From their successful West End season of ‘The Hurly Burly Show’, UK burlesque star Polly Rae and her Hurly Burly dancers recently hit Sydney (or Marrickville- The Factory Theatre) by storm. Produced by burlesque business woman-to-be-reckoned-with Jac Bowie, the show was a full audience success with beefy promotion (picked up by the press due to Polly’s sassy/classy burlesque images and dynamo arts publicist Emma Jones).
Polly has been performing her Hurly Burly show since 2006, sharpening its choreography and smoothing its edges ever since with runs at festivals such as Edinburgh Fringe. She began collaborating with William Baker (Kylie Minogue) in 2010 and with him has created the show as it is today.
The show is shiny, tight and fun with a crazy horse streak combined with a poppy Kylie feel alongside classic burlesque extravaganza. The girls all perform their own numbers, Polly coos and sasses her way through each number (and expertly deals with a technical hitch) and the star guest performer, Australian aerialist The Amazing Ari brings the house down.
For me, while the numbers are tight and performances strong, it isn’t until the end of the first act that I really ‘get’ Polly. She performs a number set in her bedroom with an encounter with a window cleaner who, having seen her picture in the paper, mistakingly thinks she is a stripper. Through song and gesture she explains the difference between a stripper and the classy affair of being a burlesque artiste. The number is hilarious (Polly plays both herself and the window cleaner) and we get a taste of Polly’s quirk and versatility. It has a combination of funny and sexy that is truly burlesque. While the rest of the show is bold and sparkly, this is the Polly I’d love to see more of.
And, while it’s true that plane tickets from the UK are pricey and so shows need to fit in audiences, I personally would have appreciated this show so much more in a table and chairs cabaret set up with the according pre and post show ambiance.
Oh and the other star of the show- the costumes. Literally brilliant.
Check out Polly Rae on her own website here.
