Scarlet Vixens – Purple Peep Show – 28th Jan 2023 – 7pm doors – Purple Turtle Monthly Residency 

Good evening, and welcome to my review of the ever-excellent Scarlet Vixens and the January Purple Peepshow. An admirer of the Vixens for more years than I (and my anti-wrinkle cream) care to mention, it’s about bloody time I actually wrote down how fab they are!  

The evening was hosted by the always hilarious Ms Kitty Pimms, serving Barbie Dominatrix in PVC with snappy quips that found their mark as surely as any well-wielded whip. Always wonderful to hear a fellow Northerner this far south, she brought us all in from a frigid January evening and got us well warmed up!  

The first act opened with the internationally-renowned showgirl extraordinaire Miss Sugar Rush performing Succubus. Anyone who hasn’t seen Sugar perform before- buy a ticket. Now. Immediately. You will be happy you did. As lethally sexy as the act name suggests, Sugar wound sensuous suspense around the whole room with a classically composed yet darkly delicious striptease. 

We moved onto a guest performer- The impossibly gorgeous Cherry Buns hailing from Oxford’s Cream Tease Burlesque, performing Take Back Your Mink in a cheeky and uproarious take on a breakup with her Sugar Daddy that we can all relate to during a cost-of-living crisis! 

The first act closed out with Turkish D’Light, another guest visiting the Vixens to perform Istanbul D’Light, a 1950’s belly dance-inspired act that got everyone fired up with the exuberant music and act to match! 

The second act gave us Pandora Carnage and her performance of The Librarian. Anyone born between probably 1978 and 1998 has likely an unhealthy level of interest in the 1999 Classic film The Mummy starring Rachel Weiz as A Librarian (you all know which scene I mean…). This act brough back all those old feelings, believe me! Sidebar- absolute hats off to Ms Carnage, fan veils are a beautiful art form, and not easy on any given day, and while our hosts the Purple Turtle are cosy, welcoming, and wonderful, ceiling height isn’t the most accommodating feature of the venue, and delivering such a fantastic presentation with a limit on the ‘up’ available is deeply impressive! 

We met with the newest Vixen Dutch S asking if Pete Burns was indeed Dead or Alive, frankly he’d be looking to be resurrected to see this act! Fantastic costuming and brilliant humour throughout, we have it on good authority that this act was the first ever that Dutch S performed as an official Vixen. We’d like to offer congratulations, and we cannot wait for more! 

Miss Cherry Buns returned to share a delicious performance of Last Friday Night, a story-telling journey that felt familiar to say the least, and featured some absolutely cracking hits. A tale of excess and joie de vivre, followed by the delicate dance we all have when rolling the dice on a sexy stranger, this performance left the whole audience laughing absolutely out loud, and glancing sideways to see who else recognised the songs in the mix! 

Turkish D’Light closed the second act with a beautiful champagne-flavoured feather fan routine (again, props for the props usage!) that truly bolstered her rightful claim to being the one and only multi award-winning Queen of queer Turkish Burlesque! 

The final act gave us Pandora Carnage serving a fiery classic tease with a passionate and seductive undertone that captivated the room completely. 

We closed the show with the incomparable Sugar Rush in leopard print and gorgeousness leaving us all Feeling Good as she left every member of the audience speechless and hollering for more with a classic showgirl striptease!  

It would be remiss of this author to fail to mention the impromptu Foxy Lady highlight moment between Ms Kitty Pimms and Tootsie Roques. May I beg on behalf of everyone sat within earshot of me that we see the Pimms/Roques Wayne’s World Foxy Lady Tribute Burlesque soon? Please? We’ll cheer really loud. Promise.  

It would be entirely incorrect of me to close this review without lauding greatly the talents of the support crew. No show ever gets all the way to audiences cheering manically for boobs without a sheer cliff-face of organisational and logistical shenanigans, and this evening’s event was expertly managed by the inestimable Dutch S., Kittened for by the delectable Lucille Noir, DJ’d by Tootsie Roques (who delivered some absolute bangers!), and the doors managed by the most stylish and poised Lilly! Huge thanks to them- steering live art performance is always a challenge, and they did a stellar job!

Laura Hartley

The show was absolutely amazing! I had never been to a Burlesque show before so didn't really know what to expect but it was so good! I felt comfortable, it was good fun and the girls were brilliant! I'll definitely be returning.