THE ANNUAL appearance of The Dirty Circus, Galway's burlesque and cabaret night, at the Vodafone Comedy Carnival, is as natural and traditional a pairing as stockings and suspenders.
The Dirty Circus is, of course, not really a night of the kind of depravity and filth that would make Caligula blush, rather it is a feast of sauce, sexiness, titillation, decadence, strip-tease, and glamour, the kind that might have made Kenneth Williams declare "Ooh! Matron!"
And there is another side to circus, and burlesque as well. As Miss Burlesque Ireland 2018, Bella AGoGo declares: "It's not about what you take off, but how you do it; and you don't even have to do it. It's about teasing the audience and being proud of your femininity. Burlesque is empowering for women. You’re always storytelling, whether that story be sad, happy, political, sexual, or satirical. Sometimes a bit of everything.”
Bella AGoGo headlines The Dirty Circus, in the Magic Mirrors Spiegeltent, Eyre Square, which this year will be in a primetime slot of Bank Holiday Sunday, October 28, at 9.30pm. The audience is encouraged to dress up for the night, the house rule is, "ladies wear your finest, and gentlemen, dress like gentlemen."
For more information and tickets see www.vodafonecomedycarnival.com