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EMILIE AUTUMN – Rats: The Musical

By Carl Begai

EAViolinwatermark If Tim Burton were to direct a stage production of Cats it would end up being an Emilie Autumn show.

The bottom line is that until you’ve seen her perform you can’t truly understand or appreciate the hype that Emilie’s beloved Plague Rat followers dish out on a daily basis. And perform she does. With the help of four of her closest f(r)iends – affectionately known as The Bloody Crumpets – and a diehard fanbase that hangs on every note, word, raised eyebrow, spilled teacup and adjusted-just-so body part, Emilie brings her music to kicking and screaming life with often stunning results. The show is a first class stage production with the potential to appeal to theatre-goers from all walks of life, yet it takes place more often than not in venues that normally host unwashed metal bands and their beer swilling supporters. From a personal perspective I was reminded of Evil Dead: The Musical, an independent Toronto-born theatre production launched in the back room of a seedy club in 2003 that has since exploded, receiving worldwide acclaim. While her music and show are a world apart from the Evil Dead, Emilie Autumn likewise has the audience wrapped around her finger from the moment the curtain goes up.

No question, she’s come a long, long way from her days as a mere stage prop for Courtney Love. Continue reading EMILIE AUTUMN – Rats: The Musical

EMILIE AUTUMN – Teacups And Trials: 34 Minutes At The Asylum

Pulled from the wreckage of her shattered-to-bits favourite teacup, Emilie Autumn quickly proves she’s more than just a pretty face with a sarcastic wink. Delightfully off-the-wall and refreshingly candid, the self-styled Victoriandustrial vocalist / songwriter / performer is an interview that demands you bring your “A” game and a genuine interest in what she does. She picks your brain as you pick hers, goes off on tangents that offer valuable insight on her artistic drive, and has no problem taking the piss out of anyone, herself included. Within the first few minutes of discussion it becomes clear that Emilie Autumn’s image – the hair, clothes, make-up, barbed online prose, stage show; everything right down to the pasties – is the real deal. There’s no striving for Alice Cooper / Marilyn Manson shock value, no calculated controversial remarks nor turn of bare thigh to keep the goth community entranced just a little longer. What you see is most certainly what you get.

“There’s not a damn thing contrived about me,” Emilie says of her image, which most fans and naysayers quite logically assume gets shoved into the closet when the curtain comes down. “I often times wish that it was and that I had a much more normal life, but I don’t. I can’t lie to you, I tone it down for the stage (laughs).”
Continue reading EMILIE AUTUMN – Teacups And Trials: 34 Minutes At The Asylum