About

The Show

What people love about Hoochie Coochie the most, is the variety of different types of performers.

Our cutting edge approach to cabaret seamlessly blends burlesque and traditional vaudeville entertainment, with art forms such as contemporary circus, dance and physical theatre, drag, b-boy skills such as beat boxing, break dancing, graffiti spray and some things that are just so bizarre and obscure they don’t even seem to have a category.

Hoochie Coochie has hosted and the cream of the crop of British cabaret entertainment.

Just to name a few of the amazing performers who have graced the stage include:
The Art Tart, Beatrix Von Bourbon, Dennis Teeth, Ed Muir, Empress Stah, Fancy Chance, Frank Sanazi, General Suttle Tease, Keda Breeze, Kitty Bang Bang, Lit Company, Lucifire, Marawa, Missy Malone, Ophelia Bitz, Pangottic, Physical Jerks, Ruby Blues, Ryan Styles, Samantha Hasthorpe, Vicky Butterfly Vid Warren and The Two Wrongies. You may also see roaming performers at Hoochie Coochie such as fire dancers, artists, magicians or beautiful African showgirls offering you bon bon’s.

The After Party

After the show has ended, Metropolis transforms into a ballroom, and much dancing and debauchery takes place to the sound of the sensational Bang DJ’s. The Music ‘Bang’ plays will make you hark back to music you forgot you loved, so bring your dancing shoes! Such genre’s include; rhythm and blues, northern soul, electro clash, punk, ska, glam rock, 80’s electronica, and much, much more.

Dining

Metropolis has a menu for those wishing to order food. All food is freshly prepared by their own chef using local ingredients. If you want to eat it is advisable to book a table seat

Dressing up

Dressing up isn’t compulsory at Hoochie Coochie, but if you don’t, you’ll probably really wish you did. One of the best things about Hoochie is its carnival atmosphere; with everyone in flamboyant costume the audience become as much part of the show as performers.
For each show we have a costume theme; however this is just to give inspiration and doesn’t need to be stuck to by the book. The fun part is how everyone interprets it. At a Hoochie Coochie you could see people dressed in any of the following; sharp suits and glamorous dresses, as retro bombshells, glam rock stars, men in dresses and girls in moustaches, Georgian aristocrats, showgirls, ringmasters or even circus animals. The more bizarre the better.
There are often prizes for the best dressed.

Photography

You are welcome to take photographs of you and your friends before and after the performances. However our performers do not wish to be photographed and we very much regret that anyone filming or photographing during the performance will be asked to leave. To see photographs of the stage show check this site as we put up our favourites after the event. Or you can visit Nathan Hicks and Ragdoll Photography’s Myspace pages. If you are a professional photographer interested in taking photographs at Hoochie Coochie please feel free to contact us. You can see a selection of photos of past Hoochie Coochie events in the gallery.

History

Hoochie Coochie’s creator Keda Breeze began performing burlesque back in 2003, when it was little known as an art form outside of London. On finding that no one knew what it was, let alone had stages she could perform it on, in her home town of Bristol, she decided to pioneer burlesque and cabaret there. In July 2004 at The Cube Cinema, Keda hosted Cabaret Girlesque – “an all girl line up of of Bristol’s hottest music, circus and burlesque acts” where she starred alongside her sister and fellow current Bristol Legend Emily Breeze.

In 2005 Girlesque spawned into Hoochie Coochie. It was held at The Old Mauretania in Bristol which a wonderful antique interior with wood panelled walls and domed ceiling that had been taken from the Mauretania ship, as well as wonderful private members rooms. At this time burlesque was a raw and exciting art form, as it so shocking to see a woman take off her clothes onstage. Hoochie was frequented by an alternative and arty crowd, and the whole thing had a wonderfully dark and underground feel.

Later that year Keda put Hoochie Coochie to bed for a while, in order to concentrate on her performance career, which was starting to gather momentum. Keda then went on to become a true star of the British cabaret scene, as well as much in demand at high profile and prestigious events.

In November 2007 Hoochie Coochie was back. The Invisible Circus had squatted a Cathedral in Bristol and turned it into a performance space. It was such an impressive venue with a huge stage, pillars and stucco, and then in true Bristol style covered in beautiful graffiti murals of vines and golden flowers. Keda couldn’t resist putting on an event there, and hosted “Burlesque Spectacular”. She was amazed when tickets sold out within days, and a ticket to Hoochie Coochie became the hottest thing in Bristol.

As burlesque and Hoochie Coochie were now so popular, she decided to continue curating shows. Hoochie Coochie then moved to Metropolis, its current home where she programmed three more burlesque events. As Keda had reached the top of the burlesque profession she began to look for new challenges. She began to explore new performance forms including contemporary, hip hop and belly dance as well as physical theatre, to draw on for her own performances.

Keda’s interest in such a broad range of art forms started to reflect in her curating of Hoochie Coochie, as she began to program all types of contemporary performance alongside burlesque and vaudeville, and in doing so gave a new platform to many disciplines. This unique approach really sealed Hoochie Coochie’s success, as using such a wide variety of genre’s, and bringing people things they might otherwise never have seen proved hugely popular. Hoochie Coochie continues to sell out to thrilled audiences show after show.