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The Cabaret Switch

The Cabaret Switch

The Cabaret Switch

Photos Sin Bozkurt

 

When two of Et Alors?’s favorite artists decided to do a personae switch, a smile appeared on our faces. Queen of fetish cabaret and diva extraordinaire Marnie Scarlet, transformes into Mr. Pustra, Vaudeville’s Darkest Muse. We leave it up to them to tell you all about it. 

 

Name Marnie Scarlet
What Getting under Le Pustra’s skin

I have known Le Pustra for a number of years now and I have always valued and admired him as a person and a multi-faceted visual artist. We appreciate each other’s style which both compliments and contrasts. I love the inner strength of his various characters, the dark and melancholy aspects, as well as the beautifully executed make-ups and outfits. When Le Pustra approached me with the idea of a Cabaret Switch, I was honored and excited. We started laying out the plans and asked good friend and experienced Cabaret photographer, Sin Bozkurt to immortalize the project. We have both worked with Sin before and he understands both our characters very well. We decided to swap two of our Looks/Characters. We both have a pop-culture icon based act in our oeuvre: for Le Pustra that’s a phenomenal Klaus Nomi act, for me that’s a tribute to Marilyn Monroe in Warhol style. It was amazing to be transformed into le Pustra and to be transform by him in return. Quite spooky and magical. During the shoot we truly transformed into each other’s creations which was an amazing creative process. When some of the photos went up on our respective Facebook sites, it actually did cause confusion as to who was who, and what was going on. The reaction we wanted!

 

Name Le Pustra
What Wearing Marnie Scarlet’s (shiny) skin

I approached Marnie regarding this concept in late 2013 as there are so many similarities between our public personas. I thought it would be interesting to portray each other and see what happens. I really adore her visual style and skill as a latex designer and visual artist. Marnie was very happy to be involved and we decided on switching our ‘icon’ characters e.g. Klaus Nomi and Marilyn Monroe – both latex – and our signature ‘Marnie’ and ‘Le Pustra’ looks, e.g. the Pierrot clown and Rubber Dolly. Photographer Sin Bozkurt agreed immediately to be part of the project and we even used our favorite studio in London. I think it was quite tricky to do each other’s make-up and it was interesting to find out how well we knew our own faces. Yet doing our own face on someone else, was definitely a challenge. Marnie even made a latex outfit in my size to wear as her Rubber Dolly. How wonderful was that? Since she has let me keep it, there might be a chance you may spot a slightly larger Marnie running in the streets in the near future. I must confess how much I admire Miss Marnie for wearing her, sometimes restrictive, latex costumes. The amount of effort and thought she has put into those designs. I don’t know any other artist whose work is so detailed and so clever.Bravissima, Marnie! Collaboration between artists can be such a rewarding experience and Marnie is one of my most favorite people on the scene as she is just brimming with talent, color and energy. And she has a heart of latex gold. I would work with her any day and look forward to see how she evolves over the coming years. I expect nothing but greatness from the First Lady of Latex. It was a fun experience being someone else for a day.

 

www.marniescarlet.com
www.lepustra.com

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Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.

Mr. Pustra

Mr. Pustra

Mr. Pustra

Text Akim A.J. Willems

 

“I wouldn’t mind appearing on the cover of Vogue.” Mr. Pustra aims for no less than the sky when he is asked about his goal for 2012. Knowing one should never run before one can walk, he tests the waters with an interview for Et Alors? Magazine.

 

We caught up with the UK based performer, artist, musical saw player & video editor after a trip to Rome where he taught a “vaudeville & variety masterclass”, which can only mean that he’s good at what he does. No wonder our curiosity was aroused: who is this Mr. Pustra? “I was always shy and insecure. I just day dreamed most of my time and pretended to be someone else, be it no one in particular though. Gradually, my confidence grew during my 20’s so I was a late bloomer as they say. I feel more assured with the person I am today and I owe it to performing. Being Mr. Pustra has made me more at ease and people seem to respond well to him. Or me? I get confused. Mr Pustra “is” me. But he just looks better.”

Mr. Pustra discovered cabaret and vaudeville by chance. “I always liked comedy, and vaudeville was an unknown term on the neo-burlesque scene in London circa 2006. On a side note: nowadays everyone and their goats refer to their acts as “vaudeville”; no bitterness here as you can tell. But anyway: in those days “Pustra/Vile-een” was born, a double act that quickly established itself as a refreshing, strange and highly talented duo with a twist of a sideshow. We split in late 2009. Later on I reinvented myself as Mr Pustra, Vaudeville’s Darkest Muse.” A “dark” muse? Is he angry, evil, melancholic or perhaps depressed? “Mr. Pustra started out as an “evil sideshow character” with a background in the circus which we used in my show “Villains”. And yes, he also has a melancholic or tragic side to him.  He has developed into an almost real person rather than a fantasy.”

Although his family was absolutely not into music or theatre – “Not at all!” – Mr. Pustra has a background in theatre and fine arts. “I studied ‘Theatre’ and had a few years of education in the “Fine Arts”; that helped me all the way. I learned to do everything myself and hone my various skills. It’s bloody exhausting, I can reveal that much.” That background is also noticeable in his influences. There are, of course, the obvious instigations for cabaret/vaudeville artists: circus side shows, American vaudeville, German countertenor Klaus Nomi, German dancer, actress, writer and prostitute Anita Berber, movie stars Marlene Dietrich and Charlie Chaplin or the Berlin Weimar “kabarett” scene of the 1920’s and 1930’s. But Pustra also lists painters such as Otto Dix, Edgar Dégas or Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec.

 

 

‘Being Mr. Pustra has made me more at ease and people seem to respond well to him.’

“I used to be a painter myself; the images that these artists created represent dreamlike scenes I often experience. Their work has style and story that I greatly admire and draw from.” “If I could ask any of my “heroes” – dead or alive – a question, I would ask Dietrich to give me make-up tips and Nomi to give me singing lessons. Dietrich’s make-up was flawless. She also was fearless and a very strong female role model for women and men alike. I admire Nomi for his incredible falsetto vocal range. To top it all off his stage persona was fiercely enigmatic and original.”

Mr. Pustra has performed in New York, Frankfurt, Rome, Berlin, Basel, Dublin, Strasbourg, Rotterdam, Amsterdam, Paris and in  many more cities. “But London is ‘the’ place to be for cabaret. It is vibrant although somewhat jaded. I have a love/hate relationship with London. It’s like an ex-lover you can’t stand but still want. Know what I mean? Paris and Berlin have smaller scenes, but offer different delights and treats.” His newest show is called Kabarett der Namenlosen (i.e. Cabaret of the Nameless).  “It’s a work in progress and inspired by the Berlin cabaret of the Weimar Republic. This is a show about Beauty, Glamour, Depravity and Melancholy. Sounds nice, non? It is not a solo project. I would want to include performer Vicky Butterfly and actor Benjamin Louche for different reasons. For now, I perform at various other shows with smaller acts and cameos.” To round up we end with a similar question as we started: what are his long term goals? “A house in the south of France. Or maybe in Los Angeles, but I certainly would have lots of cats. And a naked butler!”Don’t forget to call us when you’ve moved there. We will come and visit.

 

www.mrpustra.com

 

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Et Alors? magazine. A global celebration of diversity.