Cellar Door, 10th November

It took me about five years to actually get to Cellar Door and it was a total anticlimax. The space itself is pretty cool – it’s a repurposed public toilet in the middle of Aldwych. You’d never know it was there unless you knew it was there. Downstairs they make the most of the space with mirrored walls – so much so I kept walking through thinking there was more to it. There wasn’t. Luckily there were two seats along the side so we quickly grabbed those and waited for the acts to start.

I will give Cellar Door the benefit of the doubt – maybe we just chose a dud night. It was basically a guy on keyboard with a walkabout cabaret singer doing numbers such as The House of the Rising Sun and In These Shoes and moving around the audience giving them her most personal of attention. I found it all a bit cringey and forced though perhaps I just wasn’t drunk enough.

Speaking of drinks, we ordered ‘martinis’ – mine the Cool as a Cucumber and Carolyn’s the London Calling. For martinis they were oddly frothy and not particularly potent. Mine tasted nice enough – but was too mild. Carolyn’s was similar – and more to her preference when it comes to strength.

We had our cocktail and then made a sharp exit before the singing started again! 

Le Salon Noir, 24th September

Hot hot hot is the best way to describe Le Salon Noir. But sorry boys, you’re not invited. This is a women’s only burlesque event. A sexy women’s only burlesque event. With partying and playing after. In fact, it turned out playing during was also heartily encouraged but I think everyone was too focused on the acts happening in front of them to bother with that.

Ok, so yes, ladies only in this context was meant in a Sapphic sense, but any girl who can appreciate the sensuality of the female form would enjoy the night. It was easily the most erotic burlesque I have ever seen – possibly because they didn’t have to worry about men getting overly excited and ruining it for everyone. The sassy, sexy host was funny and moved the action along, as well as belting out a few numbers herself. There were two or three girls who did a couple of acts each – everything had a slight (or not so slight) kinky feel to it. For example, the act where our compere’s gimp came on stage and was told to lapdance a member of the audience! And this was a hell of a lapdance!

Tickets were £20 and included a glass of bubbly as you came in which was just the kind of touch which makes you feel the night is a little bit special. After the show was over the music and the party continued! A really sexy and intimate night – I highly recommend it to women with a sense of mischief!

Anything but Grey, Serendipity party, 13th February

Most people would want to be known as Anything but Grey, and Serendipity’s first party certainly allowed people to discover their ‘colourful’ side if they hadn’t yet already. A night that aimed to show the ‘real’ side of BDSM (take control don't 'lose control') which has been portrayed in the dreaded 50 Shades franchise, they put on a successful party allowing people to dip their toe in kink without going too crazy with it. It was an occasion – dressing up was mandatory – but not full-on fetish like TG. Tasteful elegance was enough – ball gowns and tuxes but any extra touches were welcomed. It was held in the frankly gorgeous setting of Bloomsbury Ballroom and we were all treated to a complimentary (or two) glass of prosecco while we waited for those who had bought the VIP dinner ticket to finish up. Then we went through to the main area, where seating was provided along a long catwalk. Nibbles (very salty popcorn and veggie crisps) were handed out though these were replaced by proper canapes later in the evening and even a massive cheese board! Now that is the way to do a party – throw in some cheese!

Anyway, the night began with an alternative fashion show, which was truly a feast for the eyes, with many different designers and lines on show. After this, we had something of a cabaret/burlesque performance – some aerial work, a magician, and all presided over by Lolo Brow, the ‘drag king’ who is an excellent host. The calibre was high among most of the performers (I missed the magician who apparently wasn't so good) and I was impressed. Unfortunately, despite this, I felt that it went on for a little longer than it needed to and perhaps the burlesque could have been interspersed more with the fashion show. I was also there to party and by the time the show was over, more than half the night had disappeared. There was no time for the music to get cranked and us to get crunk. Especially if you had plans to indulge in the other side of the event – for it wasn't really until the show was over that the specially-built 'dungeon' was unveiled and ready for full use. This was an area at the back of the main room, although paraphernalia and kit spread out along the sides as well. Bondage, ropework, flogging – it was all happening, though there was no pressure to participate, and it was set up for those curious (or voyeuristic) to get a good view.

