Murder mystery and burlesque are not two facets of entertainment I would usually piece together. It strikes me that a burlesque routine during investigative proceeding might be rather distracting for the inspector, not to mention downright insulting to the victim. This, however, did not stop the two contrasts being riotously thrown together for an intriguing evening at Proud Cabaret City’s Friday performance: ‘The Silencing of Miss Scarlett’.

Now let me first ascertain that as enjoyable as the evening was, the plot of the show made very little sense. Each week, a film noir story is intertwined with burlesque and circus performances and we were informed that that evening’s story was based around Hollywood smash-hit, ‘Sin City’. Instead, the plot seemed virtually David Lynchian in terms of how inconsistently each scene tied in with the last, however I was prepared to let this slide when the cabaret performances – the true highlights of the evening – began.

All performances were impressively choreographed and executed, however there were a few notable exceptions for me. The entertainment changes each night, but I was lucky enough to bear witness to the talents of Proud’s resident contortionist: Michael Standen. This man’s superior core strength was astounding; when he effortlessly performed a one-handed hand stand on a chair, with the same nonchalant ease as one who is merely standing on one leg, the gasps in the audience were palpable. As he contorted his body into all kinds of wonderful shapes, I became suspicious that he was not in fact a man but, instead, some of giant vertebrae-less jellyfish in a Man-Costume. However, man or jellyfish-man, it was still a marvellous display.

On a completely divergent note from this came Miss Scarlett Cuffs who performed a humorous and  teasing routine to The Jungle Book classic ‘The Bear Necessities’. Now, I can’t say a little part of my childhood self wasn’t a touch traumatised as I sat there wondering what Baloo would make of it all. But, this aside, Scarlett Cuffs displayed the sultry, mischievous sort of teasing dialogue that was a welcome addition to the routine and truly allowed her personality to shine through.

Lastly, special kudos must be given to the Glaswegian siren ‘Beau Rocks’ whose standout performance saw her dressed up as a  lascivious fox and shimmying her way through Hendrix’s ‘Foxy Lady’. Beau has a style reminscient of a Vargas pin-up girl and her onstage persona is an appealing mix of sparkling temptress and girl-next-door charm. The audience was undeniably captivated by her vulpine routine and thankfully, no parallels to the Animals of Farthing Wood were drawn ensuring, after the Jungle Book incident, at least one of my childhood memories was preserved.

I’ve been fortunate enough to review a number of cabaret events across the city over the past few months and feel genuinely impressed to have not seen a poor show yet. For such an innovative and evolving art form, it is truly exciting to bear witness to the most talented performers on the scene and Proud Cabaret City is another superb choice for you to get your liberal groove on. As I say, ignore the plot. To me, it seemed like a confused detective who was half-heartedly trying to solve a murder and getting dreamily distracted by an endless string of burlesque bombshells. But hell. Why not?

To book tickets for The Silencing of Miss Scarlett, please click here