 | This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia.(November 2024) |
Miss Polly Rae (born 8 July 1981) is a British singer, dancer, and Neo-burlesque performer.
| This article's tone or style may not reflect the encyclopedic tone used on Wikipedia.(November 2024) |
Miss Polly Rae (born 8 July 1981) is a British singer, dancer, and Neo-burlesque performer.
Polly Jane Rae was born in Preston, Lancashire, England.
Polly's burlesque career began in 2006, after seeing a poster for a burlesque course run by Jo King and the London Academy of Burlesque at Danceworks studios. [1] She attended the course and completely inspired by Jo and her teachings she decided to form her seven girl troupe Hurly Burly (including herself). Taking creative inspiration from 1940s and 1950s pin-ups such as Bettie Page, Tempest Storm and Marilyn Monroe to modern artists like Madonna and revue shows such as Le Crazy Horse in Paris, their first show was held at the Soho Revue Bar (formerly the Raymond Revue Bar) in Soho in 2006. [2] It was such a success that it led to a residency at the bar, another residency at Volupte (a burlesque supper club in the heart of the legal district) – and then a move to the Leicester Square Theatre in London's West End. This show received acclaim from several critics including The Stage and What's On Stage. [3] In 2007 Hurly Burly won Best Troupe at the Ministry Of Burlesque awards. [4] They have appeared on the Alan Titchmarsh Show. [5] February 2010 brought the launch of Miss Polly Rae: The All New Hurly Burly Show, with special guest act Elouise, directed by William Baker. Musical direction was by Steve Anderson. The show received high acclaim from critics such as Michael Billington (The Guardian) and Charles Spencer ( The Daily Telegraph ), amongst others, and it returned to the Garrick Theatre in the West End, newly named The Hurly Burly Show, until May 2011. [6] [7] [8] Miss Polly Rae and her Hurly Burly Girlys have collectively worked alongside Dusty Limits, Frisky and Mannish, Ivy Paige, Lady Carol, Stewart Pemberton, Frank Sanazi and James Devine.
Miss Polly Rae is also a singer, and sings songs by the likes of Peggy Lee, Shirley Bassey, Mae West and Doris Day. She has had solo success. In 2007 she was recruited as part of a touring performance team for Agent Provocateur and appeared on The Paul O'Grady Show . [5] In 2008 she became the face of the No 1 Eidos computer game Battlestations Pacific as a wartime sweetheart. [9] In 2015, she won the Best Burlesque award at the London Cabaret Awards. [10]
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner. The person who performs a striptease is commonly known as a "stripper" or an "exotic" or "burlesque" dancer.
A burlesque is a literary, dramatic or musical work intended to cause laughter by caricaturing the manner or spirit of serious works, or by ludicrous treatment of their subjects. The word derives from the Italian burlesco, which, in turn, is derived from the Italian burla – a joke, ridicule or mockery.
The Folies Bergère is a cabaret music hall in Paris, France. Located at 32 Rue Richer in the 9th Arrondissement, the Folies Bergère was built as an opera house by the architect Plumeret. It opened on 2 May 1869 as the Folies Trévise, with light entertainment including operettas, comic opera, popular songs, and gymnastics. It became the Folies Bergère on 13 September 1872, named after nearby Rue Bergère. The house was at the height of its fame and popularity from the 1890s' Belle Époque through the 1920s.
A showgirl is a female performer in a theatrical revue who wears an exotic and revealing costume and in some shows may appear topless. Showgirls are usually dancers, sometimes performing as chorus girls, burlesque dancers or fan dancers, and many are classically trained with skills in ballet. The term showgirl is also sometimes used by strippers and some strip clubs use it as part of their business name.
Sophie Lara Winkleman, styled as Lady Frederick Windsor, is an English actress. She is married to Lord Frederick Windsor, the son of Prince Michael of Kent and second cousin of King Charles III.
The Raymond Revuebar (1958–2004) was a theatre and strip club at 11 Walker's Court, in the centre of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-frontal, on-stage nudity of the sort commonly seen in other cities in Europe and North America. Its huge brightly lit sign declaring it to be the "World Centre of Erotic Entertainment" made the Revuebar a local landmark.