Drinks were a pretty decent price, and the crowd was a mix of seasoned fet veterans and newbies just there for the burlesque. There had been a question from some of my friends as to whether such a mix would work, but I think it did. Plenty of space for a bit of a fashion/burlesque/fetish crossover night in the London alternative nightlife scene  - just give us more dancing!

Carousel, 31st October

I had already been to one Carousel and had a gay old time, but didn’t end up writing about it so I thought I would put a few words down about the last one I went to , as well as the time before.

Carousel is along the lines of Rumpus though tends to be on a slightly smaller scale. At least two rooms have various different performances or things going on, and they play a variety of music as well. There’s sometimes a particular theme but otherwise dressing up in anything reminiscent of circuses and cabaret is encouraged. Recently they threw a two-night Halloween extravaganza based around The Rocky Horror Show. People dressed as one of the characters and things kicked off at 11:30 when the ‘official cast’ lead us all in a rendition of the Time Warp. Then, peppered throughout the evening, those playing the characters did various performances of songs from the show, reimagined. Thus ‘Touch me’ between Janet and Rocky was a sexy aerialist performance. And Eddie, who was ‘played’ by someone far sexier than Meatloaf ever was, entered the stage on his motorbike and did a fire-eating performance. And then it was rounded off with an ensemble performance at the end for Frank’n’furter’s demise. In between we had live bands and DJs, which started off a little too cheesy for my liking but with a few brass instruments thrown in made for some good party music.There was dancing galore!

But that was all in the main room. In the second room there was also music but less dancing, at least to begin with. Instead, this was where the party games were, for example bobbing for apples, and then, later on, limbo! And there was at least one secret area as well, which I was lucky enough to discover – I can’t say whether there were any more I didn’t know about! At about 2 am or so my friend grabbed me and chucked me through a door that really looked like it was for staff only. But that was all a pretence, for through that door a secret dinner party was going on and if you came in, you got to be a guest and even get to say some lines as it all unfolded. This was the icing on the cake for me – a wonderful and much fun little immersive surprise.

At past Carousels they have had the fabulous Mr B, Gentleman Rhymer, spitting hip hop lyrics in the most refined vintage fashion, and I’m sure at the other one I went to, they had glitter wrestling, though my mind can’t quite believe that could be the case. People all oiled up and wrestling in glitter? Would something like that be allowed? I can’t be certain it was. (It was.)

So, whatever the theme, Carousel have a way about them with intimate yet highly entertaining parties, and I shall be sure to get myself along to whatever they have in store next time.

Finger in the Pie, 6th July

I'd only recently seen the crème de la crème of cabaret at Black Cat, so I was completely prepared to be underwhelmed by Finger in the Pie, a monthly cabaret show at Madame JoJo’s. On a Sunday.

But I've been wanting to check it out so took my Meetup group along with me. And when we got there and there was a queue, I began to wonder if I should expect a little more. I will admit, what followed wasn’t quite as sleek, sexy and showbiz as something like the Black Cat, but boy was it fun! And just plain weird.

Hosted by Michael Twaits, the manliest transvestite I’ve probably ever seen (he doesn’t even bother to shave his legs) we were treated to acts ranging from the ridiculous to the slightly less ridiculous. There was quite a heavy emphasis in this show on comedy, even when it wasn’t strictly a comedy routine. There were a few burlesque acts as well, a couple of which were rather routine, but one I really enjoyed – Little Lady Luscious did some actual ballet combined with a sort of dance of a thousand scarves routine. Different and effective, which is what I’m looking for in burlesque.

Some of the acts were just baffling but not necessarily in a bad way. Some of these were my favourites. ‘Katy’s friend’ for example, where ‘Katy’ came in dragging what I thought was a rock in a cart behind her. It wasn’t a rock, it was a sheep’s skull and then she sang ‘The first time ever I saw your head’ her ode to her deceased lamb lover.

