Strait Street, Valletta, evokes a certain past period in the life of our capital; one that comes with a whiff of sleaze, rowdy bars, off-limits activities and titillation.
It is a past that is being recalled in a more gentrified way today with the opening of new bars and restaurants in the old music halls and dives. Many of these face-lifted venues make play of the heyday of Strait Street when Burlesque art forms were all the rage, and regular entertainment for off-duty servicemen.
Now though, Burlesque is back in Valletta for real with the 9th edition of what promises to be another sell-out show by the talented team of Dazzle Troupe. We do sometimes reference Valletta and its sleazy past, especially in this show which has a WW2 theme. After the first show which turned out to be so well received, we decided to keep going and they have flourished over the past four years and are as much fun as ever!
However, the formula of this show goes back to Victorian times, though these shows are not reenactments and have now evolved into something unique with a definite Maltese flavour.
The owner is a lovely man too and I think its my favorite location yet. I come up with a theme and then approach the die-hard, regular members of the troupe and bounce ideas around with them to come up with a sketch. With each show I work a little differently to keep perfecting the working practice. Then we meet for rehearsals and develop the ideas.