Stephen John Anderson is a British musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his work with Kylie Minogue on her tours and albums, and as part of the production group Brothers in Rhythm. He has also worked on songs and albums for many recording artists such as Britney Spears, Westlife, Christophe Willem, Judie Tzuke and Susan Boyle.
Michelle L'amour is an American neo-burlesque performer who grew up in Orland Park, Illinois. In 2006, she performed stripteases on NBC's America's Got Talent, Showtime's Sexual Healing, and in small touring performances. Her tagline is "The Ass That Goes POW!" and she sells related promotional products.
Neo-burlesque, or new burlesque, is the revival and updating of the traditional American burlesque performance. Though based on the traditional burlesque art, the new form encompasses a wider range of performance styles; neo-burlesque can include anything ranging from classic striptease to modern dance to theatrical mini-dramas to comedic mayhem.
Peter Saunders is an English keyboard player.
Dusty Limits is an Australian-born cabaret singer and comedian based in the United Kingdom, and one of the leading figures on the "new cabaret" scene.
Bette Bourne was a British actor, drag queen, and activist. His theatrical career spanned six decades. He came to prominence in the mid-1970s when he adopted the name "Bette" and a radical posture on gay liberation. He joined the New York-based alternative gay cabaret troupe Hot Peaches on a tour of Europe and then founded his own alternative London-based gay theatrical company, Bloolips, which lasted until 1994.
Anna Frangiosa is a Philadelphia-based theater artist, costume designer, burlesque performer, director, instructor and model.
Gentry de Paris is a Paris-based burlesque dancer, art director, and playwright.
American burlesque is a genre of variety show derived from elements of Victorian burlesque, music hall, and minstrel shows. Burlesque became popular in the United States in the late 1860s and slowly evolved to feature ribald comedy and female nudity. By the late 1920s, the striptease element overshadowed the comedy and subjected burlesque to extensive local legislation. Burlesque gradually lost its popularity, beginning in the 1940s. A number of producers sought to capitalize on nostalgia for the entertainment by recreating burlesque on the stage and in Hollywood films from the 1930s to the 1960s. There has been a resurgence of interest in this format since the 1990s.
Polly Perkins is a British actress, singer and writer. Perkins rose to fame in the 1960s as a popstar, going on to regularly appear in theatre and cabaret throughout the UK. She is known for playing Rose Cotton, the half-sister of Dot Cotton, in the BBC soap opera EastEnders between 2011 and 2012.
Melissa Madden Gray, stage name Meow Meow, is an Australian-born actress, dancer and cabaret performer who tours internationally. Gray has been particularly active in the UK where she appeared in La Clique at the Roundhouse and created the role of the Maîtresse in the West End musical adaptation of The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at the Gielgud Theatre. In 2010 Meow Meow was awarded the Edinburgh Festival Fringe Prize. In January 2011 she premiered "Meow Meow in Concert" for three nights at the Apollo Theatre on London's West End. She was named Best Cabaret Performer at the 2012 Helpmann Awards for her show, Little Match Girl. She debuted "An Audience with Meow Meow" at the Berkeley Repertory Theatre in California as part of their Fall 2014 season.
A vedette is the main female artist of a show derived from cabaret and its subcategories of revue, vaudeville, music hall or burlesque. The purpose of the vedette is to entertain and captivate the public. Vedettes are expected to sing, dance and act on stage. Particularly accomplished artistes are considered super vedettes or first vedettes. Vedettes often appear alongside groups of dancers, flashy and revealing costumes, magicians, comedians, jugglers, or even performing animals. Vedettes specializing in burlesque generally do striptease and may also perform nude on stage.
Lesburlesque is a British troupe of over thirty burlesque performers that perform on the cabaret circuit. They are notable for being the first and only burlesque troupe in the UK that performs lesbian burlesque. Following on from the success of Los Angeles-based girl band and dance troupe, the Pin Up Girls, Lesburlesque appeared on the burlesque scene in September 2010. They came to wider public attention in 2012 for having performed at a former church and continue to incorporate traditionally lesbian specific cabaret entertainment, such as drag kinging to broadening its appeal to the wider cabaret circuit.
Hurlyburly is a 1984 dark comedy play by David Rabe.