Probably my absolute favouritest act was ‘Womans’. With a generic Borat-like accent she wooed us with the art form of dance. Unfortunately what she did doesn’t lend itself well to being described – it’s a ‘you had to have been there’ kind of act. Let me just say three words. Art. Bum. Tassles. Carlos, Istanbul’s premier operatic singer was a close runner for top performance. He came out with his accordion and ‘sang’ a song that is about as far from opera as you can get and was utterly hilarious. He’s actually got a solo show at Soho Theatre this week and I’d definitely recommend checking him out.

The truly weirdest act was probably Gentleman John and his friend. He came out with a colander on his head strapped on with an elastic band, a bushy moustache and boxing gloves, while his friend came out in multi-coloured clothes and some leggings on his head. And then they proceeded to fall about the stage muttering nonsense for about ten minutes. This actually was pretty funny, although for me probably went on for a tad too long before they muttered an almost incomprehensible ditty and disappeared off stage.

In between, Michal Twaits (who was at least as entertaining if not more so than the acts) would keep our enthusiasm levels high, make us laugh and even treat us to a song or two, taking suggestions from the audience. We persuaded him to sing Sweet Transvestite from Rocky Horror even though it went against all his instincts to avoid cliché, and that was a lot of fun, but his musical theatre ‘quartet’ was the best bit. He mashed up Nicki Minaj, Nirvana, Bon Jovi and one other into one of those ‘storyline recaps’ oft used in musicals where each separate character sings their theme song yet they all blend seamlessly into one new song. Know what I mean? No? Well then you probably don’t know musical theatre dahling!

So it was a fun night, and for only £10 you could do a lot worse – there were ten acts, excluding Michael, so a pound an act is not bad value at all. A good way to liven up a Sunday.

Black Cat Cabaret, 20th June

This. Was. Fabulous. And I do not say that lightly. I’ve been wowed and awed by some pretty stupendous acts, especially at the London Wonderground which seems to curate its shows with such care – Limbo and Boom Boom Club. And the Black Cat Cabaret was pretty up near these giddy heights.

I think what sets this show (and others like it) apart from other cabaret revue nights is that there is a story to everything. Each act is its own little vignette. And it’s coupled with a banging soundtrack to keep things sizzling. And of course, there’s a lot of sex to it. Not necessarily in nudity, but in the attitude it exudes.

Dusty limits is a debonair and devilish host as always. His risqué humour was perfect for this show. However, as with other appearances he has made, I do think one song is really the maximum he should be allotted. He’s a great performer but he’s not the best singer in the world.

Unlike the second act Lily la Scala whose voice is tremendous. She portrayed a boozy, libidinous, living doll, managing to wobble in a rigid, artificial way all over the stage and into the audience, while singing opera. This climaxed with, well, a climax for one poor (lucky!) sod in the audience who got to have Lily astride him as her song, and she, peaked.

Before this we had been wowed with an act I hadn’t seen before – Joe Moss did what I would loosely call acrobatics with a giant hoop, turning and twirling it while balanced inside. Hoops made another appearance later on, this time in normal ‘hula’ size. I’ve seen a few hula hoop acts before and they’re always quite fun. Jess Love made this one different by having a whole heap of attitude to her like she found the whole thing a drain on her free time. Oh, we're all clapping now? How very dull. And then she messed up! Oh no! Or did she…??

All the acts were good but one that I found rather stirring was Vicky Butterfly’s performance – it started out with a pretty standard burlesque act of wings, this time lighted, that she wound and wended about her, but then she climbed aboard the moon at the back of the stage and proceeded to ride it as if it was a big seesaw, holding on with ropes to an emotive? soundtrack of the theme to Requiem for a Dream and Edward Scissorhands. Beautiful.

Cabaret rouge were the ‘house’ dance troupe popping up to do quick routines such as an homage to the can can, or a tribue to Degas and his ballerina girls, alluding to what life was really like for an aspiring Parisienne ballerina trying to make ends meet and ending up on the wrong side of a coke addiction. The dancing was fun, funny, outstandingly good, but you couldn't forget its dark undertones.

