by MATTHEW HAYS

It isn't often that I get to take in a show that makes references to the Weimar Republic, the '70s feminist horror classic The Stepford Wives, Benny Hill, Carol Burnett and '80s Budweiser beer commercials. But then the performers and writers behind the Scandelles Burlesque Revue are quick to point out that they're not setting out to put on your average stage show - quite the opposite, in fact.

"This is our own interpretation of modern-day cabaret show," says Sasha Van Bon Bon (aka Sasha, the Mirror's sex columnist). "Eclectic would be the word for what we're doing. Basically, we're a crew of different people with very different ideas and inspirations. We've put this show together in our own, admittedly offbeat image."

Offbeat would be the word. Boasting personas with monikers like Kitty Neptune, Chad Logan, Cooter Nipplestein and Otto Tickler, sketches include the recreation of a bawdy Victorian spanking film (using a strobe to simulate the shaky-projector feel), a Cabaret (the movie) style skit about a gay man flirting with Nazi homoeroticism, an '80s-style striptease relying heavily on the aesthetic of a Budweiser beer commercial, and a scene involving one member singing her own rendition of Olivia Newton-John singing "Xanadu," while Sasha herself delves into the Italian erotic films of the '60s and '70s to do a naughty-nun number.

And the Scandelles pride themselves on voluntary audience involvement; their shows often include Bare-a-oke, in which viewers who wish to join the Scandelles on stage and bare some skin can do so and compete for prizes.

Steering clear of the straight and narrow

Clearly, this is not a straightforward - nor very straight - burlesque revival. While acknowledging the troupe's clear debt to mid-century burlesque, Sasha says that that aspect of more traditional burlesque is merely one part of the Scandelles' complex act.

"Yes, we do a bump-and-grind throwback to American mid-century burlesque - but that pin-up style didn't do it entirely for me. I liked the idea of a burlesque show that was eclectic and different, while also true to the spirit of burlesque. I feel that burlesque is the ideal form of artistic, physical, comic and sexual expression for entertainers who choose not to fit into mainstream ideas of entertainment."

While shaking up the cabaret scene in Canada, the Scandelles help to form part of an international resurgence of interest in burlesque. A staple of the underground bars and speakeasies in the early and mid 20th century, burlesque began experiencing something of a renaissance a decade ago, when Velvet Hammer, a Los Angeles-based ensemble of strippers, began to enact retro style burlesque strip acts. This group of predominantly queer strippers found notoriety and popularity in California, where many audiences had grown weary of the tired clichés inherent in most strip acts of the time.

Sasha says her interest in burlesque pre-dates the recent revival. "I think I was doing burlesque before I even knew what it was," she says. "There's always been a certain theatricality to what I've done." Sasha began stripping while living in Montreal 11 years ago, appearing in a series of small clubs. Even then, she recalls breaking from stripping conventions of the time, something that didn't always go down well with patrons. "I loved stripping, but I was always doing this operatic, over-the-top, film noir, fag-haggety type thing. A lot of audience members didn't want that kind of a challenge. I'll never forget when I recognized my Grade 8 math teacher in the crowd - an odd moment, for sure. But burlesque always seemed like the right place for me."

When Sasha moved to Toronto she found herself in for a series of nasty shocks. "Stripping in Toronto felt like something else entirely," she says now. "There seemed to be a fair bit of hostility and lap dancing was something you were just expected to do. I was like, ‘Whoa, this is not what I signed up for.'"

Dangerette zone

In 1998, Sasha teamed up with Pussy Lemieux to form the Dangerettes, a duo backed up by a live band that performed variations on old-school burlesque stripteases. "We knew we liked the traditional striptease. We both liked making costumes and had a similarly zany sense of humour."

Eventually, the Dangerettes were reaching a critical mass. Word was spreading like prairie wildfire about the duo, packing houses in Toronto, with demand growing for longer shows, more skits and new injections of energy. "We had to start bringing other people in, as we were drawing hundreds of people to our shows," Sasha says. "It was amazing how word of mouth was spreading."

Sasha says the group was intent upon being more than simply a retro hommage. Emphasis was put on pushing boundaries of gender and sexual orientation, something the Scandelles are particularly proud of. "Drag kings and drag queens were drawn to the troupe because of their own gender defiance. Women seemed attracted to us as outsiders, seeing as the personas we'd created for ourselves were clearly non-traditional." Sasha points to drag king and fellow Scandelle-ette King Flare's act as an example of brazen genderfuck: "Flare goes from being a girl to being a boy to being a girl again, all within the span of three minutes! It's très Victor/Victoria."

After morphing into the Scandelles almost three years ago, this merry band of thespian troublemakers have surged in stature and demand. Shows that once were performed every six months have now become a monthly or even twice-monthly necessity. "It's been difficult keeping up with demand," says Kitty Neptune, another Scandelle. "We're doing a lot of private parties as well."

Neptune, who trained in traditional musical theatre at Toronto's Randolph Academy, says the Scandelles' off-kilter sensibility has allowed her to do what she always wanted to do: to explore the unusual possibilities of cabaret and burlesque: "I'm not really interested in The Lion King or Mamma Mia. I'm doing what I went to school for, instead of waiting for an agent to call for something I'm not so interested in."

As well, a key part of the Scandelles' appeal is their championing of unusual body types and challenging of body fascism. "The idea of precisely what is sexy and what is beautiful is something we're playing with here," says Sasha, who cites as major influences both Mae West and David Lee Roth. "We're people of all different body types, which is something the audiences have really appreciated, proving you don't have to be a supermodel to be sexy."

The Scandelles Burlesque Revue will unravel at La Sala Rossa (4848 St-Laurent) this Saturday, Nov. 22 and Monday, Nov. 24. doors open at 9pm and show starts at 10:30pm. DJ Denise Benson will spin both nights. $12. Info: 495-0444

>> Stage Listings