Picture this: a dimly-lit, gin-soaked speakeasy-style bar where the air is thick with jazz, the scent of bootleg gin, and the dazzling sparkle of rhinestones illuminates the stage. Welcome to The Gin Martini Burlesque Revue: where you’ll release your inhibitions and be transported to the prohibition through the art of classic burlesque. Hosted in the cozy confines of Prohibition Liquor Co.’s Tasting Room on the southern fringe of Adelaide’s city CBD, this show transports you to the Roaring Twenties: an age of glitz and glamour where the morals were looser, the skirts shorter and the parties bigger than ever. Running every Thursday night throughout Adelaide Fringe, The Gin Martini Burlesque Revue is the kind of cult classic that keeps you coming back for more. With sell-out seasons in 2023 and 2024 under its rhinestone-studded belt, you know you’re in for something special. Produced by the one and only Lyra la Belle of Hot Sauce Productions, this burlesque celebration is a steamy mix of live jazz, feathered flappers and downright decadent debauchery that will leave you intoxicated and begging for more.

First to take to the stage is Juniper Fox, who sashays in like a foxy femme fatale on the prowl. Dressed in a deep burgundy corset glimmering with rhinestones, and sporting an ostrich-feather headpiece worthy of a flapper queen, this Melbourne-based beauty immediately charms with her playful energy. Juniper seduces the audience with every piece of clothing she removes, looking like a burlesque queen straight out of a dream—or a feverish Gatsby fantasy. The way she works the aisle, strutting her stuff and teasing the audience with a wink and a raise of her eyebrows, you can practically feel the heat rising from her rhinestone-encrusted costume. By the time she’s peeling off her thigh-high stockings with a cheeky grin, the audience is already eating out of her hand. It’s a performance brimming with fun, flirtation, and more than a hint of mischief.

Melbourne’s Brooke Bird is elegance personified, swathed in a floor-length black velvet gown that screams Old Hollywood. But don’t be fooled by her refined exterior; Brooke certainly knows how to get down and dirty. As the slowed-down jazz rendition of Big Spender by Cy Coleman wafts through the air, she untangles herself from her gown with the precision of a seasoned tease artist. Then, with the grace of a ballerina and the strength of a showgirl, she effortlessly lifts her leg into a high hold that would make even the most flexible yoga instructor jealous. With every slow, deliberate movement, Brooke delivers a slow burn of sensuality and power, leaving the audience in a daze.

If you’ve ever wondered what happens when Moulin Rouge collides with jungle fever, Porcelain Alice is your answer. With her fiery red hair and porcelain skin, she exudes an aura reminiscent of Satine from Moulin Rouge. Dressed in a leopard print corset adorned with rhinestones that shimmer under the dim lights, Alice is an untamed force of nature. Every step she takes, strutting down the aisle between the audience, is a catwalk, and her every motion pulses with danger. Alice’s routine is a masterclass in sensuality: the tease of a glove slipping off, a glance over her shoulder, a twirl with a feather boa in hand, each move dripping with desire. Her final reveal, where she undoes her corset and sends a matching leopard print skirt cascading down her legs, is the wild, untamable finish you’ve been waiting for. Porcelain Alice is a jungle cat—and boy, does she knows it.

Local talent Lizzy Baker might step on stage looking like an angel in heavenly white, but don’t be fooled; this Adelaide performer is a devil in disguise. As the jazzified version of Oops!…I Did It Again by Britney Spears plays, Lizzy begins with coy innocence, hiding behind a fluffy white boa. But, oh, that boa is just the beginning. The dramatic unzip of her skirt sends the audience into a frenzy, while her playful exuberance and cheeky antics have everyone hooked. Lizzy’s performance is a perfect combination of playful innocence and devilish seduction, keeping the audience entranced from the first peek to the final reveal.

