A MERRY POTTER CHRISTMAS

It’s Hogwarts as you’ve never seen it before, with a ‘party boy’ Draco Malfoy, a Voldemort who dances with snakes and a dominatrix Bellatrix.

There’s something delightfully perverse about a burlesque show based on a beloved children’s series. But as burlesque producer Onur Karaozbek observes, Harry Potter stopped being a kid’s thing long ago.

“It’s not for kids anymore,” he says. “That’s the whole premise of it, allowing adult readers and adult viewers of Harry Potter to have a bit of extra fun with the whole concept.”

Karaozbek is the man behind Gallery Burlesque, Sydney’s only art and burlesque night. After their sold-out show Harry Potter and the Curse of the Tassel Twirl in August, he decided to revisit the Potterverse with A Merry Potter Christmas.

“This time it’s more of a Christmas party, so the idea is, you know, experience Christmas Hogwarts style.”

Despite the slightly risqué nature of the show, Karaozbek says there are crucial differences between burlesque and more conventional ‘stripping’.

“Yes, it’s an adult concept but it’s all about having fun on stage. It has very little to do with the adult concept of stripping or sex or sexuality…you need to have a storyline, you need to be entertaining, be funny, you need to captivate the audience. It’s not just about taking your clothes off.”

Dec 9, The Standard, L 3/383 Bourke St, Surry Hills, $30, wearethestandard.com.au 

BY ANITA SENARATNA