The audience doesn’t have to wait long to see skin in Irene Nicola presents – A Postmodern Striptease. In the back room of the iconic Imperial Hotel, the intimate audience watches as the one woman cabaret artist emerges to brazen show tunes. Within two minutes she goes from being kitted out in office attire, to being stripped to lacy black briefs and red, sparkly nipple tassels. The provocatism of the first striptease is made farcical as she struggles to peel her pencil skirt off without toppling over. We were treated to her criticisms and witticisms for the next hour, as she pit postmodern deconstruction against self-actualisation.
Irene Nicola’s choreography sashays an energetic line between sexiness and silliness as she draws a crafty burlesque caricature. Her moves are polished with a delicate strength yet awkwardness that creates an authenticity and playfulness to the show. It is reassuring to see her break the perception of the god-like performer in her need to shuffle off stage between songs to put “something warmer on” between songs. The staging is simple and effective. A wooden blind creates the division between onstage and backstage for costume changes, and during these pauses an audio recording plays from a “wireless”. It tells the story of six-year-old Timmy, his father and the wolf in their post-war hardship. The radio serial shocks and satiates the listeners in a tale that’s reminiscent of Hansel and Gretel and Little Red Riding Hood, except with more poverty, revenge and predators.
True to the variety format of cabaret shows, the rambunctious musical numbers are interspersed with astute stand up pieces. These anecdotes range from explanations of burlesque history to the importance of pelvic floor exercises and confessions of penis envy. Some of them contain intriguing truisms about the ego, “as a performer, I’m constantly seeking your approval. It’s like my drug if you will”. Other segments are more provocative sexually and politically. “I want to cause an uprising” she coos, shedding her black fur coat to reveal gold chain lingerie. Most impressive is her musicality on a ruby red keyboard, unsurprising considering her classical training. The night’s highlight comes during her fifth number when Irene brandishes her remarkable beatboxing ability to add a trumpet into the soundscape of her piece.
For such a short show there her songs plunged to an overwhelming depth. The contrasting monologue of her anxieties and hang ups as a performer was revealing, but the affect was overly melancholic and distancing. However, there are moments of more inclusive self-reflexivity which engage the elephants in the room. She addresses common concerns about the burlesque industry, questioning herself and societal expectations of her – “Are you okay taking your clothes off?”, “What do your family say?”.
While burlesque is currently experiencing a resurgence, Irene Nicola’s presents A Postmodern Striptease validates the pertinence of cabaret as an art form that is more than just “tits and feathers”. Her passionate and triumphant performance leaves the audience with a lasting impression of her love for a repertoire which titillates the senses and challenges the status quo.
Reviewed by Eliza Berlage
