Review: KABARET EXPOSÉ, Proud City
Those brave enough to venture below street level in The City of London would be forgiven for thinking they had stepped back in time- into a smoky, dimly lit 1920’s style speakeasy bar. Greeted by beautiful hosts in exquisitely seductive lingerie, and led to a table, Proud City promises a night of risqué delights in Kabaret Exposé .
The tone for the evening is set as the audience take their seats, with a blindfolded lady being knotted into a japanese bondage style sling, that suspends her above the ground. The act of carefully tying and untying the intricate knotwork is strangely mesmerising, and the duo also appear throughout the show with other acts.
The MC for the evening refers to herself as “Mistress”, and insists the audience do too. She carries a whip, sports a choppy blonde wig, and does an excellent job of warming the crowd up, setting expectations and flirting outrageously with the audience members closest to the stage.
The line up certainly delivers on the promise of a racy and daring evening of entertainment, most of the numbers are different takes on strip tease, working in various fetishes or themes, with whips, chains, masks and animals incorporated too. Bondage and dominance feature heavily, and there are some comical and flirtatious moments, in the earlier acts of the show, however, the acts aren’t massively diverse, and are pretty much exclusively female led.
The show progresses at a leisurely pace, with some of the breaks lasting a little too long and the audience dipping in energy slightly, however, The Mistress opens each section and brings the atmosphere in the room back on track, introducing acts such as erotic fire eaters, medical themed strip teases and a human pet complete with lead and leather!
The immersive element of the experience is very well done, bar staff, serving staff and even the venue security are absolutely committed to the theme, while still delivering great service.
Kabaret Exposé offers a diverting evening of entertainment, and while it is refreshing to see something a little more edgy than some of the more classic burlesque shows, it feels like Proud are relying on the shock factor rather than the calibre of the content.
Kabaret Exposé runs Wednesday- Friday evenings and is currently booking until December. For ticket, click here
*** Three Stars
Reviewed By Sarah Brown