Award-winning Adelaide showgirl Connie Curveball commands the stage with the grace and presence of a vintage diva. Dressed in a black sheer skirt and silver rhinestone-adorned waspie that looks like a star-kissed night sky, Connie epitomises the elegance of old Hollywood glamour. Set to I’ve Got You Under My Skin by Frank Sinatra, her performance is a masterclass in burlesque finesse: smooth, sophisticated, and oozing with vintage charm. The titillating tease of removing her gloves, the satisfying spin and swish of her billowing skirt, and her seemingly neverending playful twirl—she makes it all look effortless, with the finesse of a performer who’s mastered the art of tease. With years of experience and countless accolades to her name, Connie continues to prove why she’s one of the best in the business.

Berlin Von Black entrances the audience with a raunchy, risque number to the unforgettable jazzy tune of I Put A Spell On You by Screamin’ Jay Hawkins. Donning a striking black and burgundy ensemble that blends elegance and drama, Berlin certainly knows how to turn up the heat a notch. Using her feather headpiece as a fan, she seductively removes her gloves, teasing the audience as she hides behind her skirt, giving fleeting glimpses of what lies underneath her many layers of tulle and rhinestones. When she unfurls a pair of black and burgundy striped feather fans, the room is filled with awe at the precision with which she handles them. Like an exotic bird in a delicate mating dance, Berlin’s performance is a delicate dance of power, mystery, and raw sensuality.

Whisky Falls is a force of nature. This Scottish sensation takes to the stage draped in a rose-gold sequinned bodycon dress, and you can feel the audience’s collective breath catch. The moment she lets her hair down, shaking loose a golden cascade of curls, it’s as if the entire room is entranced by her every move. As Let’s Do It (Let’s Fall in Love) by Ella Fitzgerald fills the air, Whisky swings her hips with a confidence that practically drips off her. With a dramatic unzip of her dress to reveal a strapless nude set beneath, she proves that confidence is the best accessory a woman can wear; and she’s rocking it. Every shimmy, every sway is an unapologetic celebration of who she is, and it’s impossible to look away.

Bella de Jac sassily strides onto the stage with all the confidence of someone who knows they’re about to command every pair of eyes in the room. Draped in a dusty rose-colored feather boa, Bella saunters and sways to the appropriately named track Sway by Michael Bublé. Bella has the audience wrapped around their finger with every wink, eyebrow wiggle and glance, playing a game of peek-a-book before letting the boa fall away to reveal a sparkling silver strapless number that demands your attention. The entire routine is a game of hide-and-seek—at one moment bashful and coy, and at the next, a confident showstopper.

Lyra la Belle is the crown jewel of the evening, and doesn’t she know it. As the director of Hot Sauce Productions and the show’s headliner, Lyra commands the stage with her signature blend of seduction, sass, and charming charisma. She begins her act with a classic feather fan routine, looking every bit the vintage showgirl in a dazzling white and gold ensemble complete with feather headdress, gold cage bustle and floral details on her corset and skirt. Her signature martini act is the show’s highly-anticipated grand finale, and it’s nothing short of spectacular. Ascending a set of gold steps, Lyra slips into the giant martini glass and begins her iconic routine, pouring Prohibition Gin over her body and even allowing some lucky front-row audience members the opportunity to join in. She squeezes a fake olive loofah, sending a glorious burst of bubbles cascading all over her. Faster than you can say “shaken, not stirred”, Lyra spins and swirls around the giant martini glass in one swift flourish, completing her cocktail making masterclass in effervescent style. Beware the splash zone, because you’ll get drenched in more ways than one as gin and soap fly through the air in a sexy yet sudsy spectacle.

This Adelaide Fringe, step right up to The Gin Martini Burlesque Revue, where the Roaring ‘20s are alive and kicking and the prohibition is in full swing, with gin flowing, jazz playing, and flappers frolicking. With a live jazz band led by sultry songbird Belle Ballard and a stellar lineup of class-act performers, this show is a celebration of classic burlesque, imbued with old time glamour, sultry sensuality, and a whole lot of fun. Produced by the ever-enigmatic Lyra la Belle of Hot Sauce Productions, this four-show-only extravaganza is an experience like no other that is not to be missed this Adelaide Fringe. There are a limited number of tickets still available for Thursday 13 March, but get in quick – tickets are flying faster than a flapper’s dance moves.