The Stage

Camden Council U-turn over burlesque licensing plans

Published Thursday 30 July 2009 at 13:24 by Lalayn Baluch

Burlesque performers are celebrating after Camden Council backtracked on plans to licence them in the same way as strippers and lap dancers.

In May, the London authority caused outcry among artists and local venue owners - such as Alex Proud of the Proud Galleries - when it demanded that all burlesque performances involving “nudity or stripping” be classed as adult entertainment, and therefore regulated under the same licensing system as lap-dancing clubs.

The decision prompted fears for the future of the artform, with more than 1,500 people signing a petition on the Downing Street website in protest of the licensing requirement.

Performers were concerned that such a reclassification would change people’s perception of burlesque and increase costs for those wanting to stage shows.

Yesterday a 100-strong group - led by the founder of lingerie boutique Coco de Mer Sam Roddick, Ruby Rose of the Burlesque Women’s Institute, and Lola LaBelle who dances with the Wam Bam Girls - marched through the streets of Camden holding placards reading “Don’t be Prude, It’s Not Rude” to protest against Camden Council’s decision.

Following a meeting with protestors, the council published a statement announcing a U-turn. It said: “Burlesque performance in its widest form can include various arts forms and this alone would not require a licence. The council’s concern is with any performance which may involve nudity.”

The council announced a commitment to work with the burlesque community to “seek a clearer understanding of what constitutes adult entertainment”, and has scheduled a meeting with the BWI in September.

A Coco de Mer spokesperson described the news as “amazing”. She explained that the key breakthrough was the removal of the word “stripping” from the council’s licensing conditions.

She said: “The council have acknowledged that although burlesque performers do remove clothes, this very rarely ends in nudity - by legal definition displaying genitalia or nipples. The council have agreed that removing clothes, often for performers from one costume to another, does not constitute ‘adult entertainment’ and so no longer needs a license.”

LaBelle welcomed the news and said it signified respect for burlesque performers.

“This was not about a few performers losing a couple of gigs here and there, it is about becoming a part of a society which is ok with its government censoring things without even knowing what they are. Although it was Camden, it could have spread out throughout the country,” she added.

The point was reiterated by Rose, who believes that if adopted by other local authorities, the licensing requirement had to potential to “wipe out burlesque”. She said the BWI would now to working to ensure that the artform was not brought under licensing laws.

Roddick said she was “overjoyed” that the matter had been resolved. Earlier this week, the boutique staged a series of burlesque performances, in a bid to showcase the artform.