I started fairly late in this business they call 'show'.
I blame a small part of that on my sexuality. It was at
university that I figured out I wanted to sleep with woman rather
than men. Whilst my fellow theatre students, (mostly straight, plus
a couple of gays that had worked that stuff out long before
entering into adulthood) were learning about Stanislavski and
making experimental performance art, I was diligently studying for
my BA honours in Lesbianism! So by the time I left university I was
up to speed on sex, but a bit behind with the idea of a career. The
other part I blame simply on my innate laziness, which, on a good
day, I like to redefine as "a wonderful ability to be content with
very little", an underrated skill in our fast-pace, ambitious,
consumerist, media-driven, contemporary world.
I made my infamous magic striptease act Hanky Panky in 2000. I
was 34 at the time. This is actually quite old compared to the
burlesque performers of today, many of whom get started in their
early twenties. I had no idea how this act was going to impact on
the next decade of my life. I had only recently got an email
address. YouTube didn't yet exist. But technology was changing
fast.
In 2006, still a bit green to the online invasion that was
taking over the world, I took my eye off the ball and within 24
hours some recorded footage of a live performance of Hanky Panky
had gone viral.
I was turning 40 and all of a sudden I had become an
international online glamour sensation. Since then I've been
constantly asking myself, how long can I keep this going? I kept
putting a time limit on it. "I give myself 'till I'm 42". Then I'd
reach 42 and say "hmmm another couple of years and then I should
probably call it a day".
I've realised that it's silly to put a time frame on it. At the
end of the day, it's all about confidence. As long as I'm still
confident then I'll keep doing what I do. I'm aware that a lot my
confidence comes from the fact that my body conforms to
contemporary Western ideals of female beauty: tall, slim, leggy
etc. But 45 plus is definitely not on that list. But fuck it,
there's no point planning my retirement date. I eat well, aim to do
a bit of exercise every day (which I don't always achieve) and try
not to stay out too late too often.
And if I remain confident, and keep going, no doubt the act it
will turn into something different. Roll-up, roll-up, ladies and
gentlemen! Come and see the incredible 89 year old stripping
magician. Watch this space!
URSULA MARTINEZ:
My Stories, Your Emails
Written and performed by Ursula Martinez
Directed by Mark Whitelaw
Monday 27 February - Saturday 10 March, 9.15pm
Writer, performer and cult cabaret diva Ursula
Martinez brings the critically acclaimed
My Stories, Your Emails directed by Mark Whitelaw to Soho Theatre
for a three week run
starting on Monday 27 February.
Ursula invites you to meet the ordinary and
extraordinary characters in her life and in her inbox, using the
emails she has received in reaction to her worldwide show-stopping
cabaret strip-tease act -Hanky Panky. The result is a comical and
uncompromising investigation into identity, relationships,
confession, miscommunication, sex, the internet... and what happens
when your private parts go public!
Ursula is an international artist, creating
live performance, both solo and collaborative, for theatre,
cabaret, site-specific, installation and nightclub. Including the
recent Office Party, a collaboration with writer/comedian
Christopher Green. Martinez is also an original cast member of the
contemporary circus/cabaret phenomena La Clique / La
Soirée and performs regularly for virtuoso variety vamps
Medium Rare. She is also an
associate artist with iconoclastic performance provocateurs
Duckie, with whom she created the smash-hit
Olivier Award-winning showC'est
Duckie! Other theatre pieces created with
Mark Whitelaw include A Family Outing,Show
Offand OAP which formed the trilogy'Me,
Me, Me!', which were presented at The Barbican as part of
B.I.T.E.
London, Soho Theatre Main House
Dates: Monday 27 February - Saturday 10 March
Times: Evenings 9.15pm
Tickets: Mon 27 + Tue 28 £10, Mon - Thu £15 (£12.50), Fri - Sat
£17.50 (£15)
Bookings: 020 7478 0100/www.sohotheatre.com
ORIGINALLY COMMISSIONED BY BARBICAN BITE10 AND IQUN
