Add a touch of grey this Valentine’s Day

For those interested in a raunchier night out this Valentine’s Day, look no further than Burlesque collective Per-Verse Productions. Valentimes: A Strange Love Cabaret! will come to Kings Cross Hotel on Feb 14, perfectly timed to coincide with the release of the film 50 Shades of Grey.

Co-Producer and dancer, Bella Louche, says: “We did a similar show when the book was first released, around two years ago, and now that the movie is happening we thought we’d revamp it and make it a bit more theatrical.”

The show, which runs one night only, will use humour and sexuality to showcase the many forms of romance including paraphilia, blindfolds and even a realm of custard, toasters and shoes.

Ms. Louche says: “We just thought on Valentine’s day, the official day of love, we’d put on a parody to show all the different ways people can express romance, love and sex with each other.”

The often taboo topic of S&M has noticeably eclipsed in popularity with the global phenomenon of 50 Shades of Grey. Louche says of the franchise: “I have been fascinated by fetish culture for a long time, we were obsessed with the movie Secretary when it came out. I remember I finished Uni and people started talking about a book called 50 Shades of Grey, we thought it was a very interesting novel, and then it became really popular.”

Dubbed ‘mommy porn’, 50 Shades of Grey became the highest selling novel of all time. The tale of a powerful man who sets his sights on a vulnerable heroine is a storyline not unknown to our literary sphere, it was even the basis for another sold-out franchise, Twilight. Despite critics slamming author E.L. James for poor writing, her exploration of a topic so rarely explored in popular fiction has earned 50 Shades its notoriety and success. Louche believes the idea of S&M becoming more mainstream to the masses has positive effects: “What’s so interesting about 50 Shades is that even middle aged white class mothers are reading the book, my mother has and we’ve discussed it together. This is good because it opens a whole new world, you realise that all sorts of people like so many different types of things.”

Former stage performer, Bronwyn Joan, believes the fact that 50 Shades has placed S&M on a more public platform is out of place with it’s core ideas: “While sexuality and storytelling are great components, the idea of S&M has always been more exciting and powerful because of its closeted nature. People feel they’re doing something mysterious and secretive, it is essentially meant to be a private thing.”

S&M, which stands for Sadism and Masochism, involves the practice of using pain as a sexual stimulate. Role play, toys and even torture have been synonymous with S&M, rituals that E.L. James weaved throughout 50 Shades as a prominent part of not just a sexual experience, but a modern day love story.

Joan adds: “Exposing it to the masses, which is what 50 Shades has definitely done, kind of defeats the purpose of it being a thrilling kink in most people’s otherwise ordinary lives.”

Per-verse Productions have toured to both the Outback and Victoria with their Burlesque shows, but Louche thinks Sydney audiences are the most receptive they’ve encountered: “In Sydney we’re really creative, there’s so many underground warehouse shows behind closed doors, audiences have been really open to our shows.”

The collective have also been approached by local pubs: “Many around the area have contacted us, to bring a little oomph and something a bit unusual to the Friday night scene in Sydney,” says Louche.  “The idea of grabbing the audiences attention with comedy and sexuality and something a bit more modern, really fascinated us.”

Louche finished Uni and took to Burlesque dancing immediately where she met partner Memphis Mae, her co-creator in the collective: “I met Memphis at a show four years ago. We didn’t see many alternative themed shows happening in the Sydney scene. There was a lot of classic Burlesque, which is 40s and 50s style performing. There’s a lot of focus on glamour that goes with those eras, but we really liked the basic conventions of Burlesque”

Memphis Mae adds: “The Sydney burlesque scene is not like any other in Australia, we strive to be new and inventive. Sydney takes a lot more risks than most other states which is what makes us unique. The creative art scene in Sydney definitely crosses over with the Burlesque scene.”

Louche and Mae infuse elements of modern-day culture into their shows, giving a new twist to Burlesque. Mae says: “Valentimes is the perfect example of this. We’ve created a show where we explore many different styles of not only Burlesque but performance art in general. It essentially experiences the weird and wonderful of the Sydney arts community.”

Valentimes: A Strange Love Cabaret!, Feb 14, Kings Cross Hotel, $30-$40