’t try!) Relax in the lux Blue velvet banquette seating (or right in front of the stage if you’re part of a large group) safe in the knowledge that drinks are served to the table and be reassured that there’s a substantial full-stocked bar at the rear of the room.

‘I put a Spell on You….’ Belts out our host, Ms Veronica Blacklace, as we eat our starters. ‘That made you all pay attention, didn’t it,’ She laughed. She then continued to slink through the room singing. And she really did cast a spell. We all shut up immediately and watched her. She’s really rather mesmerising.

As mentioned, no two shows are exactly the same. This means that when you go, you might not have silky-voiced Ms Blacklace chatting to the audience and getting to know everyone between acts – you might have ‘Dave The Bear’ or Chris Hide. As a big fan of cabaret, I have seen both of them perform. Dave aka ‘Big Hairy Growler’ has a huge…erm…following! He even has his own calendar. Chris Hide is hiding a secret….he came forth in Pop Idol in 2003! Google it – he was adorable. Whoever you have, I guarantee you will have a hoot.

The plethora of performers on the evening I went were:

Cherry Shakewell. In keeping with weaving songs into this post, I think the most appropriate song for Shakewell is from The Greatest Showman’ ‘This is Me!’ And you do see a lot of her. Side note: I’m pretty sure she was cryogenically frozen in the 60’s. She’s like a beautiful Bond Girl/Fem Bot with a very special skill. I wonder if you can guess what it is from her name?

Ophelia Payne. I have to admit that I have re-watched the video I took of this Drag Queen’s performance a fair few times and am still asking myself. ‘What did I just watch?!?’ It’s all a bit bonkers. But who doesn’t like a bit of bonkers entertainment, eh? Now, what song to represent Ophelia? Let’s go with ‘Sucker for Payne’  by Lil Wayne.

Purple Haze. Super-bendy and super impressive. Do you want to know something mind-blowing? Anna Hayes is Aerial Champion 2017 World Championships Doubles 2nd Place and World Championships Solo 2nd Place. “Purple Haze all in my brain…”

Zorana Dawn. Catwoman beauty. “Memoriiiiiieeeeesss….”  Meow!

Johnny the Basqard. Oh my. Magic Mike style mover and booty shaker. End the night with a bang in more ways than one. Get your mind out of the gutter. I just mean there’s a firework in his butt. Seriously – there is! Okay, stick with me, it kinda works ‘Show(LESQUE)addywaddy’s  ‘Under the MOONIE of Love.’ Thank you. Thank you for listening to my joke.

“This is where you wanna be” (Yes, it’s ANOTHER reference to The Greatest Showman’ but it songs are pretty epic – and one does appear in Showlesque too.) One of the really fun aspects of the evening is that the audience are a key part of the show. The performers don’t stand on stage – they move between you. The host took the time between belting out huge numbers like ‘Feeling Good’ to talk to people on each of the tables. We met the woman having her baby shower. And the divorced couple who were there together for HIS Mum’s birthday! It was like everyone was in it together. A bonding experience. We knew each other. Because of our mate – Veronica.

“Oh, this is the Greatest Show” Towards the end of the show all the people celebrating were invited on stage for a bit of cheering and love. Then, when it was all over we were all invited to stay on because it turns into a club night after party until 2am! How cool is that? The entire evening is entertaining, impressive, gorgeous, light-hearted fun. Perfect for Christmas Parties, Hen Nights, respectful Stag Do’s, Birthday celebrations and…baby showers, apparently!

“I’ll let you know, so tell me, do you wanna go?” Showlesque is every Saturday night.
Book your tickets here: SHOWLESQUE

Lucinda


Add Showlesque to your #BrightonWishlist

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