Our final show this evening is yet another one-man show, except in this case it’s a woman, Burlesque artiste Miss Glory Pearl. Here’s the promotional blurb: “Live and undressed, join London Cabaret Award 2015 nominee Miss Glory Pearl, in her sell-out one-woman show. The Naked Stand-Up is a funny and heartfelt exploration of the body in the 21st century. Join Glory on a journey through legal absurdity, feminist cliché and the impossible beauty standards that leave us all feeling a little bit crappy about ourselves. If you’ve ever looked in the mirror and thought ‘Ugh!’ this show’s for you. She’s frank, she’s funny, and she isn’t wearing any clothes. ‘Funny and genuine … feel-good comedy at its best’ **** (BroadwayBaby.com).”

We’re perfectly attuned to the thought of seeing a naked body as part of a play, but a naked stand-up? I would have thought that was a really tough call. Stand-up comics always strike me as being just one step away from the abyss of vulnerability – at the most – so to put yourself through both types of exposure strikes me as just asking for trouble. So I shall be fascinated to see how Miss Glory Pearl handles herself (sorry.)

My expectation is that this is actually more of a scripted play than a genuine stand-up who might go into a flight of fantasy depending where the audience takes them. I’m hoping that there will be at least some room for deviating from what’s planned because I think that would be a real challenge. Anyway, I’m sure it will be entertaining – and also I think the audience might get put on the spot too, and that might be quite uncomfortable! It’s scheduled to take place at 23:00 in the Spotlites Main Theatre, so check back around midnight to see how we survived. The preview blog for the first of tomorrow’s shows should be online by then too. In the meantime, thanks for following our progress this evening!

Update:

Well Miss Glory Pearl certainly did what she said she would – walked on naked, chatted in a stand-up style for an hour and walked off naked. It wasn’t riotous stand-up, more a cosy chat really, concentrating on the benefits of feeling good about your body rather than being concerned about those bits we’re unhappy with. It was a revealing experience in more ways than one! Not her fault that there were only 15 of us – I think a larger audience would have made it funnier. Enjoyable nonetheless!