The Xtra Diary - Observations by Nick Botting is at the Portland Gallery

Published: 6 May, 2011

FAMILIAR London scenes can be seen in a new light in an exhibition at the Portland Gallery in Mayfair. 

There is still time to catch the oil on canvas works by noted portrait artist Nick Botting, who believes that putting in the hours is key to his craft. Of one painting, ‘The Gamblers’ (above), he says: “I spent the entire night watching, drawing and painting, so that patterns of behaviour emerged, and the characters started to appear in a way they never would if time weren’t spent observing them playing.”

Lord Lloyd-Webber allowed Botting access to the full six-week rehearsal period before the opening of The Wizard of Oz at the Palladium so that the artist could chronicle the process via his artworks.

Other images in the series include one of “Boris Bike” cyclists in Regent’s Park and Bar Italia in Soho.

• Observations by Nick Botting is at the Portland Gallery, 8 Bennet Street, SW1 until May 6. Call 020 7493 1888 for details.

Boylesque star tears strip off the ‘oglers’

BURLESQUE dancing divides opinion, as do strip joints and page three girls. 

But when Gogo Harder burst onto the stage last week at the Wam Bam Club in Piccadilly Circus – adorned in just a tight green thong and copious amounts of body oil – his stark nudity was one of the last things Diary noticed.

The wild lack of inhibition he exuded was admirable. 

The unabashed haze of glitter that marked his trail through the dance hall was a perfect fit with the frivolity of the West End.

The entire experience at the historic Cafe de Paris felt a world apart from the tacky booths of the strip clubs that stealthily inhabit the same square mile of Theatreland. 

But is burlesque demeaning to the female dancers that strut across the stage in their stiletto heels and see-through underwear?

Gogo is a new breed of male “boylesque” dancer who developed the largely female genre for male performers in New York in the mid-1990s. 

Gogo has been flying between London and the US performing for three years. 

“Burlesque is not just about strip­ping,” he said. “It takes time, energy and creativity. It is not about being an object and nudity is not the main thing. The burlesque world is split into two camps. There are performers who operate on a far more intellectual or political level, who may also have a slightly naughty sense of humour and way of getting their message across in an original way. 

“The other camp are just strippers, and there’s not as much thought that goes into that. 

“A lot of us are trained entertainers though. I’m an actor, a lot of girls and guys are trained dancers. It is a sexual form of theatre, and realistically we’re all sexual beings. But this art form of the body gets muddled with all the nasty things in the world – misogyny and object­ification of both men and women. That’s the problem. 

“That has as much to do with the audience as anything else. 

“I could sit through any musical and just ogle all the female dancers without taking in everything else, but that would be sad. If those types of people want to watch burlesque without noticing every­thing else that it has to offer, that’s fine, but it’s not why we do it.” 

At 350, Mr Punch is still a big hit

HERE’S one for anyone who experienced a thrilling surge of memories of childhood holidays by the sea during the gloriously hot bank holiday weekend. 

This weekend an event celebrating what organisers claim is the 350th birthday of seaside icon Mr Punch – the star of hundreds of thousands of Punch and Judy puppet shows – will take place outside St Paul’s the Actors’ Church in Covent Garden.

The 36th annual Covent Garden May Fayre will feature a grand procession around the area, led by the Superior Brass Band.

Punch and Judy scholars and puppeteers from all over the country are set attend the free event, and there will be music and food stalls galore. 

Organisers plumped for St Paul’s as it is the spot where Samuel Pepys first saw Mr Punch in England in May 1662.

• The May Fayre takes place on Sunday, May 8 at St Paul’s Church Garden, Bedford Street, WC2. For further information contact the May Fayre Committee on 020 7375 0441.