Want to learn more about burlesque? Here is our ongoing recommended reading and watch list. Check out our "Learn More Section" which includes a list of books, videos, and other resources to help you learn more about the fascinating history of burlesque. 
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Update from PHAB NS

For those curious about our project, The Society for Preserving the History & Art of Burlesque in Nova Scotia, we took a brief hiatus over the summer while our directors managed various life happenings. Things are now slowly getting back on track, with several long-term projects quietly taking shape in the background.

This initiative has been more than a decade in the making and will continue evolving for many years to come. Our current phase of research is still in its early stages, but the groundwork is well underway.

I (Cadence) will be heading into Halifax this month to arrange a secure storage space for our growing collection of materials. Ensuring the long-term safety and preservation of our burlesque history for both today’s community and future researchers is a top priority.

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How You Can Get Involved

⭐️ Material Donations
We’re seeking items such as posters, flyers, merch, stickers, photos, promotional materials, newspaper clippings, and costumes. As long as it’s relevant to Nova Scotia burlesque, we welcome material from past, present, or even upcoming events.

⭐️ Books, CDs & DVDs
We’re building a public reference collection dedicated to the history and art of burlesque. If you have books, CDs, or DVDs you’d like to donate, we’d be deeply grateful. We also maintain a wishlist of educational titles in case you’d prefer to purchase a book in support of this project.

⭐️ Digital Donations
Digital copies of flyers, posters, images, videos, and news articles are all appreciated. Every bit helps fill in the gaps of Nova Scotia’s burlesque story.

⭐️ Volunteers
We’re looking for both in-person and research volunteers. In 2026, we plan to attend events across the province to promote the project and raise awareness, and we’d love help from community members who are passionate about preserving burlesque history.

Research volunteers are especially needed for work at the Halifax Archives and Halifax Central Library. Unfortunately, Nova Scotia’s newspapers from the 1930s through the 2000s are not digitized, meaning much of our research must be done by hand through microfilm organized by date rather than subject. It’s incredibly time-consuming but also deeply rewarding work, and we’d love to hear from anyone interested in contributing.

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We’ll be keeping a list of everyone who donates or contributes to this project and posting it on our website with our gratitude. This is truly a community effort, and we couldn’t do it without your support.

If you’re producing an event and would like us to set up a table or give a talk, please reach out.

If you know of other groups or organizations we should connect with, we’d love to hear from you.

And lastly, if there’s something you as a community member would like to know about our rich 150 years of burlesque history in Nova Scotia, let us know. We’ve created a working timeline from the 1870s to the present, but we’d love to hear what parts of that history people are most curious about.

Thanks everyone!

On International Sex Workers’ Day, we stand in solidarity with sex workers.


While our industries are distinct in their own ways, burlesque and sex work have long shared spaces, histories, and overlapping struggles. Burlesque performers have benefited from the advocacy and labor of sex workers - whose efforts have helped pave the way for greater freedom of expression, bodily autonomy, and artistic legitimacy for us all.


We especially want to acknowledge Jelena Vermilion of @swaphamilton for her generous support of @phab_ns. Her guidance in navigating archival research and development has greatly enriched our work, and we are deeply grateful for her insight and expertise.


With love and solidarity. ✌️💗

Snuck in a bit of research today in the Local History section at the Halifax Library.

We had a few people ask us this weekend where and how we’ve found our material. The short answer? A tedious process of combined methods and many, many hours cross-referencing sources.

If you’re interested in researching local history - whether it’s burlesque, drag, circus, or other performing arts, here are a few tips to get you started:

📚 Visit your local libraries and archives. They often have resources you won’t find online.
📚 Search online newspaper archives, including Google News Archive.
📚 Look through old phone books, city maps, and municipal records. These can reveal venue names, ads, or listings you wouldn’t expect.
📚 Explore the Internet Archive. It’s a goldmine, and you can even borrow digital books for free!
📚 Google books related to your topic and the history of the city/town it took place in. Understanding the broader historical context helps connect the dots, and often leads you to your next clue.

If you have questions or need help, please feel free to reach out to us.

Thank you to everyone who came to visit us at our booth at the Atlantic Burlesque Festival! We had a wonderful time chatting with you and sharing our findings. This was our first public event and we were so happy to see so many people engaging with the material and asking questions. If you want to learn how to do burlesque history research for your own town or province get in touch, we’d love to help you!

