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Le Pustra

Summary

Le Pustra (born 1 July 1977) is an actor, singer, salonnier and kunstfigur who has performed in European Cabaret and Varieté since 2006 but is best known as the creative director of the Weimar Cabaret inspired theatre play Le Pustra's Kabarett der Namenlosen. Le Pustra incorporates elements of Theatre, Drag and Fashion in his work and is often seen in macabre white face make-up, resembling a Weimar porcelain doll or Pierrot.

Le Pustra
Le Pustra in Ballhaus Berlin, 2020.
Le Pustra in Ballhaus Berlin, 2020.
Background information
Also known asMadame Le Pustra
BornCape Town, South Africa
GenresCabaret, Actor, Varieté
Occupation(s)Performance artist, singer, actor
Years active2006 (2006)–Present
MembersPerformers: Le Pustra.
Websitewww.madamelepustra.com

Early life edit

Le Pustra was born in South Africa and relocated to the United Kingdom in 2000 to pursue a career in musical theatre in London. Le Pustra emerged onto the London underground cabaret and variety scene in 2006.

Le Pustra's Kabarett Der Namenlosen edit

In 2011, Le Pustra created a contemporary reimagining of the Berliner Kabarett during the Weimar Culture interwar years in Berlin. The show was entitled Le Pustra's Kabarett der Namenlosen[1][2] or Cabaret of the Nameless and was first performed on the 24th of September 2011 at the Old Cholmeley Boys Club in London.

In 2016 the project was developed in Berlin and co-produced by Else Edelstahl from Bohème Sauvage.[3] The show featured an international cast and selected music from Friedrich Hollaender, Mischa Spoliansky, Willy Rosen and Kurt Weill. Le Pustra's character was partly inspired by actor Joel Grey, dancer Anita Berber and Marlene Dietrich. The original show, also entitled Kabarett der Namenlosen was a notorious but popular cabaret in Weimar-era Berlin from 1926 till 1932 and created by Erich Lowinsky - also known as "Elow".

Between 2016 and 2019 American Artist, Ella Guru created three large oil paintings inspired by the show. In 2018, Irish artist Alana Richards created a series of paintings and an art exhibition based on the show's characters entitled: Morphium: Hallucinations of a Kabarett.[4]

In 2022 Kabarett der Namenlosen was featured in Babylon Berlin Season 4 with Le Pustra reprising his role as Edwina Morell. The scene depicts a new interpretation of Erich Lowinsky's notorious version, originally performed at the Monbijou Cabaret in Berlin on Monday nights.

A revival of Kabarett der Namenlosen is planned for December 2023 at Heimathafen Neukölln[5] in Berlin.

Babylon Berlin edit

In 2020, Le Pustra made his television debut as Edwina Morell, the mysterious owner or Souteneur of the Luxor nightclub in the award-winning German crime drama Babylon Berlin Season 3. The character of Edwina was inspired by Le Pustra's Kabarett der Namenlosen theatre show. Le Pustra returns as Morell in Season 4 as the diabolical host of the Kabarett der Namenlosen, staged at the Moka Efti nightclub. The scene is reminiscent of Elow's original concept.

In September 2023, Le Pustra appeared as a soloist in the Babylon Berlin Concert alongside singer Max Raabe, actress Meret Becker and composer Johnny Klimek which was filmed as a TV Special. The 3 day concert was staged at Berlin's Theater des Westens.

Le Pustra also performs regularly as a special guest with the big band Moka Efti Orchestra.

Other Film and Television Appearances edit

In 2014, Le Pustra appeared in Director Shelly Love's unfinished fantasy film The Fallen Circus[6] playing a latex-clad villain and can also be heard on the film's score as a guest musical saw player accompanying The Irrepressibles. Le Pustra's costume was designed by Oliver Garcia who have worked on films such as Maleficent and Hugo. In October 2017, Le Pustra and the cast of Kabarett der Namenlosen performed "Das lila Lied" for the BBC Four series Tunes for Tyrants: Music and Power with Suzy Klein.[7] In 2018, Le Pustra appeared on Anthony Bourdain's Parts Unknown[8] Season 11 (Episode 6) which aired on CNN.