Tom Baker who crops up at a lot of things (especially It’s Your Funeral) was a part of the band but also did a solo stint, engaging the audience in a singalong, which I have definitely seen him do before but I can’t pinpoint when – maybe at Boom Boom Club. Anyway, it’s a great song about the end of the world, fun to sing and it was no less fun this time.

I also liked the way they messed with gender roles - a love triangle involving a man and two women was danced out with all three parts played by women, and the aerial act was performed by a man and woman - but the man started out in a dress and the woman, in trousers, seduced him.

I enjoyed the night so much I am very tempted to go again as I feel I didn’t even have as good an experience as I could have, had I not spend half the acts writing notes about what each performer was doing for the blog!

The Katzenjammer Club, 19th October

Do you want the good news or the bad news? Well, tough. I'm starting with the good news.

Which is that the launch night of the Katzenjammer Club was a huge success and a really good evening. I enjoyed all of the acts I saw - they were top quality and if this becomes a regular night (and I hear that it will) then it will be a worthy addition to the cabaret scene. I even enjoyed the catwalk of latexwear put on and I'm not remotely into fashion. As with normal catwalk styles, I wouldn't wear any of it in real life, but it did look interesting and beautiful on the models.

The delicious Dusty Limits was the consummate host tying the night together and providing some of the entertainment as well. (Perhaps a little too much - I would probably have preferred another act over Dusty singing again, though I did enjoy his version of Space Oddity, with everyone joining in the claps with gusto).

I hadn't seen Florian Brooks before and didn't know what to expect from his act. He first came on and enchanted us with a 'simple' dance with his cane and hat, moving fluidly around the stage, balancing each with almost perfection. His second foray was a juggling act which was just as entertaining. It seems almost unbelievable with the number of cabaret and circus type events I've been to but juggling has never featured before. When it's done this well - it should!

I also really enjoyed one half of the Gorey Cabinet, Mr Pustra, doing a Klaus Nomi 'impression' with a massive latex tuxedo on (which I believe was similar to if not the same as one worn by Nomi). I knew nothing about Klaus Nomi, I can only say that as a performance it was impressive and I would like to see more. 

The absolute best bit of the night, however, must be credited to the Roustabouts DJ Mark R. Charade because the music was the star of the show. Everyone agreed they absolutely loved the mashups of 80s (and earlier) electro and new romanticism with modern pop. Blondie was mashed with the Stranglers. David Bowie was mashed with the Pussycat Dolls. Justin Timberlake featured. It was an infectious combination that really made you want to dance. And, as the night wore on, everyone certainly did! The music segued from the darker 80s stuff to mostly contemporary, more poppy crowd-pleasing songs that went down a treat with everyone on the dance floor. People only stopped dancing when they were forced to by the club shutting. I think, that had the layout been a bit different, that the dancing would have started much sooner, in between performances. As it was stools and chairs took up much of the dance floor area while the performances were taking place.

Which brings me to 'the bad news' - the venue itself. Actually, that is misleading. The venue did suit the evening, being in Central London in a building linked to the glamorous Centre Point, a members bar felt right for the event. However, it was quite small and the layout was all wrong. I missed at least two of the acts, simply because I couldn't see them.  Luckily I had seen the Ungewinster perform before but I was gutted that all I could see of the Gorey Cabinet's act was some red balloons every now and again. If you wanted to see anything, you had to find a spot while everyone else went to the bar and then stay there. I did this for some of the acts but I also wanted to explore (and get a drink) and thus ended up not seeing some of the show. The area immediately before the stage was given over to sofas and stools (some of which had been reserved) so for most people it was standing room only. Except that most of this standing room was to the side of the stage so if you weren't in the first row, you couldn't really see anything. I don't mind standing if I'm not early enough to get a seat, but if I've paid for a show which has performances, I think I should be able to see those performances at the very least! The room itself is rather narrow so there is probably not a huge amount that could be done, except for maybe doing away with any seating at all. This would at least encourage people to dance between performances (which we were dying to do anyway)! 

As a launch night it was great, no real teething problems apart from the viewing issue, which they might be able to improve in future. Apartment 58 had never played host to a night like this before so there were bound to be some things to iron out. I think the Roustabouts deserve a big conratulations for coming up with something fun and different in the cabaret world. 

