If you’ve ever wondered what would happen if you put your trust in the Universe, then let me tell you about last week, gorgeous, because honestly… it was WILD. At the beginning of March, I had to cancel some incredibly exciting plans with a couple of the Dita Von Teese: Glamonatrix Tour cast during their London dates due to being ‘pinged’ – and although I had no symptoms – and the rules in the UK said I could still work even if I did go ‘down with the sickness’ (bonus points if you can name the band), I chose to make the morally correct decision to keep myself away from the cast and protect their health whilst on tour.

It was an easy decision to make, but a heartbreaking one. Opportunities to work with internationally touring burlesque legends are rare enough – even without global pandemics. Thankfully though, it turned out the Universe had bigger and better plans in store for me, because everything aligned perfectly to reschedule for a few weeks later in Brighton on a much larger scale – and wow was it an experience of a lifetime!

The day started with a train trip down to Brighton, where I met the foreword writer of my book STRIP/TEASE and one of my favourite humans Dirty Martini, before joining the Glamonatrix cast on their tour of the Royal Pavilion. Between the glamorous company and the stunning interior design, it was an all-out glamourous affair.

And yes, I absolutely wanted to suggest an impromptu boudoir shoot on Queen Victoria’s bed.

Fast forward to a little later in the afternoon, and my camera made its first appearance of the day to capture some cast portraits inside the luxurious setting of the Brighton Dome, as well as a little something to support a charity project for international fashion illustrator and celebrity portrait artist David Downton.

More to come on this section of the day in a future blog post, but let me say for now that this venue has been on my photoshoot bucket list for YEARS, so it was a dream come true to be shooting within such a historic building, not to mention the calibre of creative superhumans gracing me with their presence on top!

After a short break and a rather excellent peanut butter sandwich kindly made and brought to the Brighton Dome by my Father-In-Law who was coming to watch the show, it was time to photograph the Glamonatrix Show! It was a packed audience, but once again the Universe had provided me with the perfect spot, with two lone seats at the end of a row near the front of the theatre.

Making friends with the couple sat in front of me (happy anniversary, you gorgeous pair!) I had the perfect spot to photograph Dita Von Teese and the rest of the Glamonatrix cast in all their burlesque glory including her signature routines The Baroque Cake, The Martini Glass, and my personal favourite, Lipteese.

It’s been 12 years since I last had the pleasure of photographing Dita for her book launch at Erotica and I’m starting to wonder if she’s immortal because ‘DAAAAAAMN DITA’ you’ve not aged a day.

Dita Von Teese and the entire Glamonatrix cast made me feel so welcome. Thank you to Dirty Martini, Jett Adore, Tosca, Laszlo Major, Lani Kai Fox, Alek Palinski, Julio, Johnny McGovern and all the supporting team working their magic behind the scenes to help bring this magic to our UK stages.

This one’s going in the core memories for sure!

Have you seen Dita Von Teese Perform?

Let me know your favourite of her burlesque acts in the comments!