Audrey Hipturn - Burlesque Performer FF#15

Photo credit: Louis Martins Photography

For our international Women's day special coming up this Sat the 10th March, we have a Fèmmme Fraîche first, as we fulfil our pledge to support female artists of all creative disciplines, we welcome our first female performer Audrey Hipturn to the stage. The Canadian-born, London-based sassy, sexy, sultry, sadistic, seductress Audrey Hipturn, is a burlesque performer, alternative model and a lover of all things glamorous and dark. The onyx-haired, red-lipstick wearing Gothic vixen, could easily be the lesbian love child of Dita Von Teese and Morticia Addams. She has a wide repertoire of acts from swing & jazz, to gender-bending performances, from moody and sultry, to a more classic showgirl style, with a particular penchant for performing at queer venues, we're extremely excited to have her perform for us at Fèmmme Fraîche. We had a quick chat with Audrey Hipturn prior to her performance, to give us a tantalising taster of what to expect. 

photo credit: Nate Black Photography

Audrey Hipturn

Hi Audrey, thanks for having a chat with us today, we're super excited about your performance this weekend. So tell us a little bit about yourself, you’ve been involved in the Burlesque scene for over 6 years, what first drew you to Burlesque and how did you first get involved in performing on the scene?

I first became involved in burlesque in Ottawa with a troupe which then after some time progressed to solo acts. I think I was initially asked to join as I am generally a pretty ridiculous and open minded person and my friends that had just started performing thought I would be a good fit.

Which artists would you say you take most inspiration from?

The source of my inspiration is ever evolving as I try to get out as much as possible to a varied mix of events to be inspired and be exposed to new styles of dance, performance art, etc. London has been a huge source of inspiration for me as the creativity and talent in this city is astounding!

You mention that you have a wide repertoire of acts, but what is your personal favourite style of performance?

My favourite style is anything that really pushes me to learn and improve dance skills and become a better performer. I have a tendancy to gravitate to things that are glamorous and avant garde. I always really enjoy doing duets with other performers as you can throw together your styles and ideas that really play off each other

You recently moved from Canada to London, how does the Burlesque scene differ over there from here?

The scene in Vancouver is really incredible and has a strong community so definitely missed home quite a bit when I first moved here. It always takes a while to make connections when moving to a new city/country and feel settled but most of the performers here I have performed alongside have been very welcoming. I have met some really amazing, genuine and not to mention hilarious individuals and have really started to put down some roots

The unapologetic humour and side show style performances I've seen here really do it for me. You can find this in Canada but it isn't as prevalent perhaps because London is such a big city it leaves room for having more niche genre shows which is really incredible in itself. There also seems to be a lot more opportunity to be a full time burlesque artist as there are so many shows going on at all times in London and in the cities close by. It would be wonderful to perform full time, but I love my nerdy science job too much so I have to settle for moonlighting as a professional glamorous clothing remover.

What are your favourite Burlesque shows or performers in London?

As for my favourite performers, this city is so full of talent I would never be able to choose! Some of my favourite shows to attend and perform in are LADS, Cabaret at the Curtain and Vicious Von Vixens Vaudeville among several others. I especially have a soft spot for gender bending performance artists or the dark and macabre.

And finally, what can we expect to see from you on Saturday?

A whole lot of glamour and skin!

So there you have it, a small insight into the Burlesque world of Audrey Hipturn, make sure you catch her performance at this Saturdays Femmme Fraiche at Dalston Superstore and follow her on her socials below