When I was invited along to The London Cabaret Club I was caught slightly off guard. As someone who has spent two years writing about the arts, why had this dance form never popped up in my line of work?
I had to go.
There was the difficult choice of Friday or Saturday nights. Saturday evenings at The London Cabaret Club are dedicated to London Never Dies, promising to immerse guests in a world of romance and espionage through the arts.
I went for the Friday where Best of British Pop takes you on a journey through the last 60 years of Brit-pop. The night kicks off with recollections from the British beat boom of the Sixties and London’s explosive punk movement of the Seventies. It then graduates to the Eighties electronic scene and Brit-pop’s glory days of the Nineties before heading to the present day.
We were welcomed into the bar by ladies in mesmerising flapper dance outfits emblazoned with the Union Jack, a nod to iconic pop band Spice Girls perhaps, created with sequins to add to the hypnotic shimmer.
We then went into the main room where guests can sit on tables around the edge of the stage, or on booths along the walls if they have gone for one of the decadent dinner packages. Unable to resist the full experience the latter choice is what I went for.
The meal, just £75 with the show, began with a delicious confit of duck terrine, red currant and orange gel, soft herbs. The main was a hearty honey and thyme roast rack of lamb, baby onions, wilted greens, confit potatoes. Finally, a sumptuous dessert of baked cheese cake with blueberry compote.
The unique cabaret concept founded by Evelina Girling and Doni Fierro, and is held in the historic and glamorous 1920s Art Deco Bloomsbury Ballroom.
Built in 1926 as the South Ballroom for The Liverpool Victoria Friendly Society, the venue was renamed The Bloomsbury Ballroom in 2006.
Bought by The London Cabaret Club in 2015, its legendary heritage as a space for dancing, entertainment and performance is preserved into the present day for a new, discerning modern audience.
The award-winning London Cabaret Club presents a unique evening of entertainment, featuring stars from London’s West-End, critically acclaimed performers, original choreography and unparalleled production.
Sensational singers and enviable dancers take you through the show, decade by gloriously nostalgic decade, with a live band playing alongside.
There are two intervals during the show but you are relentlessly kept entertained with a magician who even had my sceptic mind in awe, and an aerial artist upping the stakes by performing with a watery bath tub as his base – for which those on the front row were kindly provided umbrellas.
The show was enthralling from start to finish and I have to admit, despite being keen to go, I was astounded at how absorbed I was.
The spectacularly curated dancing and singing was spellbinding and I cannot recommend it enough. A phenomenal experience.
The London Cabaret Club, Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, WC1B 4DA. Details: 020 7242 0002
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