Miss Polly Rae (born 8 July 1981) is a British singer, dancer, and

Neo-burlesque Neo-Burlesque, or New Burlesque, is the revival and updating of the traditional American burlesque performance. Though based on the traditional burlesque art, the new form encompasses a wider range of performance styles; neo-burlesque acts can ra ...

performer.

Burlesque career

Polly Jane Rae was born in

Preston, Lancashire Preston () is a city on the north bank of the River Ribble in Lancashire, England. The city is the administrative centre of the county of Lancashire and the wider City of Preston local government district. Preston and its surrounding distri ...

, England. Polly's burlesque career began in 2006, after seeing a poster for a burlesque course run by Jo King and the London Academy of Burlesque at Danceworks studios. She attended the course and completely inspired by Jo and her teachings she decided to form her seven girl troupe Hurly Burly (including herself). Taking creative inspiration from 1940s and 1950s pin-ups such as

Bettie Page Bettie Mae Page (April 22, 1923 – December 11, 2008) was an American model who gained notoriety in the 1950s for her pin-up photos.

Tempest Storm Tempest Storm (born Annie Blanche Banks; February 29, 1928 – April 20, 2021), also dubbed "The Queen Of Exotic Dancers," was an American burlesque star and motion picture actress. Along with Lili St. Cyr, Sally Rand, and Blaze Starr, she was ...

and

Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe (; born Norma Jeane Mortenson; 1 June 1926 4 August 1962) was an American actress. Famous for playing comedic " blonde bombshell" characters, she became one of the most popular sex symbols of the 1950s and early 1960s, as wel ...

to modern artists like Madonna and revue shows such as Le Crazy Horse in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, their first show was held at the Soho Revue Bar (formerly the

Raymond Revue Bar The Raymond Revuebar (1958–2004) was a theatre and strip club at 11 Walker's Court (now the location of The Box Soho nightclub), in the centre of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-fronta ...

) in

Soho Soho is an area of the City of Westminster, part of the West End of London. Originally a fashionable district for the aristocracy, it has been one of the main entertainment districts in the capital since the 19th century. The area was develo ...

in 2006. It was such a success that it led to a residency at the bar, another residency at Volupte (a burlesque supper club in the heart of the legal district) – and then a move to the

Leicester Square Theatre The Leicester Square Theatre is a 400-seat theatre in Leicester Place, immediately north of Leicester Square, in the City of Westminster, London. It was previously known as Notre Dame Hall, Cavern in the Town and The Venue. The theatre hosts st ...

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

's West End. This show received acclaim from several critics including ''

The Stage ''The Stage'' is a British weekly newspaper and website covering the entertainment industry and particularly theatre. It was founded in 1880. It contains news, reviews, opinion, features, and recruitment advertising, mainly directed at those wh ...

'' and ''What's On Stage''. In 2007 Hurly Burly won Best Troupe at the Ministry Of Burlesque awards. They have appeared on the Alan Titchmarsh Show. February 2010 brought the launch of ''Miss Polly Rae: The All New Hurly Burly Show'', with special guest act Elouise, directed by William Baker. Musical direction was by Steve Anderson. The show received high acclaim from critics such as Michael Billington (

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

) and Charles Spencer (''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

''), amongst others, and it returned to the

Garrick Theatre The Garrick Theatre is a West End theatre, located in Charing Cross Road, in the City of Westminster, named after the stage actor David Garrick. It opened in 1889 with ''The Profligate'', a play by Arthur Wing Pinero, and another Pinero play, ' ...

in the West End, newly named ''The Hurly Burly Show'', until May 2011. Miss Polly Rae and her Hurly Burly Girlys have collectively worked alongside

Dusty Limits Dusty Limits is an Australians, Australian-born cabaret singer and comedian based in the United Kingdom, and one of the leading figures on the "new cabaret" scene. Biography Dusty Limits is from Brisbane, Queensland, Australia, where they first ...

Frisky and Mannish Frisky & Mannish is a British musical comedy double act, created and performed by singer Laura Corcoran and pianist-singer Matthew Floyd Jones. Known for their pop music parodies, the duo have toured the fringe festival and comedy festival circu ...

, Ivy Paige, Lady Carol, Stewart Pemberton, Frank Sanazi and James Devine. Miss Polly Rae is also a singer, and sings songs by the likes of Peggy Lee, Shirley Bassey,

Mae West Mae West (born Mary Jane West; August 17, 1893 – November 22, 1980) was an American stage and film actress, playwright, screenwriter, singer, and sex symbol whose entertainment career spanned over seven decades. She was known for her breezy ...

and Doris Day. She has had solo success. In 2007 she was recruited as part of a touring performance team for

Agent Provocateur An agent provocateur () is a person who commits, or who acts to entice another person to commit, an illegal or rash act or falsely implicate them in partaking in an illegal act, so as to ruin the reputation of, or entice legal action against, th ...

and appeared on ''

The Paul O'Grady Show ''The Paul O'Grady Show'' is a British comedy chat show presented by comedian Paul O'Grady, first shown on 11 October 2004. The programme is a teatime chat show consisting of a mixture of celebrity guests, comic stunts, musical performances, a ...

''. In 2008 she became the face of the No 1

Eidos Eidos may refer to: * Eidos (philosophy), a Greek term meaning "form" "essence", "type" or "species". See Plato's theory of forms and Aristotle's theory of universals * Eidos plc, a British software company, which created video game publisher Eido ...

computer game Battlestations Pacific as a wartime sweetheart. In 2015, she won the Best Burlesque award at the London Cabaret Awards.

References

External links

William Shoot VideoMiss Polly Rae Is The NewsMiss Polly Rae On Pineapple Dance Studios
{{DEFAULTSORT:Polly Rae, Miss 1981 births British neo-burlesque performers Living people Entertainers from Preston, Lancashire