Comic Strip

For fans of laughter and lady parts, Comic Strip is an ideal way to spend the evening. Alternating burlesque acts with standup sets, three artists from each medium take to the stage in a bid to amuse, and tantalise, in equal measure. Presiding over the evening’s entertainment is staunch trilby advocate Asher Treleaven, whose initial enthusiasm goes a long way in rousing the somewhat trepidatious crowd. But this rowdiness is quickly dampened by a rather passé turn from Cherry Shakewell dancing to ‘Goldfinger’, and a set from Stuart Goldsmith which does not go down at all well with tonight's crowd.

Thankfully, ‘Queen of kink’ Gypsy Wood is on hand to revive the atmosphere, and her dazzling, feathered theatrics have the audience back onside. Wood, who co-produces the show, adds some much needed vaudevillian glamour to the occasion, and the velvet drapery of the Salon Elegance is the perfect frame for her classy act. After a comedic interlude from Jen Brister, who is thoroughly entertaining until a disastrous anecdote that sees her miming cutting ham for several painful minutes, it is the turn of cabaret stalwart Kitty Bang Bang to take to the stage. In a routine miles away from her usual pyrotechnical prowess, Kitty is less cat that got the cream, more cat that spat the cream all over her naked body. And one traumatised audience member.

Bizarre lactose stunts aside, there are several diamond nipple tassels to be found in this rough comedy cabaret, but a more selective choice of comics might add a bit more substance to the style.