Run Riot is a listing of cultural happenings in and around london.
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Ladies and Gentlemen - there’s a new club in town. Not one, but five boutique hotels launch themselves as a home for the arts – their connection? The Concierge Club – a new hub for those in the cultural know, and their like-minded pals. Jamie McLaren takes a closer look.
SAVVY STUFF
There are only five female sword swallowers in the whole world. During rehearsals for her new variety spectacular at the Roundhouse Patrick Hussey talks to the best, cabaret sensation Miss Behave.
Its an obvious question but you have to ask. How did you discover you like swallowing swords? Miss Behave takes a moment then gives me some flip depth.
'Well I'm pretty oral' she jokes, 'Yes everything likes going in my mouth. Beer, cigars, why not swords?'
'50 Ways To Leave Your Lover'
at the Bush Theatre
running until 9th August
"Don't cry", pleads one of the leaving lovers, "this'll take so much longer if you cry."
There is something about the white South African accent, especially in men. It suggests something to my London ear, conjuring images of lemon highlights,chunky watches and a unique brand of snorting, petty fascism.
In fact, let's be honest, when most people hear that accent you almost see the word 'RACIST' light up above the speaker. Somewhere inside you think wanker and turn away.
I had just returned from Transalvania country, where I had successfully eluded the Count whilst making a film with some Romanian firemen (but that's another story). In the interim I had managed to slip in a final edit on the run-riot chess-boxing piece and now here was my carrot to finish the job. A night of mad mayhem and merriment courtesy of my continued involvement in this canary in the mining shafts of a movement.
Faceless: Chasing the Data Shadow
Written by Manu Luksch, Mukul Patel
Stranger than fiction
Remote-controlled UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) scan the city for anti-social behaviour. Talking cameras scold people for littering the streets (in children’s voices). Biometric data is extracted from CCTV images to identify pedestrians by their face or gait. A housing project’s surveillance cameras stream images onto the local cable channel, enabling the community to monitor itself.
Step back nine decades to a time when nightlife was alluringly illicit. Forget oversized tee shirts and spandex leggings – dinner jackets and luxurious gowns beaded to within an inch of their thread count were the only club wear of choice. Long evenings were spent soaking up dazzling chorus girls and blue comics or, across the Atlantic, trying to find the savviest speakeasy bulging with liquor while dodging the police. Welcome to the golden era of cabaret.
After the Labour disaster, England deserved a Red Victory. No matter if it didn’t happen on the shore of Albion – it happened in Russia, no less. Well done Manchester, I’m sure it was a great game. Sorry but I wasn’t there with my nose glued to a TV screen. Instead of rejoicing in red, I was slumped in the deep black of Lou Reed’s Berlin.
