IrishMJ

"Mildly unhinged woman with a princess mentality is thwarted by her own mind while trying to perform stand-up. An effervescent performance or acute psychotic episode?" After reading that, how could I not go along and support my friend Sophia as she put on her one woman show  Princess Melancholy in Smock Alley , Dublin! It was a great show, very funny, but very real at times...  Maybe that was just for me, who knows! Anyway, if you get the chance to see the show, I'd really recommend it. Now, for a few photos:

It had been a few years since I'd visited Athlone, so, when I got the opportunity to shoot the Only After Dark Burlesque Show , I took it and made the most of the night! I started off meeting friends in Dead Centre Brewing for a few glasses of lemonade and a bite to eat.  It was very nice, staff were great, food was delicious, what more could you want? After that, it was time for a change of scenery, a change of pace and definitely, a change in atmosphere.  It was time for a bit of Burlesque! Only After Dark takes place upstairs in the Dark Horse , in a large open space, nicely decorated and, most importantly, with it's own bar.  During the show, to cut down on unnecessary movements, bar staff come to your table and take your orders,  it makes for a very pleasant experience! So, who performed on the night?  Well, the hostess, and indeed the lady behind Only After Dark, Miss Memphis Shell opened proceedings with a traditional burlesque routine, ending in nipple tassel twirling

I hadn't seen the Wild Geeze perform since the Peacock Parlour back in July '22, so when I got a message from Leela Baron saying she was performing her Champagne Act at their next show, I thought to myself, I really should go see that... Fast forward a week and I'm pulling up outside Kavanaghs in Stoneybatter.  The night got off to a great start, I got parking right outside the venue! I met up with Leela and then with Laura and Breda from the Wild Geeze.  I asked some questions (what can I shoot, what don't they want shot and so on...), did some test shots and then settled in and waited for the show to start. The crowd started to grow, each selecting a Green, Yellow or Red sticker to indicate whether the wearer was single, unsure or in a relationship.  Me?  I was wearing black, just like the colour of my broken heart, but that's a story for another day. And then the show kicked off and the crowd were treated to a wonderful night of cabaret.  As the locals sat dow

I kicked off the long weekend with a trip to Fuego Fatale in the Grand Social , Dublin.  Was there a better way to kick off the 3 day break?  I don't think so! We started off the night with three different fire performers, Zephyr Circus , Maiya Mooo and Shannon .  I'd never scene a live fire performance before, so to get 3 of them, one after the other, was superb!  Would I stick a lit torch down my throat?  Hell no, but these ladies did, and they did it with apparent ease! Zephyr Maiya Mooo Shannon After the excitement of the fire performers, we moved inside to be entertained by two traditional burlesque performances from Scarlett VanTassel where she teased and tantalised as we awaited a glimpse of her tassels!  No photos of those here though, nope, you have to be a paying punter for that! Zephyr then showed us all how to use not one, not two, not even three, but four hula-hoops all at once!  I got dizzy watching...  As a child, I couldn't even keep one hoop up!  Mind yo