Music Videos edit

Le Pustra performed as two characters in the music video for Black for the Occasion[9] by Faroese artist, Heiðrik á Heygum. The video was filmed in Reykjavík, Iceland in 2018. He also appeared in the 2007 music video Starz in their Eyes by British recording artist Just Jack.

Varieté and Cabaret edit

In early 2011, Le Pustra co-produced and wrote a Vaudevillian all-male show entitled 'Villains'[10] which was produced in Rome's Teatro Palladium. RuPaul's Drag Race UK contestant Joe Black (drag queen) co-starred in the show. The show returned to Rome for one night only on 5 September 2011 at the Villa Celimontana Festival.[11]

On 23 October 2012, Le Pustra was invited by Amanda Palmer to join a live musical saw performance (dubbed a Saw-chestra) and accompanying Neil Gaiman's live rendition of Leon Payne's song "Psycho". The Saw-chestra members included Le Pustra, Victor Victoria from musical duo, EastEnd Cabaret and Adrian Stout from cult Cabaret group, The Tiger Lillies.

Other Cabaret appearances include The Royal Academy of Arts, Skibo Castle, Wilton's Music Hall, The Box (London), Venice Carnival, Life Ball (Vienna), Södra Teatern (Stockholm), Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Wintergarten Varieté (Berlin), Madame JoJo's (London), Palais de Tokyo (Paris), Schirn Kunsthalle (Frankfurt),[12] Coney Island[13] (New York) and Perth World Fringe Festival,[14]

Club nights include The Face by Steve Strange, Torture Garden, Act ART and Club Room Service by drag queen DJ and party promoter Jodie Harsh.

Fashion, Books and Art edit

In 2010, Le Pustra produced and directed a fashion video for Serbian designer Marko Mitanovski which were screened at London Fashion Week, London's Selfridges and Malaysian International Fashion Week. The short fashion film, Mr Pustra's Lament Act II was selected to screen at Diane Pernet's Film Festival, 'A Shaded View on Fashion Film' in Milan, Italy in June 2012. That same year Le Pustra walked in London Fashion Week for designer Ziad Ghanem[15] and was invited back the following year. Le Pustra also modelled for fashion designer Ivana Pilja in 2013 and they collaborated once again for Berlin Alternative Fashion Week in September 2015 and March 2016. Other credits include a fashion campaign for Air Berlin and a cameo in the fashion film The Dionysian directed by filmmaker Stephen Lally.

Le Pustra's image have been published in British and Italian Vogue,[16] Hunger Magazine,[17] Reuters,[18] French Playboy, I-D, Dark Beauty Magazine,[19] Spindle Magazine[20] and various published books on nightlife and clubbing culture including New Club Kids: London Party Fashion in the Noughties[21] by photographer, Oggy Yordanov, What Else Is in the Teaches of Peaches[22] by Peaches (musician) Night Flowers by Damien Frost[23] Boy Story[24] by Magnus Arrevad, In der Fremde: Pictures from Home by Romeo Alaeff and The Fantastic World of Atelieri O. Haapala.

In 2020, Le Pustra co-authored a chapter with Dr. Anna-Sophie Jürgens[25] for the book Circus and the Avant-Gardes: History, Imaginary, Innovation[26] published by Routledge. The chapter, entitled Glam Clowning: From Dada to Gaga – A Conversation with Le Pustra explores the origin and reinterpretation of the Dada inspired vinyl suit made famous by German countertenor and New Wave artist, Klaus Nomi.

