Dublin's most decadent night out is just an old-fashioned bit of fun, Tassel Club creator Sara Colohan tells Kevin Courtney
'I'm quite a prude really," says Sara Colohan, thrusting two glittering, red, heart-shaped nipple tassels into my hand. "I've never even tried on a pair of tassels."
She's being coy, of course; as the woman behind The Tassel Club, Dublin's most decadent, debauched night out, Colohan is the happy ringmistress of a rude and racy circus, featuring breathtaking feats of bosom gymnastics, dangerous balancing acts, jaw-dropping dance routines, unruly usherettes and saucy striptease. Not the kind of thing Mary Whitehouse would have been queuing up to see.
So how did a nice girl from Galway end up instigating this feast of nocturnal naughtiness, coming to a secret location in Dublin next Wednesday? It began, she says, when she was working as a fashion stylist and journalist for an Irish magazine, and went on an unforgettable assignment in London.
"I was working on a fashion story for Irish Tatler, and I saw a picture of Immodesty Blaise, who is a superstar of burlesque. So I went along and I interviewed her and I just fell in love with the whole idea."
Within three weeks of meeting Immodesty Blaise, Colohan had started The Tassel Club, staging it once every few months at The Sugar Club, and bringing in some of the top burlesque artists from around the world. Her ever-expanding troupe of performers, dancers, striptease artists and contortionists include such names as Fancy Chance, Miss Lily White, Gwendoline Lamour, Lucifire, Indigo Blue, Epiphany and Miss Devilla de Dallas. Between them, these ladies (and one gent named KXB) will raise temperatures on even the coldest winter night.
But before you start calling up the lads and arranging your stag night, Colohan would like to point out that The Tassel Club bears no relation to the lap-dancing clubs which are proliferating in every town and village. Prudes may disapprove of this saucy cabaret, but pervs probably won't like it either - so you can take off that plastic mac right now.
"I think it's brilliant that people are embracing burlesque, because it's titillation, it's tease. It's not gratuitous, it's not over-saturation.
"Sometimes you just get a glimpse, and you never see nipples, you never see full nudity. And it's done in an environment where it's fun, and there's audience participation, and it's just so much more healthy. The way the adult entertainment industry is going, I don't see it as progress, I don't see it as ooh, Dublin has finally found its place on the European map because we have a Stringfellows. I'm not really that prudish, but I don't buy into the idea that we need lap-dancing clubs."
For this up-and-coming young Celtic tigress, neo-burlesque represents a return to old-fashioned, 1940s-style film noir and cabaret, where what you don't see is often as exciting as what you do see. The world's most famous burlesque artist, Dita von Teese, who recently married rock star Marilyn Manson in Co Tipperary, has helped to revive the art, while pop star Goldfrapp brings saucy burlesque routines into her live shows. And the influence of burlesque on the fashion industry is eye-poppingly plain to see.
"Even though it's borrowed from something very old, the neo-burlesque revival is just this lovely mix of old classic style with something new," says Colohan. "And it's just really exciting. And it's also the way it can incorporate everybody. That's why we're getting so many couples in the audience. Guys want to go because it's a little bit racy and they get to see tassel-twirling. Girls go because it's a chance to dress up in an environment where it's not at all sleazy. It's not separatist - gay, straight, couple, single - it's a party."
And what a party. Where else would you see a jilted bride standing at the altar, stripping off her wedding dress and twirling her tassels? Or Alice in Wonderland doing something even curiouser and curiouser than you could imagine? Or modern girls doing can-can and Charleston dancing? Or someone doing the box splits (a more demanding version of the splits), twirling their tic-tacs faster than the propellors of an aeroplane, and lighting up the room by setting fire to their tassels?
THE TASSEL CLUB has been running for two years now, and besides putting up the "house full" signs at the Sugar Club and the Spiegeltent, the troupe has performed at the Lost Vagueness tent at Electric Picnic, at the launch of the new Renault range, and at the opening of the new Habitat store on College Green.
Next Wednesday, the club is having its Christmas party, and you are all invited - for €30 a head. Guests will be taken by blacked-out coach from Café en Seine and whisked to a secret location in Dublin. On arrival, they'll be treated to vodka cocktails, canapés and chocolate, followed by live swing and jazz, a burlesque show, naughty Christmas carols and dancing till 2.30am.
"I'd hate to think that there are people who want to go to our event but are staying away because they think it's too risqué," says Colohan. "My 64-year-old aunt is coming to the Christmas party. If you like live music mixed with comedy, mixed with swing dancing, a little bit of sauce, great costumes, and an environment where everybody is dressed up as well, you'll love it."
The Tassel Club's Burlesque Deluxe Mystery Christmas Party takes place on Wed, Dec 14, at a secret location. Tickets: €30 from www.ticketmaster.ie or www.thetasselclub.com