A new venue for the Adelaide Fringe this year, I don’t think prohibition Liquor had planned for such a hot day for the performance of Bootlegger Burlesque. And as the sold-out crowd of 60 or so people sat under one giant fan in this sweatbox of a room, Lyra La Belle introduced herself to the audience and first-time burlesque attendees, laying down the ground rules for watching a show like this. It’s pretty simple really… cheer loudly and often otherwise “Mumma will get cross!”. I honestly think she could make the opening of an Aldi store feel like a truly magical experience. This amazing woman can absolutely do it all. Getting the crowd amped up for a burlesque show on a forty-degree day is no mean feat, but Lyra has a certain type of charismatic flair that just wins audiences over. With a gorgeous prohibition barrel-laden backdrop, and the beautiful voice of Belle Ballard and her three-piece band, the Bootlegger Burlesque show started to excited applause. Sapphire Snow danced her way down the aisle in a 1920’s inspired dress, getting the crowd warmed up before Memphis Mae seductively sauntered in front of the appreciative audience. This was a fun-filled 90-minute show that featured Veruca Sour as a cat, former Miss Burlesque Australia Willow Conway, a brightly coloured seductress Jazida, and some classic burlesque performances from the likes of Lizzy Jane-Baker and Connie Curveball. Of course, the star of the show was Lyra La Belle. With hosting duties complete she danced her way through the crowd, past the school mums from her daughter’s school (“School drop-off on Monday is going to be awkward”) and on top of the frightened newbie burlesque attendees who didn’t know which way to look, finishing up in a giant Prohibition gin-filled martini glass to close the show. And just like the martini, this show was dirty, messy fun! FOUR STARS ****