Presenting Our Judges
Meet the incredible MX Burlesque UK 2026 Judges Panel! We’re delighted to introduce the brilliant judges who will be bringing their expertise, experience, and unique perspectives to this year’s competition.
Betsy Rose
Internationally acclaimed, Miss Betsy Rose, is one of London’s most prestigious and celebrated headline Burlesque performers and 3 times voted the UK’s number 1 Burlesque Performer.
Dazzling audiences on every continent around the globe for almost 20 years. Betsy has starred in the West End shows such as The Hurly Burly Show, appeared in various television dramas including The Crown, Khaos, Outrageous, The Great & Pennyworth, along with films such as The Muppets – Most Wanted and soon to be released Narnia – The magician’s nephew.
She has also graced the pages of Vogue and performed for clients including Dolce and Gabbana, YSL, Veuve Clicquot and Bvlgari to name a few.
Performing as well as producing the first Burlesque show to appear on the prestigious Cunard Cruise line, as well as The Orient Express and British Pullman Trains.
Betsy is also one of the creators and director of Gin House Burlesque, The Beguiling Hour and creates in house cabarets for The Wolseley Group, specifically showing at Zedel and Crazy Coqs.
Photography by Claire Vögeli Creative
Me
This is Me…Notorious Narcissist. Glamour Clown. Professional Idiot.
A master of lip sync and hilarious host with an aesthetic best viewed through a pair of sunglasses, Me is one of the top Drag artists the UK has to offer.
She’s performed across Europe (Berlin, Helsinki, Reykjavik, Stockholm, Zagreb) and America (New York, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Austin, LA) and calls London her home.
Me is a regular visiting professional at the Royal Central School of Speech and Drama, course leader at the Soho Theatre Drag and Cabaret Labs and has also taught at Rose Bruford, DeMontford University and The Place delivering sessions on drag, cabaret, queer performance and theatrical design.
As the Host, producer and lead mentor of Not Another Drag Competition, Me has helped launch the career of over 100 of London’s best, new and emerging drag and cabaret artists.
“effortlessly impeccable… a master of her craft” – Gay Times
“She kept coming back too” – 1883 Magazine
Photography by Corinne Cumming
Charlotte Heti
Best known as a Director at world famous Fetish and Body Art institution Torture Garden, Charlotte has been a face on the fetish, cabaret and alternative nightlife scenes in both the UK and internationally – both as part of the TG team, a partygoer and her previous DJ persona of The Secretary – for nearly 3 decades.
She is known for curating nights that are both meticulously crafted and boundary-defying, which sit at the intersection of nightlife, art, and subculture, setting a standard for immersive environments that feel both intimate and extraordinary. With a brand recognised around the world, she continues to showcase a wide array of performances from both the most well known of names to nurturing up and coming artists as they develop their skills
As co-founder of Le Boutique Bazaar and The Sunday Slick, she extends this vision into daytime spaces where style is elevated, and exploration is framed by a culture of consent, respect, and discretion, encouraging people to dip their toes or take their journey further, with fostering community at the core of everything.
Photography by Torture Garden Club
Mark Anthony
Mark Anthony is an award-winning drag king, boylesque performer, writer and costumier.
His work has been presented at The V&A, Stratford East Theatre, Stockholm Burlesque Festival, Berlin Boylesque Festival, Frankfurt Burlesque Festival, Helsinki Queerlesque Festival, Stockwig in Stockholm, The Yard and VAULT, as well as innumerable UK and international solo performances.
Mark is the reigning Mr Boylesque UK, having won the title in the first UK edition of the contest in 2019. They are proud to have been the first trans-masculine performer to hold the title in any country. He was also the first Drag King to win renowned Not Another Drag Competition in 2018. In 2024 he was invited to compete at the Burlesque Hall of Fame in Las Vegas, performing in the “Best Debut” category and, with Lilly SnatchDragon, winning “Best Small Group”. Mark was named one of Advocate Magazine’s 10 Advocates for 2024, an annual feature celebrating 10 artists, activists, advocates, and others who strive to make the world a better place for all.
In May 2024, alongside collaborator Veronika Marx, Mark published Life As a Cabaret: A Modern Portrait, released by Trope Publishers, a book of photos and essays on contemporary performers, cabaret aesthetics & queer arts venues and their vulnerability, archiving & recording the cabaret scene for now and historical record. He is also a mentor for the House of Pantha.
Mark is on a mission to rhinestone masculinity and prove that anybody can be a heartthrob.
Photography by Veronika Marx
Sadie Sinner
Sadie Sinner The Songbird is a creative force! Founder and curator of The Cocoa Butter Club and The Black Burlesque School, Sadie’s legacy is creating productions to decolonise performance spaces and ‘showcasing and celebrating’ Black performers and performers of colour. Her work includes facilitating workshops and university lectures about reclaiming and redistributing the narrative of racially, gender and sexuality ‘othered’ people.
On 14th February 2025, Sadie was bestowed an Honorary Doctorate in the Arts by De Montfort University for her contributions to the arts.
Photography by Studio Delite
Marisa Carnesky
Dr Marisa Carnesky is an Olivier Award Wining British performance artist and Showwoman. She uses spectacular entertainment forms, including stage illusions and rare performance skills to create new esoteric feminist shows, from reimagined fairground rides to cyclical body cabarets that combine visual, spoken and sensory material. She was instrumental in the UK burlesque revival since the early 90’s and has created 15 major touring performance works since 1994 including Carnesky’s Ghost Train, a large scale art-house theme park ride, (2004-2014) and Dr Carnesky’s Incredible Bleeding Woman (2016-19) a 7 strong cast exploring cyclical rituals through stage magic and live art action, Carnesky’s Tarot Drome, an ensemble tarot spectacle on roller skates (2012-14) and Showwomen, a feminist archival circus burlesque spectacular, which evolved from a 4 women theatre show into a 33 women outdoor promenade work. Her solo shows include Jewess Tattooess (1999-2002) toured internationally including LA International Festival). Past collaborations include C’est Duckie. She was an AHRC fellow at The University of Sheffield’s National Circus and Fairground Archive. Marisa was awarded her PhD at Middlesex University in 2019. A new book about by her work edited by Erini Kartsaki Obsessions Of A Showwoman, The Performance Worlds of Marisa Carnesky was published by Intellect (2024). She created the degree BA Contemporary and Popular Performance at Rose Bruford College (2022) and is currently developing a new performance project.
Photography by Sarah Hickson