The Hurly Burly Show, Garrick Theatre

Striptease gets Noughty in this new burlesque show

by Alexandra CoghlanSunday, 13 March 2011

Miss Polly Rae slips into something a little less comfortableAll images by Ken McKay

It’s not often you find yourself advised at the start of a West End performance that “mobile phones, photography and fellatio are not permitted”, but then The Hurly Burly Show isn’t exactly your average theatrical fare. The first time the West End has seen a major burlesque revue, the show’s move from a small cabaret club in Soho to the Garrick Theatre reflects a changing attitude to this ancient art. If you believe the hype, women across the UK, in bedrooms, boardrooms and the tinned-goods aisle of Tesco, are all shedding their clothes and donning nipple tassels – in the name of female empowerment, of course.

Emerging from a rubbish bin before swallowing fire and setting her nipple tassels alight - as climaxes go, it’s a hard one to top

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