Thank You For Making Our 5th Birthday so Special...

I would just like to say 'WOW' and a great big THANK YOU to everyone involved with Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque's FIFTH Birthday celebrations on Sunday evening. I am so proud and happy to have run this show every quarter since March 2008 without fail, and to have had the opportunity to run additional shows each year, including the launch of my 'Supernova' events and I couldn't have done it without you all.

What a great gift to receive - Sir Midnight Blues!

The audience were ELECTRIC this Sunday evening and ready to celebrate with us in style and I cannot thank them enough for this - absolutely fantastic!

I wanted to combine the old with the new in celebration of our Birthday, allowing our regulars to perform their most treasured and favourite routines, along with a few specially developed Birthday acts just for Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque.

Kicking off the show was the hilarious Mrs Hawkins, who had me in absolute stitches with her opening 'I Should Be So Lucky' song! Such an hilarious character and a lovely addition to the Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque crew...what say you to making her resident Compere at our West Street Live shows?

Mrs Hawkins getting a lift from an audience member!

Then, what can I say about this woman: she stood in our Birthday Cake for an hour waiting to pop out to open the Birthday celebrations in style, former Secrets student and good friend of mine....the incredible Raven Noir! What an absolute delightful to receive a 6 foot Birthday cake with a Showgirl inside! Such a decadent treat! Now that's a dedication to your Art and to Secrets if ever I saw it!

Raven Noir by Duncan Stafford

Next up was another Graduate of Secrets, the naughty School Girl, Willow Le Wisp, with her rendition of 'School's Out' (again, a nice little Birthday treat for me because everybody knows my feelings on Alice Cooper: Love the man!)

Willow Le Wisp

Willow was followed by our resident blonde babe, Miss Peachy Pinch with her hilarious and sexy take on the 'Diet Coke' adverts which had us laughing and panting all at the same time!

Miss Peachy Pinch by Duncan Stafford

Next up, all the way from London, was the Nymphomaniac, Miss Dolly Dazzle, with elegant belly dance moves, a beautiful costume and finishing her act with a traditional fan dance, it was a pleasure to have her perform for us at our Fifth Birthday Party.

Miss Dolly Dazzle by Seraphic

After our first break we were treated to more delights from our resident dancer Pansy Cheung, Secrets Graduate and Maid Tahlullah Manhattan and the gorgeous Betty Page-esque Maria Moreish. Maria brought her classic 'Cleaner' act back to Secrets and treated us all to a naughty showing of her assets...

Maria Moreish

Former Secrets Graduate, Lexxy Lace then took to the stage with another Alice Cooper song for accompaniment and spanked her way through the audience with a riding crop! She also treated us to another saucy routine later on in the show.

Lexxy Lace in 'Poison'

I then took to the stage with my classic act, 'The Woman' to keep the riding crop action in motion just so that our audience were well and truly whipped into shape! Beginning as an act that I really didn't feel comfortable with, it has now developed into my favourite act to perform and so I just had to bring it to the Birthday Party!

Deadly Nightshade by John Slater

Next was the oh-so delightful Sir Midnight Blues, bringing Boylesque to the party...because we just needed to have a gift-wrapped man thrown into the mix for my own debauchery! Sir Midnight also brought Pole Dancing to the Secrets stage for THE VERY FIRST TIME IN FIVE WHOLE YEARS! What an absolute treat and a first for Secrets!

Sir Midnight Blues

Opening the next quarter of the show was our one of our favourite resident performers, Evie Farrah! Evie performed one of my favourite routines of hers for our party, bringing 'Ego' back to the Secrets stage, which is the act that she made her debut Secrets performance with! She then appeared once again to close the show as Jessica Rabbit!

Evie Farrah as Jessica Rabbit

Tahlullah Manhattan reappeared again as our 'Bubblegum Bitch' with a glittery and bubble-filled balloon pop...because there has to be balloons at a Birthday Party, there just has to be!

Bubblegum Bitch by John Slater

Returning to the stage with a second slice of Birthday Burlesque action was then the fabulous Lexxy Lace, Raven Noir and Mrs Hawkins, along with another dose of Pole Dancing from Sir Midnight Blues and a beautiful bellydance from Ms Pansy Cheung.

Pansy Cheung

Highlights off the stage included a visit from Reverend and The Makers Front-man Jon McClure as well as and Exposed Magazine.

