All the way from New Caledonia, a troupe of francophone burlesque beauties, Burlesque Noumea, has come to Boorloo FRINGE WORLD with the support of Briefs Factory to present their scrumptiously juicy show Fruits de la Passion. Led by company director Carine Raguin (aka Lady Carioca) and hosted by Miss Burlesque Australia Diesel Darling, Fruits de la Passion is a refreshing mix of tropical delights.

Diesel Darling has the enviable job of introducing Boorloo audiences to these ‘hidden’ gems of the South Pacific. Burlesque Noumea and its artistes have been growing a reputation in international burlesque circles for years, but are at last breaking into our little Fringe outpost for the first time. Among the troupe are five multi-faceted performers: Lady Carioca, Boomshaka Laka, Crazy Brownie, Lolipop, and Coco Pearl, along with two sizzling and sassy assistants.

The group numbers are hot and spicy with a sprinkling of silly. These ladies are not just beauties with dazzling moves, but they also have a touch of the clown in them. For instance, they make excellent use of the ‘there’s always one’ trope in the exercise class number, where 4 ladies are perfectly posed atop their bouncing exercise balls, while Crazy Brownie (Sandrine Moutonaco) steals the scene by going at the routine a bit more, shall we say, loosely.

Crazy Brownie took us in a completely different direction for her solo number, which added even more depth and range to the troupe’s showcase. She entered the stage dressed in a burlap sack and gold shackles and chains, then slowly liberated herself from these to reveal herself adorned in gold chains of a glamourous kind, standing strong, beautiful and proud before us. Out of the many burlesque performances I’ve seen over the years, this one is unique.

Diesel Darling takes a moment to acknowledge the powerful impact of that number and then quickly cracks a joke to shift the mood once again. Aside from sexy, side-splitting group numbers, solo numbers from Coco Pearl, Lady Carioca and Diesel Darling give us a variety of styles and surprises, with Coco giving a nod to her traditional roots, Carine jazzing it up in black velvet style, and Diesel serving champagne sparkles and backbends.

For the grand finale, we are treated to a surprise refreshment which I won’t ruin here, after which the party spills out onto the lawn in front of The Hat Trick, where the ladies are happy to pose for pics and and have a chat – I bet they’ll even let you try out your high school French on them. If ever there was a perfect advertisement to inspire your next holiday in paradise, the ladies from Burlesque Noumea are it.

As they say in Noumea – Allez!

CICELY BINFORD

Fruits de la Passion runs at The Hat Trick at The Pleasure Garden from 19 January – 4 February. For tickets and more information click here.