After Renee Magritte, Yves Klein is my favourite painter. Logic and reason tell me that I shouldn’t like enormous, sheer blue canvasses but lord help me I do. If you have no interest in modernist monochrome painting then this interview may not be for you. If however like me you have beheld the work of Yves Klein and always wondered what that famous blue paint would look like when poured all over a topless, writhing 1960s styled Secret Agent temptress with nipple tassels, leather corsets, a replica handgun and Union Jack pants, then read on.

I’m always curious about people that take their clothes off. You originally worked a comparatively normal job in the advertising industry. What happened? Did you need a thrill? Did you feel oppressed? A long-held desire to be on stage? What made you want to start performing Burlesque?

I think when I first came to London I was really trying to find my identity. I was quite creative at school but then I did a Law degree and found it really exhausting because I didn’t feel passionate about it. And I remembered feeling passionate about the things I was writing at school, and doing art and I went from that to doing Law - which I just didn’t connect with. I went into advertising because it seemed like a marriage between creativity and business. I thought that it was a good option and that it would fulfil this creative impulse. When I started I got put on a Microsoft account, which I just couldn’t stand. It was conference calls to Russia and you never got to see any of the creative work and I just felt jaded really by the whole experience. I got called up by another agency who were really creative and they offered me a job. One week into that job I had my first burlesque gig. During that period I’d been dressing up and going to all these cabaret nights and I got approached by a photographer who said to me, “You know you look really like Diana Rigg” And I said, “Cool.” Because I love her and I’ve always really loved that 60s glamour, so it was really nice that he approached me. He asked if I wanted to do some photos. To be honest I was quite flattered - I’d never been a model or done any of that sort of thing before – so I said, “Yeah, cool.” He’d done lots of photos of various dancers and he said to me that I should really think about doing it. I just dismissed it, because I hadn’t come from a performance background at all. I just thought that taking my clothes off on stage sounded absolutely terrifying. But I found out that a friend of a friend was a dancer, and my friend said to me: “If you’re curious why don’t you go and have a lesson with her?” So I went to Brighton and had an hour lesson with a girl called Cherry Shakewell and I really loved it. So then I came up with a basic idea for an act and emailed Bethnal Green Working Men’s club, who booked me for my first show. I guess it was quite an organic thing really.

Why is the Burlesque scene blossoming at the moment?

I think there was the trend in the 90s for all the massive nightclubs and the dance scene. I think things have moved on and people got a bit bored of that and wanted something more intimate. This sort of cabaret/burlesque scene has been growing since say, 2004. I think people like those smaller venues and I think they’re looking for a different kind of entertainment. It’s more of an accessible arts thing. A lot of people come who wouldn’t fork out to go to the theatre – which is really expensive – but they would go to a bar, and pay six, seven, maybe ten pounds to see a cabaret show and I think that’s a really good thing.

What is the best performance you’ve ever done?

I think that the best one that I ever did was a show I did in Paris for the anniversary of Serge Gainsbourg’s death. I did an Yves Klein inspired show. I’d had flashes of inspiration and it all nicely slotted together with all the ideas and what Serge Gainsbourg was all about. I was referencing a lot of things that the French people really hold dear and I was quite nervous about it because it’s quite a risqué show in some senses and I just really wasn’t sure how it would go down but hoped they’d like it. When I finished I got a standing ovation, I got the best responses and I think it was because as French people, to watch something like that, and to have a British person come in and do something that really tapped into their mainline of culture; they loved it. And so did I – I had so much fun.

And what was the act?

I wanted to do something with Je T’aime; I’ve always loved that song. It’s so of the era for me, and I love that Serge is just a dirty bastard basically. And the lyrics! I didn’t realise quite how filthy they are but it’s great. I wanted to do something really over the top and sexy, Yves Klein was a good way to get into the performance; he’s French… The models that he covered in blue paint – it’s all quite static – almost non-sexual. I also liked the idea of the blue – I had this big flag hung up at the back of the stage and I became the blue part of the Tricolore flag. I really liked that idea of the French sexiness somehow completing the French identity.