Reverend and The Makers' Jon McClure with our audience and Stalls

Thank you to our exceptional stalls: Tottly Lime Juice, Kitty Sparkles Jewellery, Let Them Eat Cake and Von Harlots. I would also like to say a huge thank you to our Door Girls, Rya and Megan for being absolutely fabulous on the door as well as being incredibly beautiful, to all of our photographers for such beautiful pictures and to all the staff and crew at West Street Live: you make my life so much easier! Big love to my Duke and love to Cherry Du Bois who sadly couldn't be there.

THANK YOU AND HUGE AMOUNTS OF LOVE TO MY LOYAL AND LOVING AUDIENCE, YOU MEAN THE WORLD TO ME, THANK YOU. xxxxxxxxxxxxx

A Documentary about Burlesque

Myself and my burlesque show, 'Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque' are featured in a student documentary alongside many of my performers and class members who I have taught over the past year.

The documentary is a film by Kimberly Edwards which explores whether burlesque is sleazy or not and has been released on Youtube today.

Take a peek!



Much love,
Deadly Nightshade: Founder, Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque. x

I am Featured in The Sheffield Star Today!

Whilst sipping my cup of coffee this morning, I had a phone call to tell me that I had been spotted in the Sheffield Star Newspaper! This was news to me...and good news at that! So, I popped out to purchase one...and sure enough, there was a little surprise mention about yours truly.

"Burlesque is growing fast and Deadly Nightshade is at the centre of it." - The Sheffield Star.

The best surprises come in small packages!

Deadly Nightshade in 'The Star' April 2012.

Much love,

Deadly Nightshade: Founder, Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque. x

Thank You Me'Hearties!

Wow - what a Nautical time we all had celebrating Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque's fourth birthday on Sunday at 'Secrets of the Boud'Yargggh! Burlesque'!

I'd like to begin by thanking our Headline Boylesque act: Flixx Démontrant, he came in pursuit of 'Forbidden Treasure' and then made a drastic transformation into Captain Hook before finding himself 'Un-Hooked' on our stage.  He is truly a Boylesque performer who entangles you into his story and then leaves you wanting more!

Flixx at Secrets of the Boud'Yargggh! Burlesque
Photographed by Anwar Suliman

Flixx  at Secrets of the Boud'Yargggh! Burlesque  
Photographed by Anwar Suliman

I also wish to thank our glowingly beautiful and very pregnant Evie Farrah for her consistently high quality and captivating performances.  I am proud to have seen her begin her career with Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque and grow into the excellent performer she is today.  I am also assured that pregnancy will not put pay to Evie's Burlesque career and she will shimmy and shake her baby bump onto the Secrets stage to delight and captivate you all once again...watch this space for more...

Evie Farrah  at Secrets of the Boud'Yargggh! Burlesque  
Photographed by Anwar Suliman

Huge thanks to Belle Nouvelle and her special 'Mermaid' guest for their wonderful, original and unique routine which mixed live, originally composed music with Burlesque to create 'My Heart is an Anchor'.  A delight for the ears and for the eyes - something truly spectacular!

'My Heart is an Anchor'  at Secrets of the Boud'Yargggh! Burlesque
Photographed by Anwar Suliman 

Allow me to thank Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque's resident twins: Cherry Du Bois and Scarlet Noir for their hilarious routine which demonstrated sibling rivalry at its very best!

Cherry and Scarlet at Secrets of the Boud'Yargggh! Burlesque
Photographed by Anwar Suliman 

Miss. Kitty Fantastic provided us with a Burlesque Lobster boiling in a pot in her very glam and hilarious parody of Dita's Martini Glass routine!

Miss. Kitty Fantastic at Secrets of the Boud'Yargggh! Burlesque
Photographed by Anwar Suliman

Congratulations to Tahlullah Manhatten for making her stage debut as a sexy Siren stealing Sailor's souls.  It is such a delight to see her go from taking part in our Burlesque Lessons to stepping onto the stage for the very first time.

Tahlullah Manhatten at Secrets of the Boud'Yargggh! Burlesque
Photographed by Anwar Suliman

And last but not least of all of our performers, let's hear it for the dashing, the handsome, the delectable Mr. Warren Peace and Mr. Duke O'Growl - what a pair of delicious Compere's they both made, with Cabaret skills and good-looks to rival the very best of men!  Ooooooof!  An Officer and a Gentlemen indeed!

