Lots of people ask me 'What is Burlesque?' It's not an easy question to answer, and I don't presume to say that my answer is more valid than any other, but here goes:

The word 'burlesque' essentially means 'parody' and thus as a theatrical genre, refers to acts that in some way parody or satirise something. In the heyday of Music Hall burlesque, the object of parody was often based on class distinctions or issues of the day. Important court cases for example were often parodied on stage (particularly if they involved scandals of well known personages) and songs, (often bawdy) were written about all the latest gossip, such as G.H. MacDermott's hugely successful song 'Charlie Dilkie Upset the Milk' about a prominant politician involed in a divorce case. 

The manners and fashions of the ruling classes were very often pilloried in song and in the creation of aristocratic characters, such as Burlington Bertie from Bow, but just as common was the use of characters drawn from the working classes like costermongers and the performance of songs relating to issues of poverty, want and infidelity, as in 'Waiting at the Church'  by Vesta Victoria about a woman on her wedding day who recieves a note to say that her bridegroom can't come as his wife won't let him. Underlying all of this was the peculiarly British sense of humour with it's love of word-play and innuendo that has continued into the popular comedy of today. 

It was in the 1860's that Lydia Thompson, a British star of the Music Halls, went to America with her dancing troupe and became generally credited with taking the principles of burlesque to a new audience across the pond. There it developed into something altogether different from it's Music Hall origins; becoming more about glamour and tease, and the great cheesecake pin-up look. Dita Von Teese, is of course, the modern queen of American-style burlesque and an excellent example of the art of strip-tease.

Modern British burlesque tends to mix both the glamour and tease elements of American burlesque with the saucy and bawdy humour of the Music Hall. Strip-tease, which is such a feature of American style burlesque is often secondary to the narrative or character, and may not even feature at all in a modern British Burlesque Routine. In my own routines, I try very hard to ensure that the humour and feel of my acts and characters are rooted firmly in the Music Hall tradition whilst being relevant and fresh for a modern audience.     

Photo by Juliette Carter