Helen Held, The Girl No Man Can Hold
The greatest and most celebrated escape artist of all
time was, of course, Harry Houdini. During his life he performed countless
incredible feats of magic and escapology and his name remains synonymous with
the art to this day. But not even the great Houdini ever attempted an
escape from a regulation straight jacket in five inch stiletto heels, while
singing a rendition of a classic vaudeville song.
Combining amazing escapes, stunts and illusions with
eccentric comedy, vintage music hall songs and bizarre stylings, Helen Held
can provide everything from short cabaret spots to full evening shows, intimate
lounge entertainment to outdoor circle shows and street entertainment, walkabout
and close up to drawing a crowd. As dark and cheeky as the situation will allow
but never crude, Helen likes to emphasise fun and involve her audience at every
step of the way, with several routines designed specifically to give members
of the audience a chance to shine and perform without subjecting them to unfair
humiliation. Sure, they might get tied up, cast in theatrical roles or
even sawn in half or guillotined, but never made to look like idiots.
Helen prefers to perform to a piano/accordian accompanist
(who she can provide if needed, or can provide sheet music for house musicians
to follow), but can also perform to recorded backing or full band if required.
Helen made her first proper stage performance as a character in
2004, entertaining and bewildering audiences around the Leeds music
scene whilst garnering interest from further afield via internet
reports. During the course of finding her style she initially
divided her performances between the acoustic
cabaret style and a more punk rock orientated show before eventually
settling into a style inspired by old style melodrama, cabaret, vaudeville,
burlesque cabaret and Pearl White adventure serials.
As she puts it;
"When my research into early melodrama
and the peril genre led me to Pearl White, I knew I had found my
perfect role model. Pearl White was more than a screaming
love interest, in her films she did her own stunts and was proactive
in seeking out her own adventures and perils. She also taught
me that it is the innocents that are the heroines; they have a child-like
view of the world that leads them to seek out adventure and peril
without a thought for the consequences, to live life for the hell
of it. This sums up a lot of what Helen Held is about as a
character."
Helen is played by Leeds musician and misfit Mike "Quicksand Kerry" Jackson. |
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Escapes, stunts and illusions
Padlock Burlesque - a committee of audience members are invited
to bind Helen in any way they choose using two pairs of genuine police handcuffs,
a long length of chain and a multitude of household padlocks. But will
her bonds be all she sheds in her attempts to escape?
The Ballad Of Mary Jones - a volunteer accompanies Helen in
a piece of poetic melodrama involving a regulation Posey straightjacket, a villainous
stepfather, a lovestruck heroine and a familiar song.
Plastic Fantastic - for those who like their entertainment
clean, squeaky and airtight, Helen escapes from masses of tightly bound plastic
wrap and industrial tape.
Sawing a Lad(d)y in half - a much requested classic of magic.
Two volunteers, one guy, one girl, are invited up. One will assist
in sawing through the other with a fearsome cross-cut bow saw. But who
will be getting the honoured position beneath the blade?
The Indian Needles Trick - made famous by Harry Houdini, a
classic routine involving a spool of thread, a digestive tract and a bunch of
shiny, sharp sewing needles.
Grandma’s Guillotine - Helen’s Grandmother, old Mother Held,
was an eccentric cook and a strict vegetarian. In her will she bequeathed
to her Granddaughter a large vegetable chopper with the uncanny ability to cleanly
slice all manner of legumes while leaving anything with flesh unscathed. Helen
is only too pleased to demonstrate with the aid of anyone brave enough to place
their head inside the stocks.
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Mystic Ted
Helen came across her companian and resident psychic
in a flea market in a tucked away corner of Leeds. Apparently
inhabited by the spirit of a deceased magician from some time around
the turn of the century (he is as sketchy about the details of his
life and career as he is evasive about how he came to inhabit a
larged stuffed teddy bear), Mystic Ted assists Helen with some routines
and has been known to read minds, if a little grumpily and inaccurately.
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