Might there be an overlap between sci-fi fans – I speak as one myself – and audiences who are up for watching women remove their clothes? The huge success of “burlesque parody” The Empire Strips Back suggests that, yes, there just might be.
Created in Australia and since performed globally, the show recasts scenes and characters from a galaxy far, far away as sexy strip-and-dance numbers, stylishly lit and slickly performed to a banging pop and rock score. If you like the sound of Boba Fett bumping and grinding to Guns N’ Roses, or Han Solo and Chewbacca getting jiggy to the Backstreet Boys – well, these are the droids you’re looking for.
What makes the show stand out is the fidelity of its design, its unofficial status notwithstanding; and its sense of humour. The scenes you’ll remember are the funny ones – Jabba the Hutt rapping, anyone? – or at least, those that put a cheeky spin on the original material. See a scantily clad female Luke Skywalker seeking warmth in the belly of her disemboweled tauntaun, or C-3P0 being undressed, rather than disassembled, by two busybody Jawas. There’s a once-seen, never-forgotten number (you may sense a great disturbance in the Force) featuring a naked Emperor Palpatine and a mirrorball shaped like the Death Star.
The set pieces are freestanding, and between them, MC Pete Anderson jollies things along fan convention-style, soliciting the audience’s R2-D2 impressions and best Star Wars tattoos. Anderson too clarifies the distinction between striptease and burlesque, the latter of which (he claims) is empowering, not creepy. It’s hard not to notice that it’s mainly women being empowered in The Empire Strips Back, whose male cast members alone end the show fully clothed. But if it’s not striking a Rebel Alliance-like blow for freedom, The Empire Strips Back is at least striking one for pretty good fun.
At Riverside Studios, London, until 17 August
