I have been lucky enough to live in London for 25 years, until I moved to the country ;-) and for me Christmas isn’t Christmas without going into London for a show. Last year we went to the Roundhouse in Camden to see La Clique. It was unlike anything we’d ever seen and we loved it! The website bills La Clique as:
Impossible to describe and impossible to resist. A sexy, funny and dangerous experience, La Clique’s heady cocktail of cabaret, new burlesque, circus sideshow and contemporary variety has taken the world by storm. Showcasing the crème de la crème of twisted cabaret entertainers from around the world.
So this year I was keeping an eye out for them to come back to London but no dates had been set. After a little jiggerpokery in my friend Google I found that La Clique is now called La Soiree and are at home on the Southbank in a big top!!! With an auditorium of carved wood, polished mirrors, crystal and leadlight, ‘guests will be instantly transported to the glamour of a bygone era’. I was so excited that they were back. Coincidentally I became a lucky receiver of 2 tickets to the show the weekend after I found out they were back and Mr P and I took the train into London sharpish. We had ringside seats and sat RIGHT in the front. It really is an amazing show – 2 hours of cabaret, vaudeville, burlesque and just the downright weird. As one of the acts says she isn’t ‘wow’ more like ‘why’??? The English Gentleman were outstanding (and I’m not just saying that as they came to do an encore in just their Union Jack pants). Bath Boy lived up to his name and we ended up getting wet from his aerial acrobatics as he spun from the ceiling over a bath of water. Captain Frodo, well what can I say? He really is the amazing Rubberman but I never want to see someone dislocate their arm from the elbow again so close. He was so sweet and very modest. He always wanted to be the amazing Rubberman and he is. As he was perched on top of a pile of tin cans, the smallest being a baked bean tin at the top, he told us all to follow our dreams, anything that we wanted to do was possible and even if people might think it weird or odd – look at him, he’s made a living out of it. He then proceeded to put his feet around his head and balance. This is the guy who can contort his body through a tennis racquet! It was an inspiring show and I loved every minute of it including when we walked in and the ringmaster I guess you’d call him, said my hair was ‘magnificent’. I had made the effort and it was a very simple but effective 1940s updo. Basically put your hair is hot sticks or rollers and then take out. Top tip: do NOT brush out the curls! Once all the rollers are out start pinning the curls on top of your head and that’s it – hair done. Oh, apart from the lashings of hairspray to keep mine in place. You can add a couple of victory rolls as well but again, this wouldn’t take long. Minimum effort but maximum impact!
So, after all that hair talk, I really would recommend going and the Southbank is just dreamy in winter. Fairy lights twinkle, the London Eye shines and the River Thames glistens...just ignore the weird brown colour it is – yucky! La Soiree is so much fun and a good old fashioned night out. London has so many other great shows on at the moment so if you can get into London go go go!
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