Secrets of the Boud'Yargggh! Burlesque
Photographed by Anwar Suliman

Huge thanks to our resident designer and performer: Sian De Leir for costuming our door staff and cigarette girls, thank you to our film crew, to our photographers and filmographers: the Suliman's, thanks to all of the stalls involved with the show and to all who donated a raffle prize, thanks to Vivien of Holloway and to our wonderful D.J. Mr Vince Spitfire, who is now sadly retiring from the game.  We love you Vince and we will certainly miss you. 

...Oh and 'Black Magic Woman' didn't go too badly either...maybe it isn't time to scrap the act just yet....

Deadly Nightshade at Secrets of the Boud'Yargggh! Burlesque
Photographed by Anwar Suliman

Much love,

Deadly Nightshade: Founder, Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque. x

Splitting Personalities...

Hello,

My name is Rachel and I have been a burlesque performer for about five years now, but I find myself revelling more in the fact that I have been a successful burlesque promoter for over four years now.  Why you ask?

The answer is simple, I am afraid of the lime-light, lacking in confidence and unable to dance.

Now, WHAT would Deadly Nightshade have to say about THAT?

She would bitch-slap me to the other side of the earth for darkening her name with such slander!  She loves the lime-light, ooozes with confidence and can dance to any beat - but I struggle to bring Nightshade to the fore-front sometimes!

Performing 'The Wolf'

Promoting has always allowed me to hide behind the scenes or to only perform in an atmosphere where I feel the most comfortable and recently I find myself embarking upon successes.  These successes have been achieved by Rachel, but I think Deadly has had a lot to do with them too.

After my recent achievements, I now find myself being blessed with the ability to teach my art to others and this got me thinking - if I am able to tutor young women in how to be more confident, then surely I must now have some?

Deadly Nightshade has somehow, secretly, sneakily, slowly and seductively crept out into Rachel's personality, or maybe she was always there to begin with?  

"I'm not me any more, now I'm him" (or in my case: her) - Alice Cooper.

Learn more about my Burlesque Course/Lessons.

Attend my latest show.

Thank You For Helping us to Raise £583.76 for Oxfam

Ladies and gentlemen,

I would just like to say 'Thank You' to you all for helping Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque (SotBB) to raise a whopping £583.76 for Oxjam in aid of Oxfam on Sunday evening.

We were treated to a wonderful array of burlesque and cabaret from SotBB favourites such as Sian De Leir, Evie Farrah and Cassie Devine, Depravity Jane and Mistress Mimi.  Then we had the pleasure of introducing some fabulous performers who have never graced our stage before including, Cadillac Arrest, Foxie La Roque, Lacie May, Danni La Blue and Miss Moonlight.  You were all truly wonderful!

Thank you to everyone who donated a raffle gift, helping us to make a huge profit for Oxfam!  The gifts were absolutely fabulous and came from:
Mad Hatter's Cupcake Co,
Vivien of Holloway,
Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque,
Ann Summers,
Follow Your Dreams Tattoo,
Mentholman's Venue,
Imogen's Imagination,
Razorblade Mermaid,
Bubble Queens,
Molly Rouge
and
Gorgeous Gifts.
Special thanks to Nina Lockwood for bagging some of these raffle prizes for us and helping to raise money for Oxfam.

Big thanks to our wonderful compere Mr. Duke O'Growl for keeping the show flowing and for making generous donations into our Oxjam money tins all evening!

Let's give a huge round of applause to Anwar and Aisha Suliman for being our photographers for the evening.  Photographs will be up on our website and Facebook pages soon and will also be available to purchase by contacting http://www.asphotographyservices.co.uk/.

Thank you to Pansy Cheung for stepping in quite last minute to be our graceful and elegant door girl - I cannot thank you enough!

Huge thanks to our sponsor, Vivien of Holloway www.vivienofholloway.com, to our venue, to Hayleigh Lou  and to our stall-holders.

Until next time....

Our next show will be on the 4th of December 2011

Much love,

Deadly Nightshade. x

A Big House of Horrors Thank You!

Hello darlings,

First, allow me to apologise for writing this so late - alas, my lap top practically blew up on me after Sunday's show, hence, the delay!

