Amber's burlesque show's something not Topaz up on
HER publicity leaves you in no doubt about her act. "Saucy singing starlet Amber Topaz will blow your socks off with her cheeky burlesque cabaret and killer curves," it says on her website.
Or as one critic put it: "Shabammerlang!"
But what will Rotherham say?
Amber, aka former Oakwood Comprehensive schoolgirl Sheli Andrew, headlines the Rotherham Follies, a cabaret night in the famous Spiegeltent pitched in All Saints Square, as part of the annual Rotherham Open Arts Festival.
"It's the first time I have performed in Rotherham," says Sheli, whose family still live in the town. "My parents have seen my act and they were the first to buy tickets."
Red-haired Amber, more used to appearing in Paris, Rome and Russia, says she isn't going to shock Rotherham to its core.
"It's all perception so I don't know how to measure it. I don't do nudity and I always wear nipple tassels," she says.
"I wouldn't call myself a stripper and I don't like it when people call me that. I'm a showgirl."
Sheli won a Prince's Trust grant to go to a London performing arts college –the first person in the town to get a full grant – and trained as an actress in musical theatre. But it was during a run in Les Miserables in the West End that she wondered whether it was really for her.
"When you're an actress you become a professional auditioner!" she says, wryly.
"Someone suggested I should do burlesque and thought of a name, Amber Topaz. When I went to see an agent they asked for my name so I gave them that," she says.
The show, which runs for two nights on October 2 and 3, had been produced by Prof Vanessa Toulmin, founder and director of the National Fairground Archive at Sheffield University, and it comes with a 'health warning.'
It is not suitable for children under 16 due to some nudity, organisers warn parents – but it's not coming from Amber.
That will be provided by Lord Ritz, billed as "scandalous male burlesque." Vanessa says it will be very tasteful. "It's called boylesque. It's not the Chippendales, I can assure you. There is more nudity in any Northern city on a Friday night.
Festival director Sean Rourke says: "This is a high class act and there is nothing to object to at all." He said it was the sort of act which would be perfectly at home in the Spiegeltent.
The festival, which attracts up to 20,000 people over 10 days, is about more than nipple tassels and G-strings. Other big names include jazz guitarist Martin Taylor and folk legend Dave Swarbrick, neither of whom will be wearing them, and a Bhangra Night led by Satnam Singh. There will be plenty of other events and street theatre.
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Weather for Sheffield
Wednesday 08 February 2012
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