Coney Island, 18th August

Coney Island sounded like it could be a lot of fun but I didn’t really know what to expect. It was supposed to capture the spirit of Coney Island in New York and have some silly games and even a hot dog eating contest. The music was to be 50s, 60s and French pop. It intrigued me.

Well, I finally got to go to it Saturday night. It is held once a month at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club and unfortunately it happened to fall on what must have been one of the hottest days of the year. Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club isn’t just an ironic name, it really is a working men’s club and I suspected their air conditioning wouldn’t be state of the art. I was right, it wasn’t up to scratch to deal with a heaving, busy club night, but that was the only downside to the night.

We arrived and were given the groundrules for entrance by one of the doormen, namely that we must leave quietly and not congregate around the exits because the people over the road were a care home and kept complaining and would really rather the BGWMC was shut down. In an effort to ensure this doesn’t happen, we were happy to agree to the terms and gain entrance. 

We went in and even though it was only 10:30, it felt like the party was in full swing already. Along one wall were the funfair games, which of course we had a go at. There were minor queues for each game but they went swiftly enough. The first I tried my hand at was a mini pitch and putt – you had to get the golf ball between the cutout’s legs. I was so close the first time, but just seemed to get worse on my next two turns. No prize for me. 

Then I tried knocking tin cans off the wall. The lady overseeing this activity was a lot more generous with the definition of ‘three turns per person’. After at least my sixth go I had knocked most of them off the wall and earned myself a prize. Which is to have a lucky dip in a trash bag. I pulled out a flowery hairband. Prizes other people won included a wagon wheel, old not-so-great DVDs (Confidence with Rachel Weisz anyone?) and a mini can of deodorant (perhaps quite useful in that hot environment).

They were also giving away free ice cream and had a lady doing free temporary tattoos (otherwise known as body painting) of dubious quality. All very silly fun.

But they also had some rather unexpected entertainment on the main stage. The first was a magician who had been wandering the crowd but was given a few minutes on the stage to wow the entire audience. With a bit of participation from a member of the crowd, his act was none too bad. Then there was a lady in fetish wear who did a bit of a striptease before stapling blue lights to her body, piercing herself with sparklers and setting alight to them before flouncing around on stage a bit. Quite a sight.

Warning - semi-adult content in the video!

And then there were some competitions! A dance competition where several people on the dance floor were picked upon to go up on stage and compete for the audience’s approval. I am very proud to say my friend won, and beat off some stiff competition. And finally, the hot dog competition. This was actually a little disappointing and not quite the spectacle I was hoping. They picked three people at random to compete and were told they had five minutes to eat as many hot dogs as they could. The clock started counting down and the three people began to eat. Sedately. Normally. Boringly. They had clearly never seen a hot dog challenge or any other kind of timed food challenge before.

Ah well. After that was over it was time to concentrate on dancing and that we did. The music was excellent although it did take a slightly weird turn towards the end (I wonder if this was the French pop part). Maybe they keep that in the bag to help persuade people to leave as the night drew to an end. We thought we'd try to request something else. I went and loitered by the DJ booth looking somewhat hopeful and friendly but failed to make an impression on the DJ who dutifully ignored me.

I have already described what BGWMC is like inside in my previous post on Homework held there, and it was just the same really, except there was a scattering of tables and chairs instead of in rows. It’s definitely a funny little venue; as we were going in some old boy was coming out – it was functioning as a regular club in the downstairs part which surprised some of my companions. But so far 2/2 of the nights I’ve been to have been grand, and I don’t see any reason to imagine the other varied aren’t just as good. I will be gathering more evidence when I go their Double R Club night (cabaret the way David Lynch might do it) in a few weeks. 

La Reve, 10th August

I think I have burnt my bridges with Cafe De Paris. And it was all going so well...