Deadly Nightshade, Scarlet Noir and Cherry Du Bois in 'Thriller' Photographed by Nick Gee

I just do not know where to begin with the thank you's!  It was so lovely to see you all at The Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque House of Horrors.  It was a sell out show and I thank you all so much for attending!  I hope you enjoyed your evening as much as we did.  Special thanks to the two beautiful ladies who came all the way from Kent just to see the show as well...it's wonderful to hear you will be back for our Oxjam event on October 16th.

Nat Mortimer Photographed by Jim Priestly

I would also like to give a special thank you to 'Mad Hatter's' cupcakes for my beautiful Cookie Monster Birthday cake - I was truly touched to receive it and cannot believe you guys have been with us for a year now.  It is wonderful.  Thank you also for your kind raffle donations, we hope our winners scoffed your goods down very merrily!  Thank you also to Imogen's Imagination, The Dollhouse, Masque Photography, Lightfoot's Wines, Vivien of Holloway and A Box of Burlesque for their raffle gifts.

Raven DeVille on her bed of nails by Nick Gee

I'd also like to give a huge thank you to Momma O'Growl for reading palms all evening.  She has a true gift and if you were touched by her charms and her accuracy, you may also be interested to hear that she also specializes in Reiki healing and Angel work.  Interested in a private booking with her?  Email info@secretsoftheboudoirburlesque.com.

Duke O'Growl Photographed by Nick Gee

I think the biggest thank you of the night has to go to the gorgeous Duke O'Growl for stepping in, quite last minute, to fill Warren Peace's shoes as our compere for the evening.  And what a fantastic job he did, bringing our show to life with a white top hat and tails, twirling his riding crop and spanking our audience into shape!  He brought a handsome charm to SotBB and also provided us with some delightful cabaret in the form of my personal favourite, Alice Cooper!  I think we would quite like him to come back and compere future shows wouldn't we girls?  Phwoar, pant, hubba, hubba...

Duke O'Growl by Jim Priestly

Huge thanks to Dolly and Raven from Monster Cirque for providing us with fire breathing and stilt-walking outside of our venue whilst you were all waiting to come in, and then for providing us with a bed of nails and glass-walking on the stage.  Want to see more of them?  Then add their Facebook page: www.facebook.com/monstercirque.

Dolly Monster breathing fire onto the streets of Sheffield at The Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque House of Horrors Photographed by Jim Priestly

Thank you to Belle Nouvelle who made her onstage burlesque debut with pianist Nat Mortimer as a freakishly frightening little dolly - we did love the macabre act!  Thanks to our Ghostbuster Pansy Cheung,  the gorgeous Sian de Leir for providing us with some Russian Roulette, Evie Farrah as our tattooed Lady and Miss Kitty Fantastic for proving that the female of the species is definitely more deadly than the male!  Huge thanks to Mistress Mimi for her delightful cabaret and all of the effort that she puts into prop and set design - I especially loved her bass playing on 'Devil Gate Drive'.  And thank you to Scarlet Noir and Cherry Du Bois for pain-stakingly teaching me the 'Thriller' dance all Summer so that we could open the show with it.  A special mention to Scarlet's Micheal Jackson outfit which she wore all evening!  Another thank you to Scarlet, and to Carolyn for being our delightful door-girls and contending with the HUGE guest list!  It is truly appreciated ladies.

Belle Nouvelle making her debut performance at The Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque House of Horrors Photographed by Jim Priestly

Let's hear it for Hannah and Sian in our 'Secret Parlour', for Mentholman's venue, Tam, Taz and the bar staff at West Street Live, as well as the bouncers.  Big thanks to the photographers and videographers.  Also, thank you to Vivien of Holloway for being our sponsor.

The Wolf Photographed by Nick Gee

Lastly, let us not forget to thank 'The Wolf' who appeared when the moon was full.  I'd like to give a HUGE shout out to all of the people who helped bring her to life: Ryan for the faith and the tools to create her, Josie and Lucy for giving her skin and fur, Sarah and Mummy Lightfoot for stitching her seams together, Sarah Mellor for her 'human' outfit and Sam&Duke for the cup of hot water and the final push to get her out there...

I would like to take this moment to NOT thank Tagan the cat for eating the velcro though....

Like some child possessed the beast howled in my veins...

Big love to you all, and I hope to see you at our Oxjam event on the 16th of October.  In the meantime, please add any photos/videos you have from 'The House of Horrors' to The Secrets of the Boudoir Burlesque Facebook Page 

Much love,

Deadly Nightshade.xxx