Ben Johnson talks exclusively to the sword slinging siren of stage and screen Cecily Fay, creator of the Babes with Blades stage show and a multi talented singer, actress and performer. Oh, and she’s a martial arts master, too…
Those of us keeping a close eye on British cinema’s independent martial arts industry will know that in recent years several filmmakers have stepped out of the shadows and started to make a big impact with low key, small budget successes. Richard Jobson’s The Purifiers had a wise story and some big talents, not to mention a bucket load of post-apocalyptic head kicking that has done well in DVD outlets, while Ross Boyask and Modern Life films have busily carved out a unique niche for great British pugilism with underground hits like Left for Dead and their new film, Ten Dead Men. Cecily Fay is an actress currently riding the crest of this great wave with small appearances in all of the aforementioned films, and she looks set to step up to the big league with her forthcoming film, Warrioress (also brought to us by Modern Life), which will shift the emphasis from male dominated fight fests to something a bit more feminine.
“There haven’t really been any highly trained martial arts actresses around, especially in Britain," she tells me. "And because of that, there has never been any really good parts for women in martial arts films... [Warrioress] is a very female centric martial arts film, and all the female characters are played by female martial artists. Hopefully, we can break the mould with this film.”
Trading well on her cinematic good looks and fantastic athleticism, Cecily Fay is more than the spinning, slicing, side kicking siren we see on the screen. She is a master of Silat Melayu and its deadly sword forms not to mention an instructor in her own right, and despite the sexy outfits and acrobatics, she certainly takes her martial arts very seriously. Starting life as a singer and dancer, her theatre training led her to study the Malaysian martial art only as a hobby before other interests fell by the wayside and Fay dedicated her life to the style. But as any actor with a martial arts background will tell you, the transition from set stylistic structures and forms proved tricky when placed in front of the cameras.
“From doing real sword fighting to how you have to do it on screen was a complete surprise to me. You have to do everything half the speed and twice as big. I remember thinking, ‘this isn’t going to look right,’ but when you look back over the footage, it looks right for the screen.”
She has already had a taster of the big budget Hollywood treatment with stunt work on several major projects (including The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) but her own enterprise is certainly something a little bit different, even if it is just as delightful for teenaged boys. Her own project, called Babes with Blades UK, is a unique concept, marrying Malaysian sword forms to modern music and dance movements fit for the stage, performed by a team of Fay’s best female fighters wearing a colourful assortment of hot pants and bikinis, and very little else. Last year, Fay’s hypnotising routine made it on to Britain’s Got Talent and has been enjoying a certain cult following ever since, performing at events up and down the country. The plan is to take the Babes with Blades show out on the road in 2008. But beneath the veil of swords and sex, Fay is keen to drive home the real message behind the project.
“The main intention behind it is to try and be an inspiration to other people, because as an instructor I have had a lot of success in getting women to the classes and giving them the confidence they need. They look at me as an instructor and think ‘I can do this too,’ instead of hiding at the back. And this is a way of talking to the whole martial arts community and saying, ‘Hey! We’re here, we can do this - watch this!”
Click here to listen to the full Martial Edge interview with Cecily Fay - Coming Soon
Interviews 
Those of us keeping a close eye on British cinema’s independent martial arts industry will know that in recent years several filmmakers have stepped out of the shadows and started to make a big impact with low key, small budget successes. Richard Jobson’s 
She has already had a taster of the big budget Hollywood treatment with stunt work on several major projects (including The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory) but her own enterprise is certainly something a little bit different, even if it is just as delightful for teenaged boys. Her own project, called Babes with Blades UK, is a unique concept, marrying Malaysian sword forms to modern music and dance movements fit for the stage, performed by a team of Fay’s best female fighters wearing a colourful assortment of hot pants and bikinis, and very little else. Last year, Fay’s hypnotising routine made it on to Britain’s Got Talent and has been enjoying a certain cult following ever since, performing at events up and down the country. The plan is to take the Babes with Blades show out on the road in 2008. But beneath the veil of swords and sex, Fay is keen to drive home the real message behind the project.
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