Ok – so you are thinking of having a Ladies Night – but you are not sure where to start. You might have even organized such an event before but felt you got ripped off. Allow me to shed some light……….

Ladies Nights

A typical ladies night consists of two strippers and a drag queen. The strippers will perform one spot each and if it is a weekend may have to dash off to another performance (i.e they won’t hang around afterwards). Strippers are paid much less than the drag queen and have to make up their money by performing more than one show in the evening if they can. A typical ladies night will be priced around the £450-£500 mark. Expect to pay from around £200 for the drag queen and up to £125 for each stripper. Prices may vary slightly. If the show is midweek for example the artistes may be accommodating on their price. If the show is a long drive, the artistes will have to raise their price.

Always ask for a contract from the person you organize this with! This should be totally transparent and detail exactly what you get for your money. All too often, bookers complain that they have paid way over the figures I have quoted above. This is usually because someone has taken a ridiculous booking fee to organize the night for you. When booking through a reputable agent, their commission should be stated clearly on the contract. If it isn’t you should be concerned. If you have been quoted £600 for a regular ladies night then the person who gave you the quote is probably planning to put £150 of your money into their back pocket for making a couple of phone calls. They may well dress up in a frock and a wig and come out at your event. You have been warned…..

Also, note that you should be made aware in advance who the performers are on the night in question so that you can draw up publicity material. If three different performers turn up to those who are on the poster you should ask for a discount from the organizer (don’t blame the acts who turn up they will be innocent). The name and address of the organizer should be on your contract.

Stripper Extravanaganza

When the credit crunch hit we started offering an alternative to the standard format as many people found the standard ladies night to steep for their budget. We therefore trialled a show called ‘3 cocks and a Comic’. An aging stripper fancied his hand at becoming a stand up comic. For £350 bookers were receiving 3 strippers and a free comic. The problem was that the comic wasn’t very funny. Although, in hindsight that is funny, at the time it was no joke !

Anyway, we have tinkered with this format somewhat and seem to now have a successful formula. Instead of offering a drag queen and two strippers, for the same price you can also have 4 strippers and a FREE compere. Before deciding whether you prefer a standard ladies night or the stripper extravaganza alternative, consider what type of audience you anticipate at your venue :

About 70% of the women who turn up at ladies nights at what we affectionately refer to as the ‘cock brigade’. That is they have basically come to see the male strippers. About 30% of audiences are equally appreciative of the cabaret. If you think your crowd are mostly made up of the cock brigade then go for the STRIPPER EXTRAVAGANZA. If you think your crowd like their cabaret then get a drag queen as well.

Please note that we have our own PA system and radio microphone if needed and the stripper who compere’s the show often comes out in a comedy wig and dress so as not to break with the tradition of having a female impersonator open the show (we try not to take ourselves too seriously)! The night will last a similar length of time to a standard ladies night. Our stripping compere doesn’t mime or sing but does do a little patter on the mic. He doesn’t spend as long on the mic as a drag queen but the extra strippers more than make up for any time lost miming/singing !

Please note also, that this show can be tailored to your budget. We have done many shows with just two strippers and a free compere (from as little as £230 if midweek). These obviously don’t last as long as a standard ladies night but often go well if complemented with an Ann Summers evening. 

 

Troupe Shows

An alternative to a standard ladies night is a troupe show. This is where a collection of strippers come out and perform together as well as individually. You may have heard of the Chippendales for example from the 1980s. They are an example of a troupe. Troupe shows are usually relatively expensive and offer poor value for most Ladies Night scenarios. You must ask yourself whether you will get back the £900-£1000 fee that some of them charge from an event in your small village hall. If so great, a troupe may be for you. However, also be aware that collections of strippers sometimes call themselves a troupe but instead go out and perform individual shows only. You should expect a group introduction, individual shows and a group finale from your troupe. Again this should be contractually specified. Also, in recent years many strip troupes have resorted to performing as theatre shows and don’t actually take their knickers off ! If you want strippers but hire a troupe make sure they will fully disrobe!

A Cheaper Alternative

As discussed before a lot of troupes will charge you a price that is twice that of a standard ladies night and only offer a 5 minute opening routine and 5 minute closing routine in addition to what you could get for half the price (poor value in my view).

The UK Playboys (left) are an example of a troupe that you can hire for almost the same price as a standard Ladies Night. As times got hard and the troupe bubble burst many strippers in troupes became more realistic with their prices. Troupes do still tend to be a little bit more than the standard ladies night package. This isn’t really because of the extra 5 minutes performing at either end of the night, but more because everybody will have to be there all night. The strippers won’t be leaving in a hurry to attend other shows as they will have to perform throughout the night as a troupe.

With any troupe show a drag queen can be hired to compere the evening but, if alternatively you are looking for a cut price troupe, it can be performed with only a couple of guys. Similar to the stripper extravaganza, a PA system and mic can be supplied and the guys can compere it themselves

Organizing all of this can be a bit of nightmare ! However, that’s what I’m here for. Drop me a line, let me know what you’ve got in mind and I’ll see if I can help…….