“We are queer enough and lucky to be open about our bodies and sexuality. I’m not saying we’re perfect, but it’s better to be queer here than in many other places,” says Margrét Dórothea Jónsdóttir, explaining why Reykjavík’s alternative art scene is thriving. Margrét – known on stage as Margo – balances her office job with her passion for burlesque, performing either solo or with her troupe Dömur og herra (Ladies and a Gentleman).
Margrét Dórothea Jónsdóttir, 34, sales manager
I have worked in sales practically my entire career. I currently work in the sales department of Keahotels – a normal office job. But my side job is burlesque and cabaret.
“It made more sense than, I don’t know, karaoke.”
Seven years ago I attended a burlesque class in Kramhúsið. We met in that class, most of us didn’t know each other before. We attended another class and then another; at some point we put on a show because there was a spark and it was really fun. That group became my burlesque troupe, “Ladies and a Gentleman”. Since then we’ve been putting on shows fairly regularly. It just happened.
As a millennial woman, it’s one of my ways of not hating my body. I like weird and alternative performances, like drag and burlesque, and I’m also into the heavy metal scene here. It made more sense than, I don’t know, karaoke.
Groove and glitter after Covid
We used to do monthly shows with my group. We would meet once a week at Kramhúsið to work on shows or talk things through, especially when we were starting out and were nervous. Then Covid ruined everything. My group hasn’t really got going since.
Now I’m trying to get involved with Kjallarakabarett at the National Theatre. They have monthly shows from November to February and weekly shows the rest of the year. If I can, I try to get involved once or twice a month, either as a performer or as a stage manager.
I don’t make (enough) money doing it, so I can’t miss hours at work. I have friends who make enough to work less or make it their main job. But that’s pretty difficult here. There aren’t that many opportunities and the market isn’t huge. I think it works for them because they’re much better at the business than I am.
As I did it more often, I spent more money on costumes. Eventually, our troupe saved up and traveled to New York together. We saw a burlesque show and took a class. Now it’s more about having a little more money for fun things – maybe to see another show.
Embracing the bizarre
The idea behind the troupe’s name is quite simple: when we started this course, there were several ladies and only one gentleman. He has remained our token gentleman, even though he is a drag queen and therefore does not normally dress as a gentleman.
Our regular shows were Halloween and Christmas shows. We usually did one around Valentine’s Day and Þorri too. We try to make them a little bit themed around those holidays, but often they are very loosely themed. Sometimes I just want to do something silly. Does it make sense within the theme? No, but we’ll manage it.
I’m more into neo-burlesque. I don’t like taking my clothes off so much, I prefer to do something weirder. I did a show based on the weird selection of advertisements we all get at Christmas time – everything you should eat and drink: more candy and more cream. But you also have to fit into the perfect dress and look great. And then in January you should be ashamed of how fat you are. For this show I just put on a lot of compression garments – more and more until I try to fit into the dress and then I pass out. But I also have a very classic show with a feather fan dance.
Playground for adults
A lot of people don’t know what burlesque is. When you say the word, most people think of Dita Von Teese. Just this very classic beauty – white, cis, able-bodied beauty ideals. Some people just think of a strip club. I know burlesque artists who are also strippers. It’s a different kind of performance, but they’re very closely related and can’t be completely separated.
“The best thing about burlesque is that it’s really fun. The worst thing is that I hate wearing false eyelashes.”
Burlesque is such an adult playground. You can do pretty much anything – you can be super sexy, sensual, smooth and classic and just control people with the palm of your hand. Or you can go on stage and just do something weird. My friend did a performance where she wore a dress made of fish heads. Backstage it was horrible because they were real dried fish heads and it smelled disgusting. But people loved it. Then our other friend came in and did a very classic, beautiful seduction and they both kind of worked in the same show. People think it’s much more about being sexy and taking your clothes off, but it’s an alternative kind of theater – often very political or very silly.
Behind the curtain
My best moments were how it all integrated into my normal life. In the summer of 2018, I got married and my good friend Margrét Maack – who is like our burlesque mother in Reykjavík – was the host of the evening. She had invited an artist from New York who was here for a show to my wedding. Suddenly there were acrobats at our wedding! My family said: “Why are there people in Batman and Robin costumes doing acrobatics? That’s weird.” But it was wonderful.
My mother was the one who gave me the voucher for the burlesque class. She’s an actress and supports doing crazy things. I didn’t think she’d like it if I stripped on stage, but I think she understands what I’m doing. My husband has been super supportive too. He likes to help me with the music and the backing tracks. If I need stuff for costumes or anything, he’s always there. My colleagues used to say, “I don’t understand it, but you seem to enjoy it, so yay.” But now, in my new job, the girl sitting next to me is a drag queen. We swap stories about shows.
Big dreams
My dream is to open a venue or club where I and everyone I love in the scene can perform. There is a lack of venues like that in Reykjavík – venues for burlesque, drag and alternative art. For some reason, accessibility is really difficult here. Whenever I thought, “Oh, could I open a place here?”, the place wasn’t big enough, had too low ceilings or wasn’t accessible. Finding a place that fulfills those three things is really difficult. But that would be the dream.
This fall I’m starting to study Creative Arts Management. Hopefully that will give me a better sense of how I could pursue this in a meaningful way.
Follow Margo’s troupe on Instagram to stay up to date on upcoming performances: @Subscribe
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