Fleur du Mal

"I started performing in 2007, when we'd get our gigs from MySpace contacts! My first ever performance was at a private event, and after that I worked a lot in the burgeoning Nottingham scene with performers like Cherry DeVille (who ran The Pitty Patt Club with her troupe The DeVille Dolls) and other creatives like Charlotte Thomson-Morley. Pretty soon I started travelling to perform at shows in other cities around the UK, working my way up to festivals, and eventually going international - though I've not yet performed outside of Europe, which is my next big goal!

There's been a lot of change in the 18 years I've been performing. A lot of people who were around in those early days will tell you how DIY everything was, from choreography to costuming to producing. Castings didn't involve sending videos or often even pictures - if the person running the show liked the idea of your act, they'd book it. There were no classes so we learned by watching videos of classic performers, rehearsing together, and using whatever individual skills we had. I vividly remember a post made by Red Sarah on the Ministry of Burlesque forum saying that you didn't need to be a trained dancer to do burlesque, and that you could incorporate your own talents into an act, no matter what those talents were. That post blew my mind and got me to think about burlesque in a different way, which then inspired me to create my casino dealer act! I commissioned some roulette wheel pasties with spinning ball tassels from Adora Belle (now Lillie Ruskin) for that act, and I felt like I'd become a real professional.

Another change I've seen is around diversity and accessibility. There are many more performers of colour now than there were, more male and non-binary performers, more openly queer and trans performers. The diversity has really enriched the art form, and now we can see so many different styles, cultures, and viewpoints on stage, the burlesque scene feels like a different world to those early days! There's also a bigger awareness of accessibility needs for disabled, chronically ill, and neurodivergent performers, which is a huge improvement. As a chronically ill performer, I hadn't realised just how much my disorder had affected me until about halfway through my career, because no one really talked about it. Even I was having to learn that my energy, recovery time, and coordination were limited, and if I didn't fully understand it myself, there was no way I could explain it to a producer! But now, more and more events are posting their accessibility information in their ticket listings, and castings are asking if applicants need any accommodations. Many producers are doing the necessary work, and it's definitely making a difference.

Sadly, I no longer have any photos from my first few years. Though maybe that's a blessing, because it took me until about 2010 to learn I could use makeup on my eyebrows Burlesque has given me many opportunities I never thought I'd be given, such as travelling to Iceland (to perform in Reykjavik Kabarett and Domur og Herra) or appearing in a big-budget movie ('The Look of Love', with several London-based performers). Since Covid, I've been thinking about where I want to take my future career, and realised it's time to give something back. I had a surgery one week before the country went into lockdown, and since then my health (physical and mental) has been more stable than it has in years. So I decided this was the perfect opportunity for me to start producing my own events, with a focus on nurturing the East Midlands scene. In Derby, where I live, the pandemic hit an already underprivileged area very hard, so finding venues who were willing to try something new and who were willing to work with me has been an ongoing challenge, but we've slowly been building our reputation. Changing people's minds has been the hardest part. People here aren't proud of their city, and there's a prevailing attitude of 'nothing will ever change, so why bother trying?' And it's a huge shame, because not only does Derby have a rich history, it's also home to a wealth of performance talent! Not just us, but there are people in Nottingham, Stoke, Loughborough, Leicester, etc. doing amazing things, and very often being overlooked. So that's my overall goal: to improve the reputation of the East Midlands burlesque and cabaret scene, and to make the people of Derby a little prouder of their home. Will dressing as a Derby Ram(ette) and singing silly songs do that? Let's hope so!"