And thank you to the ABF for supporting us by having us there this weekend.

As Pride season begins, we want to take this opportunity to reaffirm our love, respect, and unwavering support for the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Trans, Two-Spirit, and Queer performers have always been at the heart of burlesque, shaping its history, challenging norms, and expanding its possibilities. Their artistry, resilience, and brilliance continue to inspire us and push the art form forward.

We honour the legacy of those who paved the way and stand proudly with those continuing to create space, spark joy, and ignite change. Burlesque is and always will be a celebration of self-expression, resistance, and radical joy, and that wouldn’t be possible without the 2SLGBTQ+ community.

Happy Pride. You are loved. You belong.

​Turner’s troupe, though popular and provocative, only visited Halifax twice. Their cheeky musical comedies and posters of dancing girls in tights sparked outrage among more conservative corners of society. Despite warm audience reception, their influence in the city faded quickly after their departure.

​Somerby’s legacy, however, took deeper root.
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Rufus Somerby was a seasoned showman, a comedic singer, ventriloquist, and vaudeville manager who regularly brought variety and circus acts to Nova Scotia. Among his most curious contributions was Wormwood’s Dog & Monkey Theatre, a novelty show that, by today’s standards, would not be permitted but was a hit in its time. It is believed that Halifax’s first screening of a moving picture took place during one of these shows, quietly marking the city’s entry into the age of cinema.

​Decades after Somerby’s death, in 1976, his peculiar branding found new life. In the National Film Board building, which also once housed “The Nickel,” Halifax’s first movie house, an independent film collective adopted the name Wormwood’s Dog and Monkey Cinema. The Wormwood’s first official space was built on the third floor of the Khyber Arts Centre, just across from the former Academy of Music, before relocating to Gottingen Street.
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Their Gottingen Street beginnings were in the same building that once housed Cousin Brucie’s, a burlesque theatre that operated during Halifax’s nightlife boom of the 1960’s and 1970’s. After seven years, they moved across the street into the old Vogue Theatre, a building with its own colorful past. In the 1970s, it had briefly operated as an adult movie house called “Eve.” At Wormwood’s, audiences were treated to daring and often controversial films, including work by John Waters. His campy, retro aesthetic would go on to inspire many performers in the neo-burlesque revival of the 1990s and 2000s. The Wormwood cinema was in operation from 1976 until 1997.
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From Gaiety Girls and serpentine dances to vaudeville acts, adult cinemas, and underground queer film, Halifax has always had a surprisingly tangled and fascinating performance history.

​In February 1924, Halifax audiences were treated to a rare performance by noted male impersonator Pauline Travis, who appeared as a special added attraction in “The Broadway Scandals” at the Strand Theatre (the current location of Neptune Theatre). Billed prominently in promotional materials, Travis brought her celebrated act to the stage as part of Murphy and Kitz’s musical comedy unit, which included the revue-style one-act comedy “Miss Manhatten”, featuring Sam Goldman and Cal West.

Known for her gender-bending performances and theatrical flair, Travis was part of a vibrant vaudeville circuit that delighted audiences with both humor and spectacle. While the production was praised as “a scream from start to finish” and “the most delightful musical comedy seen in many years,” the appearance of a male impersonator on a Halifax stage remains a lesser-known chapter in the city’s rich theatrical history.
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This performance is a striking example of how early 20th century burlesque and variety shows challenged norms and brought subversive artistry to local audiences though often overlooked in the mainstream historical record.

New Jersey-born Floyd Vivino, better known as “Uncle Floyd”, began his career as a child prodigy tap dancer before evolving into a beloved comedian and variety performer. In 1974, he launched “The Uncle Floyd Show”, a television series that parodied popular children's programs while delivering humor aimed primarily at adults.

During the 1970s, Vivino brought his signature quirky style to Halifax’s Fabulous Lobster Trap Cabaret, delighting audiences with his offbeat comedy sets.

A lifelong champion of classic entertainment forms, Vivino hosted and starred in “The Last Authentic American Traveling Burlesque Show” in 2015, a heartfelt tribute to the lost art of traditional burlesque.

Clips from ‘The Uncle Floyd Show’ are available to watch on YouTube https://youtube.com/@unclefloydshowclips. Vivino continues to share his unique brand of humor through his ongoing podcast, which can be found at unclefloyd.podbean.com