Writer, Performer, Producer & Muse

An elegant eccentric, Kittie cuts a dainty figure of derring-do. Charmed by Curiosity trod her own path through the avant garde(n) - and planted some surprising shrubs along the way. With thousands of others now following suit and marching forth, she is an entrepreneuse with a blossoming mission of performance fun - and a unique entertainment empire.

A psychologist-turned entertainer, she is perhaps best known as the founder of the Ministry of Burlesque mission and the associated shows High Tease and Victorian Values. She has been meritoriously lauded as ‘Queen’, ‘Leader’, ‘Captain’, ‘Authority’, ‘Major Force’  and even  ‘Founder of the UK burlesque renaissance’ itself.  A celebrated researcher, protagonist and performer in her own right, she is a parodist who creates exuberant send-ups of  heroines, archetypes and ideals - presented for 21st century senses. She is inimitable in style and considered synonymous with the modern British burlesque form.

A daring photographic muse, articulate aphorist, insightful mentor, ‘wacademic’ (with specialism in the paranormal) and no stranger to scandal - she is a sought after personality and a uniquely knowledgeable specialist both on and off stage. Kittie’s clients and commissions as include BBC4, EMI/Parlophone (with Immodesty Blaize), The British Library, Independent News & Media,  BBC Radio 4, Dennis Publishing, M1NT  (Cannes Film Festival), ITV, Channel 5, Vodaphone, 125 Magazine and many more.

WRITING: A ‘bel(le) esprit’ and pundit of puns,  she is a quirky Writer of  flowing prose, aphorisms and satirical sketches - noted for her epigrammatic flair. She is also something of an academic conducting original research on the history and modern industry of burlesque theatre (essays are freely available here and athe MoB online Resources are here). She writes creatively under various names and takes dictation for the mysterious Professor Geoffrey (a purple cat).

POSING: A Muse and Model with a vast portfolio of success, she is a coveted face and figure with a diversity of skill and insight. A porcelain nonpareil she is an accomplished poseur, model coach and shoot director.

Visit www.purrfit.com for more information on her coaching and directing services.

PRODUCING: She is also a noted Producer and Impresario creating innovative sell-out shows which have won critical acclaim both nationwide and abroad with both celebrity patronage and loyal fan bases. Best known for High Tease and Victorian Values she is also regarded as ‘the oracle’ being the liaison for media and those seeking to hire exquisite talent on personal recommendation. In addition to running a continual series of highly successful public events she also has her own international appearances (see calendar).

BURLESQUING: Re-imagining the highest epoch of British burlesque theatre, Kittie lovingly awakens this almost forgotten tradition - with vital spark. As an international Performer of considerable éclat, she has achieved enviable notoriety* (quite by accident of course) for her satirical whimsy.  Her style is instantly recognisable - it’s a fusion of  traditional 19th century  burlesque theatre  - with contemporary  twists. She has timeless femininity and a  feline sense of mischief unleashed with enthralling exuberance  which has earned her praise from comedy luminaries such as Ben Elton, Al Murray, Matt Berry and Tony Roper.  As a figurehead of the burlesque industry, she can be engaged  to make a  thorough Spectacle of herself for the most discerning of patrons (with a shilling or  two). She performs and champions true burlesque theatre under the  pun worthy name  Kittie Klaw.

A Little Cinematograph of an Introduction:

What to Expect?

With Kittie, expect a vibrant, uplifting and thoroughly engaging encounter. Presented with a stylised aesthetic humour, Kittie’s portfolio offers poignant characters proffering original wit and  finesse. From written material to solo acts, double acts and sketches and full theatrical shows, each character delivers imagined insights from their own particular points of view. In fact, ‘Kittie’ - the name itself  - is simply another sobriquet which has stuck. Endearing, astute and charismatic she is a popular  personality and pen among ladies and gentlemen of Society, industry and media alike.

From there to Here: Because some people do want to know….Kittie’s is indeed a bizarre biography  - one full of ghosts and glitter, of skepticism and satire, of unexplained trend setting and spotlights of attention.

Kittie spent her youth amidst books, creatures and classical music where (among other peculiar things) she was a junior-professional ballerina touring with The Scottish Ballet Company, she was a  keen snake breeder and also a child model from age ten.  She was an apple-polisher with an A+ report card,  chairman of the school debating team, house captain and mentor for younger pupils with learning difficulties.  By her mid teens, she  had experimented with religion and spent much of her time researching hypnosis and consciousness, the cosmos and alternative therapies. By seventeen she was modeling once again and was  quickly recognisable as a poster girl for her homeland’s (Scotland) ‘Vamp’ and alternative culture.

Developing an ever-increasing fascination with controversy and always wondering what might lie on the other sides of any given ‘norm’, her  obsession with philosophical perspective would lead her on a unique path of experimental adventure  in both science and art. It has been an adventure full of risks, the risque and rather revealing results.

Qualifying for university at sixteen, she became a graduate of both Glasgow and Edinburgh Universities within five years.  During her under-graduate and post-graduate studies, she pursued an unconventional academic background in parapsychology focusing on ESP and a variety of anomalous experience.  She also worked as a ‘paranormal investigator’ with a research group where she made home visits to troubled experiencers of alleged paranormality and was involved in holding vigils in reputedly haunted locations. Yet, perhaps the strangest aspect is that all this was paired with an unlikely sideline in physical comedy. In the evenings she’d leave the lab to perform in comedy clubs, music venues, festivals and on the alternative and fetish scenes across the UK in a bewildering set of routines - and over-sized knickers.

Her pursuits caught the attention the media who regarded her unusual comic sideline as a first - and she a local pioneer. They were referring of course to her  whimsical ambition to rejuvenate burlesque, whatever that was. Burlesque at this time, was a complete anachronism and unheard of - even a Google search revealed no results beyond a literal reference to the word ‘farce’ in a legal context. As poignant circumstance played out with a particular peculiarity, the mission to rejuvenate burlesque consumed the hours and Kittie went on to pursue an entertainment career full time, carving out her own inimitable niche.

In 2005, she headed for London armed with a startling model portfolio,  a wealth of weird science and a growing  reputation as an international pin-up and performer. Lauded as a captain of industry and  community leader her mission grew with the addition of James Malach and his web-based mastery. Now almost a decade old, the aptly named ‘Ministry of Burlesque‘ is widely regarded as spearheading an evangelical craze for this wide and often misunderstood genre of bawdy antics, dancing girls and social satire.  Join the Ministry of Burlesque discussions and resources here.

A model of impropriety and a muse of mirth,  she is perhaps something of a composite curiosity herself?

*Please note: Any tabloid scandal pertaining to acts of ‘bawdiness’ were founded entirely on misunderstanding and lexical mishap. As one, Professor Geoffrey would say “Tabloid Journalism: It’s a read herring”.