A PEEP SHOW INTO THE FUTURE!

The year is 2040. 

The Age of Man is over. The Machines are here. 

The world has descended into a sensual mash-up of hedonistic pursuit and robot love. With cameras on every corner, televisions on every street and computers in every room, Big Brother LIKES watching you, baby. And in an old, dark theatre at Red Bennies, space girls, robots and human hybrids are planning the greatest voyeuristic exploration this side of the millennium. 

Metropolis 2040 is … 1984 meets Daft Punk. 
Metropolis 2040 is … Fritz Lang meets Barbarella.

FEATURING: A brand new film from the people that brought you the Gorelesque Sequences (Nominated for Best Short Film & Best Short Film Director @ Bloodfest Fantastique Festival (MUFF) )

AND... The spectacular light show FINALE that has to be seen to be believed where the formidable ULTRAVIOLET WARRIORS discover that they’re really human after all...

With performances from: 

The modern-day Barbarella … ROSY RABBIT

After almost a year Rosy Rabbit is returning to the stage in a galactic way! The stars have aligned to welcome her back... Forces of evil beware!

Australia’s darling of burlesque, Rosy Rabbit has spent the last 6 years forging her background in classical ballet and musical theatre into her very own take on bump 'n' grind! Burlesque has become an unrivaled outlet for her creative passions including performance, costume design and event production. As co-founder and producer of the Australian Burlesque Festival Rosy is passionate about building and uniting the community and embracing the many facets of this timeless and ever-changing art of tease and sensuality.

A shining star in the burlesque revival Rosy has performed at many of Australia’s premier burlesque and subculture events, music festivals and regular showcases. She also toured North America and Canada in 2009 and was selected to perform at the 2010 London Burlesque Week.

 
The Metropolis robot herself... ANNA LUMB

Anna Lumb (AKA Anna The Pocket Rocket) is a Melbourne based performer specialising in circus, theatre and comedy.

Anna is renowned for exploding onto the stage with her charismatic, cheeky and original performances. Earning her Vaudevillian stripes as a regular fixture on the cabaret circuits of Melbourne, London and Edinburgh she has appeared in a whole host of variety shows including 'Ali McGregor's Late Night Variety Night', 'Frank Skinner's Variety Show', and 'The Last Tuesday Society' cult performance night. Anna has toured extensively with aerial theatre company Strange Fruit and independently across Europe, America, Mexico, Canada, UK, Middle East, Africa, Malaysia, Hong Kong and Australia.

"So bizarre and quirky you quickly question what is folly and what is genius."- Kryztoff Raw

Photo by Caveboy Studios

Space-age aerial from the deadly… SKOPALOVA

Skopalova began her performance career as a rhythmic gymnast where she medalled nationally on many occasions. After an intense 12 years in gymnastics, Skopalova expanded her talents to something a little more daring, namely burlesque, cabaret and circus. She soon found herself in Melbourne's most esteemed corporate events, charity balls and fashion shows including Fashion + Aid, Red Ball and the recent Loreal Melbourne Fashion Festival.

As Skopalova burst into Melbourneʼs burlesque scene she brought a whole new skill set to the stage combining the rhythmic gymnastics apparatus with dance, circus and tasteful teese. Regularly gracing the stage at Red Bennies, Skopalova has also featured at Bijou Cabaret, CirQue, Cristal Burlesque and the Australian Burlesque Festival. Whether she is balloon popping, ribbon twirling or hanging from the roof, Skopalova amazes audiences with her flexibility, athleticism and charm.

The exotic and erotic… FRANKIE VALENTINE

Burlesque performer, vintage costumer and all around femme fatale, Frankie Valentine, sets old time glamour on fire with a signature sensuality that has all things smoldering in her wake. Frankie perfects the classic art of the strip tease with a personal and contemporary approach to burlesque, which has seen her gracing stages around the country with her innovative character based routines. Wild, inspired and criminally seductive.

The angle-grinding live wire… SPARKARELLA

Jacquie first stepped on stage aged 5, and caught the performance bug that has stayed with her throughout her life.  As a member of the Southern Ballet Junior Company being on stage was a natural part of growing up.  Classically & contemporary trained under the directorship of Lorraine Peters for many years, she also was given the opportunity to dance with Limbs Dance Company.

On travelling to the UK, Jacquie became involved in circus arts & fused with abstract contemporary performance danced throughout England & Europe with Zoid Induction.  Her repertoire here included huge costumes, hanging from cranes, rope-work, stilts, fire & power tools combined with expressive & twisted movement.  Jacquie also performed roving, podium & dance works with ArtBeat London, and was featured in short films, adverts & photographic exhibitions.

On relocating to Melbourne at the end of 2001 Jacquie quickly became involved in the performance scene and founded acro-contemporary troupe Hektix.  Soon after, she became co-founder & performer with the notorious “Queens of Neo-Burlesque” - Voodoo Trash Dolls.  Within the Dolls, Sparkarella exploded out in a frenzy of sparks with her signature angle-grinding performance being born.

Extra-terrestrial tassle twirler … LA VIOLA VIXEN (QLD)

A dream of golden age burlesque brought to life before your very eyes!

Performing Sassy stripteases from New York to New Zealand, Viola’s impeccable sense of theatricality and captivating command of old school burly-q and classic showgirl dance styles sees her at the forefront of Australia’s burlesque comeback.

Viola began her career in 2006 at La Lola Salon - Lola the Vamp's school of burlesque. Her early routines made a great impression on her tutor and she was soon offered the role of head teacher. Viola has not looked back since – almost 5 years on and VV’s success continues to ripple, her titillating shimmy shakin burly q performances and striking pin up portfolio quickly becoming the stuff of legend and earning her just place in Australia’s Neo Burlesque History.

The savage and untameable... VESPER WHITE

As a young pioneer in the creative arts, Vesper White has laid siege to hearts and minds all around Australia for the past three years. Best loved for her darkly alluring burlesque acts, Vesper has no fear in exploring everything from the traditional and historical, to the alternative, the horrifying and that based in fetish.

The strength of her stage presence is rare in a creature so young; she possesses the ability to hold an audience quietly captive before drawing a subsequent response of inimitable rapture. White is known for her powerful, enchanting eyes, cheeky smile, an energy that has been likened to Bettie Page, and a hip-shake reminiscent of the Chicago State Fair exotics. As a well-read and researched creative type on all things artistic and performative, Vesper carries herself with a professionalism that exists only in seasoned entertainers. She is currently creative director of Gorelesque Productions and in-house producer at Red Bennies.

WITH YOUR RESIDENT SWING SELECTORS AND ALL-THAT-JAZZ...

DJ KNAVE KNIXX (VIC/NEW ZEALAND)

Congawa!

The Knave is a one of a kind selector that brings you a freaky collection of boogie woogie, hip shakin', room-a-quakein' tunes!

This quirky, high octane DJ is King Pin selector of his style in homeland NZ and is making the dancefloors of Melbourne jump to his special fix of Swing Jazz, Nostalgia, Surf, Rock N Roll, Exotica, Funk and Cumbia Beat.
It's an infectious blend of nostalgic flavour that will have you swinging tree to tree though the musical jungle of groovy...

(The Knave is not liable should you lose your bananas.)

DJ MIKE GURRIERI

Mike Gurrieri brings his swingin' genre-bending DJ antics to Red Bennies every Saturday night from midnight. Expect to go everywhere from swing jazz, funk, soul, hip hop & everything else in-between. A true party set like no other!

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