Spooky and spicy _{by Alessia Belsito-Riera}

A hauntingly hot Halloween extravaganza is flying into Fringe Bar on the 27^th of October with zombae strippers ready to eat your heart out. At Fired Up Halloween, MC of darkness Vixen Temple will be joined by the terrifyingly talented Fired Up Stilettos (FUS) pole dancers to bring Pōneke a spooky, sexy, and silly Samhain show.

An expression of feminine sexuality and sensuality, Fired Up Halloween features local and out-of-town talents the likes of Skylar Leigh, Margot Embargot, and Bunny Holiday.

“Imagine a variety show mixed with a strip club with the added theme of Halloween,” hostess and organiser Vixen gushes. “The performers can interpret Halloween as they wish, with the acts manifesting as pole dancing and drag. The acts are spooky, bloody, comedic, camp, and devilishly sexy!”

Picture a pole dancing Freddy Krueger and you’ll be on the right track for this batty bonanza. Audience members are encouraged to get into the spirit by coming in costume, with spot prizes awarded to the most spooktacular outfits.

“As someone on the autistic spectrum, I delight in the creative expression of costumes,” Vixen says. “I play dress-ups often, extending Halloween’s magic throughout the year. For me, October 31^st is simply when everyone else joins the eternal celebration!”

Ticket sales will go towards FUS, a collective that advocates for the rights of adult entertainers in Aotearoa. “Everyone in this show is a sex worker or a stripper. Stripping is theatre, it’s an artform, and it’s time to recognise its value beyond stigma and stereotypes”, Vixen says. “I want our audience to leave recognising strippers as the talented entertainers we are”.