Lectures edit

Le Pustra has participated as a guest speaker for various Educational Institutions including UCLA, Goethe-Institut, CIEE in Berlin, Humboldt University of Berlin, The Australian National University and Freie Universität Berlin. Between 2022 and 2023 a series of online illustrated talks were created for Morbid Anatomy.[27] with provocative titles such as Anita Berber: Tanz der Schönen und Verdammten and Opium: Darkling's Muse.

References edit

  1. ^ "Berlin's alternative nightlife, from cabaret to porno karaoke". The Independent. 30 November 2016. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  2. ^ Burshtein, Karen (29 January 2018). "From Burlesque to Bauhaus, Here's Where to Find the Roaring '20s in Berlin Today". Vogue.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  3. ^ "BOHEME SAUVAGE - Eine Hommage an das Nachtleben der Zwanziger Jahre". Boheme Sauvage.
  4. ^ "Sechs Wochenendtipps: Von Schnapsfestival bis Graffiti-Schau" (in German). Berliner Morgenpost. 2 March 2018.
  5. ^ "Der Heimathafen Neukölln – dein Theater in Berlin Neukölln". heimathafen-neukoelln.de. Retrieved 28 March 2023.
  6. ^ "The Fallen Circus – Chapter One". Shellylove.co.uk. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  7. ^ "BBC Four – Tunes for Tyrants: Music and Power with Suzy Klein". Bbc.co.uk.
  8. ^ "Here's what Tony and his guests had to say about Berlin". Explorepartsunknown.com. 6 June 2018.
  9. ^ "HEIDRIK - Black For The Occasion". YouTube. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  10. ^ "Teatro Palladium, l'evento teatrale dell'anno: Villains". Roma Daily News (in Italian). 21 January 2011. Archived from the original on 24 July 2012.
  11. ^ "Villa Celimontana chiude la stagione con i Villains di Mr Pustra e Joe Black – Corriere Roma". Roma.corriere.it.
  12. ^ "SCHIRN AT NIGHT in der Ausstellung "Geheimgesellschaften"". www.schirn-magazin.de. Archived from the original on 23 October 2014. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  13. ^ "Noisefest at Coney Island USA - FREE! - Sunday April 3, 2011". coneyislandfunguide.com. Archived from the original on 30 April 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2022.
  14. ^ "Sideshow Macabré – OUTInPerth – LGBTIQ News and Culture – OUTInPerth – LGBTIQ News and Culture". outinperth.com. 14 February 2012.
  15. ^ "Exceptional models bring Matka Joanna to lifes". Retoxmagazine.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  16. ^ "PhotoVogue – Vogue". Vogue.
  17. ^ "Katy Kingston". Hungertv.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  18. ^ Hanschke, Hannibal (19 September 2016). "In Berlin, the party goes on despite threat of club closures". Reuters.
  19. ^ "Behind the Scenes with Le Pustra". Darkbeautymag.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  20. ^ "Spindle Magazine". Spindlemagazine.com.
  21. ^ "New club Kids by Oggy Yordanov – Waterstones". Waterstones.com.
  22. ^ Peaches; Talinski, Holger; Ono, Yoko; Page, Ellen; Stipe, Michael (16 July 2015). What Else Is in the Teaches of Peaches. Akashic Books. ASIN 1617753572.
  23. ^ "Merrellpublishers.com". Merrellpublishers.com. Retrieved 17 September 2020.
  24. ^ "Magnus Arrevad Photography – It doesn't have to be boring". Boystory.org.
  25. ^ Jürgens, Dr Anna-Sophie. "Researchers". Australian National University.
  26. ^ Jürgens, Anna-Sophie (2022). Circus and the Avant-Gardes: History, Imaginary, Innovation (1st ed.). Routledge. ISBN 978-0367757281.
  27. ^ "Morbid Anatomy". Morbid Anatomy.

External links edit

  • IMDb
  • Official Website
  • Le Pustra at London Fashion Week
  • Le Pustra talks to Suzy Klein
  • Hallo Deutschland, ZDF

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