Well, actually it wasn't. La Reve at the Cafe de Paris wasn't the most successful night. We arrived at the venue just a little after 8:30, when the show starts. The lady compere was just in the middle of a song from Chicago as we were shown to our seats. All the tables in the centre where people were also eating with their cabaret were taken but there were plenty of free booths and seats around the side and on the upper section. Cocktail menus were on the table and I took a sharp breath in when I saw the prices - £11 or £12 for some pretty standard cocktails. I don’t mind paying a little extra when I’m being served, say chocolate soil on the side, or a detonated balloon, but for a normal mai tai, that seemed a bit much. Instead, Stephen and I shared the cheapest bottle of red wine for £21, which was no great shakes either. Even Stephen, who is no wine connoisseur (not yet anyway) said he could tell this was of poor quality. 

There were three acts before the break – a strange take on a burlesque striptease from a woman who did a Flashdance-inspired striptease. There was a guy who showed quite an amazing aptitude for balancing which we were impressed by, but the best performers of the first half were a comedy duo I had already seen called Ginger and Black. She’s ginger, he’s black. They do silly songs that can take on an incredibly dark tone. I found them just as funny as the first time I saw them, though wasn’t convinced this was the best showcase for them and wasn’t sure if the rest of the audience really appreciated them.

There was then a short break for refreshments, and the compere came on again and did another song. We were then treated to a magic/comedy/mime act which was faintly amusing. I did quite enjoy the joke about answering a dating ad to find it had been placed by a goose (single, white female). Then there was the act all those looking for some titialltion had come to see – a proper burlesque striptease complete with feather boa and wildly rotating nipple tassels.

The finale was a masculine take on rope work. It was nice to see a guy doing this for a change, and he used chains to climb and wrap around himself instead of ropes. I think this must be considered quite a show-stopping feat in the cabaret world as the Boom Boom Club finished on a rope act as well. And while it is impressive, I think ending on a striptease or something like that is more spectacular.

Individually we knew that the performers were talented, but unfortunately the show as a whole left most of us, who had been at Prospero’s Tavern the week before, underwhelmed. The set up for a start wasn’t great as the acts felt very far removed from us, unlike at the Wonderground where they were in the midst of everyone. You felt like you could have easily ignored what was going on – it didn’t impose its presence like it should. Perhaps this is a shortcoming of the venue rather than the show being put on. Also, it didn’t feel like a complete show – it was just individual act after individual act, with nothing but the compere introducing them. We missed the theatre of the Boom Boom Club.

On the upside, the interior of Cafe de Paris was splendid. I don't mean that in a 'this is jolly good, rather' kind of way, I mean it as pertaining to having splendour. I had never even noticed it before but I would have passed it countless times as it is just by Leicester Square. Part of the reason I wanted to come was for the venue itself – it has a history of putting on cabaret and the like since its inception. So, it was nice to have been a little part of its history. 

We were told toward the end of the show that we would have to vacate our table when the show was over. Our tickets include entry to the ‘after party’ but evidently this doesn't mean you can keep the table you’re on. Our had been reserved for the after show and we were pretty promptly kicked off it when the show finished, even though whoever had reserved it didn’t turn up the whole time we were there. This marked the transformation of this place from a pleasant burlesque soiree to a hideous typical West End club.  It felt like a travesty to put such a gorgeous, quirky (it is modeled on the Titanic) venue to such use. We expected the after party to somewhat match the show in tone and music but no, all pretence at being cabaret was gone and instead the place was full of commercial electropop and RnB. To be fair, I don’t mind this kind of music after having a few drinks but it’s not at all what we were expecting given the show and once the place started to fill up with young, skinny girls in 4 inch heels and white, backless dresses, we knew it was time to leave.

We went to collect Stephen’s bag but unfortunately he had lost his ticket. I find cloakroom attendants to be generally surly and begrudging at the best of times but the lady at this one took it to another level. I know it must be annoying when people lose their tickets, but when the club has barely opened, and two reasonably, not inebriated people are doing their best to help you try to find it, is there really any need for any attitude? I think no, but she clearly thought otherwise. I helpfully managed to dreg out from the recesses of my memory the ticket number, only to be told that ticket number didn’t exist. When the bag was finally found, lo and behold! The ticket number managed the one I had told her. Obviously not wishing to lose face, she tried to insist that wasn’t what I had said at all in the first place. She was very unpleasant and I may have told her so in no uncertain terms, which is why I don't think I'd better go back there. Luckily, I have no intention of doing so. Having already had sinking estimations of the place, that was the final nail in the coffin. Given their location and renown I’m sure they don’t have to bother with good customer service and see a steady stream of tourists and young girls who don’t know any better. I won't be joining them again.

