Amy Saunders also known as Miss Behave, is a British-born producer, performer, comedian and curator. She is a self-taught sword swallower and performs in
cabaret
Cabaret is a form of theatrical entertainment featuring music song, dance, recitation, or drama. The performance venue might be a pub, casino, hotel, restaurant, or nightclub with a stage for performances. The audience, often dining or drinking, ...
s.
Career
Saunders is mostly known as a
sword swallower. She has broken the
Guinness world record
''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a British reference book published annually, listi ...
for most swords swallowed by a woman three times. She first broke the record by swallowing five swords in London on 28 April 1999. She then swallowed six swords on the set of ''El Show de los Récords'' in
Madrid
Madrid ( ; ) is the capital and List of largest cities in Spain, most populous municipality of Spain. It has almost 3.5 million inhabitants and a Madrid metropolitan area, metropolitan area population of approximately 7 million. It i ...
on 27 November 2001. On 11 September 2004, she swallowed seven swords in London.
Saunders first began sword-swallowing while
busking
Street performance or busking is the act of performing in public places for gratuity, gratuities. In many countries, the rewards are generally in the form of money but other gratuities such as food, drink or gifts may be given. Street performa ...
in bars in the
West End of London in 1996. She started performance life in fetish clubs and then moved to freak shows as a sword swallower.
Since 2001, Saunders has been performing under the
stage name
A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...
of Miss Behave. She has been compared to Betty Boop and Marlene Dietrich, called "a live cartoon with a late night attitude." Industry websit
This Is Cabaretsaid that she "... imprints the evening with unapologetic raciness and sardonic mockery. Aggressive and confrontational, she always has a quick riposte to call your bluff."
Producer
Saunders has produced her own variety shows since 2008. She has created ''The Crack'', ''Miss Behave's Variety Nighty'', ''Miss Behave's Social Club'', ''Pleasure Aid'' and ''Miss Behave's Game Show''. In ''Variety Nighty'', she incorporated
Statler and Waldorf
Statler and Waldorf are a pair of The Muppets, Muppet characters from the sketch comedy television series ''The Muppet Show'', best known for their overly negative opinions and their tendency to Heckler, heckle people. The two elderly men fi ...
characters as in-house hecklers.
[Hoggard, Liz]
Fetish night with a big heart
''London Evening Standard'', UK, 21 August 2008. Retrieved 31 March 2013. In 2022, Saunders created the show ''
Miss Behave's Mavericks'', which is performed in
Downtown Las Vegas
Downtown Las Vegas (commonly abbreviated as DTLV) is the central business district and historic center of Las Vegas, Nevada, United States. It is the original townsite, and the Downtown gaming Las Vegas, Downtown Gaming Area was the primary gambl ...
.
Initially performed at the nightclub Cheapshot, it debuted at the
Plaza Hotel & Casino on October 2, 2024.
References
External links
Miss Behave Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Amy
British comedians
British neo-burlesque performers
Sword swallowers
Actresses from London
Comedians from London
Living people
Year of birth missing (living people)
Place of birth missing (living people)