And what made you want to incorporate some modernist monochrome painting into your overtly filmic 1960s repertoire?

I think the paintings themselves are really beautiful. And the whole paint over naked skin thing – it’s sexy. I like the idea that with Yves Klein it was his thing. He was directing it, he was putting the paint on the models – I liked the fact that it was me who was pouring blue paint over myself and looking like I was having a jolly good time doing it. And it was fun to do; it does actually feel really nice… It does strangely smell like school though because it’s poster paint.

Burlesque and cabaret are filled with nostalgia and a sense of longing for by-gone ages. What do you think people are hoping to find when looking so definitely to the past? Are they looking for something that’s missing from the present, or are they looking away from what’s here now?

One of the reasons I think women especially like coming to burlesque is the glamour. I think people see these past decades as being more glamourous. It was about nipped in waists and good bras. People get to see you dressed up in a different way to the fashion of the time. Although that’s changing with the vintage fashion scene. I think it’s a reaction against the whole jeans-and-t shirt style. Getting dressed up is fun and I think that’s definitely one of the appeals of burlesque. In terms of escaping – burlesque now is not just recreating acts of the 40s and 50s, it does have a definite modern twist and take on it. I think that’s a good thing: mixing up the decades.

Is it something about looking back to a more naïve time, particularly yourself with the 60s vibe. Looking to a time when nudity and sexuality were changing, becoming liberated – essentially when nudity and sexuality were still exciting; were still new. Before the Internet came along putting octopuses into sex slaves and ruining titillation for us all.

Definitely. The 60s was full of it. The reason that there were all these Review clubs was because there was no access to naked pictures of women. And the whole bawdy, music hall British humour – that was the same type of thrill, you know: showing yer bloomers. It all relates back to the thrill of it. And I think the reason women, heterosexual women, enjoy watching burlesque is the mystery, the story telling and it’s the concealing. Because it’s not explicit and I think that’s a good thing; I think that’s what people find sexy. If you just went up there stark-bollock naked and opened your legs, I don’t think people would find that very appealing. I think the sexiness is in the mystery and the tease of burlesque.

What are you trying to do to nudity?

I think it’s about being relaxed about you body, understanding it, understanding the power of its sexuality, but presenting that in a positive way. One of the nice things about burlesque is that we’re all in control of what we’re doing; we’re not being exploited. I definitely don’t think of myself as being exploited. We’re certainly not in it for the massive wadges of cash. It’s a very different approach. Also there is no prescribed body type for burlesque. It’s a good thing to be able to say ‘My body’s not perfect but here I am, having the time of my life and the power to be up here’ that’s a really healthy thing for other women to see. Celebrate bodies!

In my mind Burlesque is very much about performance and showmanship. Whatever the balance of showing / not showing may be, you are still always teasing someone. Do you consider Burlesque as Art or Entertainment?

I think elements of both. I’m the first to admit that I don’t regard what I do as ‘High Art’. I think it’s something accessible, I think it’s something fun. It is definitely entertaining. I’m not necessarily creating anything new - a lot of it is parody. I think the joy of creating is drawing all these references and elements together and putting a different twist on it. Yves Klein already existed, those paintings did, but combining it with Serge; a live performance, elements of Blow up and creating the French flag on stage - that is new. There’s originality in its format. And I like that if you come to a show, you may never have heard of Yves Klein – it’s like joining the dots. I’m putting these big signs pointing towards things that I love about the decade, Barbarella, The Avengers… I like celebrating my influences. That’s the great thing about it; it’s pop culture.

So do you feel that with burlesque you can say; I love all of these things, I love performing on stage, I love modern art, I love…

Yeah. You can pretend to be your favourite character and it’s a real thrill. I did always want to be a Bond Girl and now I get to be one in my own fantasy, over the top way and it’s really good fun and it is thrilling. People take it to different levels. I know girls who do straightforward 1940s showgirl routines and they’re great fun to watch if they’re done well. With other people they can be more political, or they make more of a comment. I think you can make comments through your act. I have a friend called Louise De Ville and she does a lot of gender play which is quite interesting; but she has to make it entertaining; with burlesque you have to make it so that people will watch it. I don’t think you really want to get too highbrow about it. I see burlesque as an essentially feel-good thing. You want to hear people laugh, making noise, having a good time and it can be beautiful – you just don’t want to get too hung up on being an artist.