Boom Boom Club, 2nd August

I was incredibly impressed with the Wonderground setup in general. I expected something a lot flimsier. The show was held in the spiegeltent, which looked like a big red top once inside, with a stage at the back, and a bit of a catwalk leading to a circular stage at the front where the performers did their stuff. We ended up sitting beside the catwalk – I had faith that they wouldn’t have an in-the-round setup if they weren’t good at performing in the round, and on the whole they were, but I think sitting facing the stage probably would have been a tad better. Some of the performers, such as Pirate Phil (an ex-banker who had seen the light and told us about it in song) and the kitty cat – a striptease artist, did roam the audience somewhat, but being nearer the stage and at the front, all in all was beneficial.

The show is very polished, the performers are top class. It’s visually impressive with some great costumes – and it’s sexy. Unfortunately no photography was allowed so you have to go see it yourself to see what I mean.

There was a very loose backstory which tied the acts together and also gave their actions some purpose. The night was called Prospero’s Tavern and the people who came on stage were either regulars of the Tavern or connected to Prospero (of the Tempest fame) in some way. For example, Miranda, his daughter, who was ‘drunkenly’ heckling Prospero for the first half of the act, was allowed to come on stage and ‘embarrass herself’.  And of course, being intoxicated, she was stumbling and falling all over the place, the perfect ruse to allow her to twist and turn herself inside out, for she was in fact a contortionist. Or when a quarrel broke out between two sailors who incorporated their acrobatics into their choreographed fight. They deftly swore at and punched each other in between somersaults and some very impressive balancing acts. 

There were a couple of amusing songs and even a singalong at one point. The hour went by far too quickly. I could really see why the Boom Boom Club has the reputation it does and I imagine most other acts I will see of this ilk will pale in comparison. Certainly those I’ve seen before so far do not even hold a candle to this. I am going to La Reve next week though, who have been going for quite some time and also have a very good reputation so we shall see how they compare.

One of the highlights for me was ‘The King’ hula hooping to some of his greatest hits. This doesn’t sound like much but I was transfixed by what this tubby little guy dressed a bit like Elvis could do with a hoop. Did I say ‘a’ hoop? I mean several hoops at the same time, even manipulating them to start at his waist and then travel off in different directions. His finale was to hoop with upwards of 20 all at once! He looked like a giant slinky. I fear I am not doing this act justice but it was jaw dropping.

I was also completely seduced by the woman who performed one of the burlesque stripteases. Or, rather, I should say, the woman who was stripped and molested by the possessed hand that tormented her. I think this probably needs explanation. Through a clever fake appendage, she made it look like her hand was a severed malevolent being (like an evil version of Thing from the Addams Family) which was attacking her – first it was being a bit of a sex pest, groping her here and there, then it took an even more sinister turn, choking her to the ground and then reviving her with a tickle to her nether regions. It was funny, creepy, weirdly convincing, and she was utterly gorgeous.

After the show is over, you are all invited to clear out so they can move the chairs away, and then you’re called back in for the ‘after party’ should you wish to stay. This only happens after the Thursday, Friday and Saturday performances and is an extra £5. It might be very different on a Friday or Saturday when people don’t have work to think about the next day, but the majority of the audience last night did not return for the afterparty and the atmosphere was muted. Most of my group wanted to stick around though - after all, we had paid the extra and we were promised live music and two more performers who hadn’t been in the show. We danced around a bit to the music, even though few others did, watched the other two performers (a fire hula-hooper, and a girl doing swinging hoop acrobatics) and stayed until the last song. Overall though, I wouldn’t say you should feel hard done by if you happen to go on a night when the afterparty isn’t an option.

If you like this kind of stuff, you will love the Boom Boom Club. And if you don’t, you should still go – this might change your mind. Brilliant.