Interview

Immodesty Blaize

Immodesty Blaize has been taking London by storm for the last few weeks as she strips each night in a wonderfully theatrical display of grace, feathers, flesh and fun. Paul Webb dusted off his nipple tassels and went round to meet her...

You're best-known for your speciality - when you waggle your breasts you can make one nipple tassel go clockwise and the other one anticlockwise! How did you manage this? "It took a lot of long, long hours in front of my bedroom mirror...standing there on your own you feel a bit silly, but on stage it works brilliantly!"

You're co-starring in, and co-devisor of, the Burlesque show at the Arts Theatre. How would you describe Burlesque as an art form? "It dates back to the 1860s, when people staged acts that included songs, speech, stripping - up to a point - and poses. The acts were linked with and by a fast-moving narration, often featured cross-dressing and girl dance troupes. And there was more to it than just show and spectacle - there were references to contemporary culture, as there are in this show - though these seem to have gone over the heads of most critics!"

The show has had mixed reviews, but I thought it was fabulous! "Thanks - and so have our audiences, which is why we've extended the run to the end of July. And we've already had a lot of celebrities in - including Lauren Bacall, Richard O'Brien and Marc Almond...they've all been able to enjoy it on the two levels that it operates on: it's a fabulous, glamorous event but it also has a lot of ironic references to contemporary culture...

"I think the problem with the critics is that they can't cope with the fact that Burlesque is a genre in its own right - it isn't a play, it isn't a musical, and it embraces old-world glamour, and songs, as well as contemporary music."

How did you come to create the show at the Arts? "It was formed out of many years' experience. I've performed at many Burlesque events in all sorts of venues - nightclubs, fashion week catwalks, nightclubs, corporate parties, pop videos - during which I met Walter, and we put together some of our past performances along with new material."

You've created a wonderfully feminine alter ego in Immodesty... "That's the idea! I wanted to present an uber feminine persona. I grew up admiring those movie bombshells who became cult figures, and that's what Immodesty is about. The name came from when a workman came to my flat and said I reminded him of Modesty Blaize. I thought Immodesty was a much more appropriate name!"

Do you think other people would like an alter ego? "Of course! All the time! But they feel they aren't allowed to, that it would be too daring. They should try it."

You wear very theatrical clothes, even 'off duty'. Where do you get them from? "All sorts of places, but the haberdashery section at John Lewis is always a good place to look. I mix the period clothes I wear but I've always been very attracted to the 1940s."

And how do you keep the nipple tassels in place? "Tape! I use a specially strong tape as the tassels get quite a work out. The most important thing is to keep the tape dry, which is very difficult as I get so hot under the lights. There are several fans strategically placed in the wings, so as soon as I'm offstage I stand in front of them with my bust as close to them as is safely possible in an attempt to cool down."

I imagine some of the audience need to calm down after the show, too? "They certainly seem to enjoy it, yes. But that's the point! And we get audiences from 18 to 80, with people dancing in the aisles - apart from the older gentlemen, of course - and we get a standing ovation each night.

"One of the things that Walter and I wanted to achieve, and which all Burlesque shows aim for, is to break down the barriers between audience and performers, which is why at the Arts we have steps that lead down from the stage into the auditorium, and people sitting there as if they're in a nightclub rather than a theatre. And we also, from the very start of the show, encourage people to clap and cheer and generally feel involved in what's going on."

It would be wrong for people to think of your act simply as a strip act... "It would, because I don't strip completely and in fact when you first see me I'm naked under a black silk sheet, and gradually get dressed. The stripping is obviously part of the act but there's more to it than that. It's an expression of sensuality, as when I'm on the rocking horse, where I combine a sort of innocence with a clear sexuality and I'm obviously getting it on with the horse...What that part of the evening has, like the other parts, is an infectious energy, and enthusiasm, that the audience respond to. Our evening isn't Hecuba by the RSC, it's a velvety, sexy, darkly ironic wonderland, and people who come will have fun."

Do you have a favourite theatre restaurant for after the show? " I like the Groucho as it's open so late, and I'm a late-night person. Another favourite place in Maggiore's in Covent Garden. They do a chocolate fondue to die for!"

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By Paul Webb
Thursday May 19