Le Scandal

Published Friday 9 May 2008 at 17:15 by Harry Venning

Cabaret requires a degree of intimacy, something Le Scandal - the self-styled, hottest burlesque show in New York - struggles to achieve in the cavernous surroundings of The Udderbelly. With two thirds of the seats unsold for the opening night of its Brighton festival residency, ushers herded what patrons there were into a central block and proceeded to hand out kazoos to a fortunate few, who were encouraged to play along with the house band.

The publicity had promised “style, sophistication and sheer decadence”, three qualities not normally associated with the kazoo, but the strategy succeeded in both warming up an initially reticent audience and cultivating their indulgence. Which, it has to be said, was frequently required.

The show’s start was not auspicious. Escapologist Eric Walton struggled free from a straight jacket whilst suspended upside down from a trapeze - no mean feat - but the effect was somewhat spoilt by a malfunctioning music track that cut out during his descent. As Eric was helped off the trapeze amidst the stoniest of silences, he looked for all the world like a kitten being rescued from a tree.

Things did not improve with the appearance of juggler Marcus Monroe, for whom the evening could not end soon enough. The flaming torches were certainly impressive while in flight, but Monroe kept dropping them with a regularity that had the audience anxiously checking out the fire exits.

Circus skills were eventually represented with honour by Mantryx, a truly impressive trio of balletic acrobats scaling, twisting and somersaulting around a twisted silk curtain.

But what of the burlesque? Well, it was endearingly coy and about as decadent as the CBeebies roadshow. With most of the striptease discreetly taking place behind giant ostrich plumes, the only audience members likely to take offence were those with an allergy to feathers.