I’ve never been able to justifiably ask this question to anyone before: Have you ever caused moral outrage?

Moral outrage…?

The reactions I’ve had when I tell people what I do have been largely positive. Even a few years ago when burlesque wasn’t as popular or well known as it is today, people were fine with it. I did have a few comments but I think that’s largely people who haven’t been to a show and don’t understand what it’s like. I’m not saying that there’s anything wrong with being a straightforward stripper but it’s not what I do and I don’t think you can really compare it. It is a performance and it does have elements of sexuality in it, but the purpose is not to arouse. That’s the difference. People that are coming to see my show, are coming to see a burlesque show so there’s not much chance of them getting offended. Although sometimes at festivals I was playing comedy tents and you’d see small children there and be thinking ‘Should they be watching this?’ but their parents were there so…

Would you consider yourself a natural exhibitionist or a consummate performer?

I wouldn’t say I’m a consummate performer, I’m still learning. I’d say that I’m constantly trying to become better and do more things. When I started off I really wasn’t great. Wasn’t from a performance background, hadn’t studied dance. I felt like I had the ideas but not necessarily the right idea of movement to put it all together. In terms of the exhibitionist, I think I’ve definitely become more of an exhibitionist. I am a lot more relaxed. When I did my first performance I was absolutely terrified. If I had that same fear now I couldn’t do it three times a week because I’d be a nervous wreck.

Do you feel challenged by burlesque?

Yeah, there are some really good performers out there and not just in burlesque, cabaret performers in general. I don’t think that dancers should measure themselves by just burlesque but look outside of it too. If you try to push the bar higher then shows can only get better and the standard of cabaret will go up. The danger is now is that because it’s getting popular, so many more people are starting to do it – obviously everyone’s got to start somewhere. But I feel the risk is that people may come to a burlesque night where it’s only inexperienced performers and think that’s all that burlesque is – something half-baked or amateurish and a bit rubbish. And that would be a shame because there is so much talent out there. On the nights when there is just one burlesque act after another it can become this conveyor belt of flesh and that gets a bit much for me, you’ve got to keep on pushing and keeping the standard up. And really, some of the best burlesque dancers in the world are here in London.

Who do you think are the best at the moment?

My friends! I’d say the people I enjoy watching the most are people like Vicky Butterfly – I was dancing with her last night. She’s got a great Belle Époque 20s look and she’s great. Kitty Bang Bang is an excellent dancer and she’s so energetic. I was really impressed with Louise De Ville who I worked with recently - she’s an American but she lives in Paris. She gave me some really good constructive feedback on my shows which helped me. I liked her comedy and her concept. She was pretty slick on that and I like her act a lot.

Is burlesque the acceptable face of Page 3?

Laughs. Well without the fake tits I think! There’s not many fake boobs in burlesque. I think it’s different, I think the aspirations of a Page 3 girl are probably very different to the aspirations of a burlesque dancer. I think burlesque is an acceptable form of accessible sexuality and that’s a good thing. Couples come together and enjoy it. I think it’s something that you could bring your mother to, or you could go as a couple, or a load of single girls. I’ve had people come up to me and say, “Oh you’ve inspired me to do a strip tease for my boyfriend.” And I’m like, “Brilliant.”

Have you got any projects or performances coming up in the near future?

I made a Super 8 film of my Je T’aime shows and that’s all edited now so I think I’m going to have a Valentine’s French extravaganza: screen the film, have a few of my French friends come over and perform and do some kind of homage… I’m also working on a new act with an exploding bra, sort of Fembot style. I found a guy who can make me one of those.

Is that not dangerous?

Probably…

Also in thise series:

Introduction: Where is Performance Now?

Rob, Abi, Sarah & Performance

Nathan Penlington & Poetry

Dolly Dewhurst-Marks & Dance

More Agent Lynch