We are in the early stages of setting up a show night for shibari fans at the Flying Dutchman in South London, near my studio. In fact, so early that we haven’t even come up with a name for the night. The FD is a fantastic new venue that recently hosted the official Torture Garden after party. It is a historic London pub, whose interior has been completely restyled with fabulous décor featuring:dance floor and stage, large projection screen, heated courtyard smoking area and
DJ decks.
The venue is available to hire for parties, workshops, performances, talks, and corporate functions. They collaborate with the Mori and Stein gallery to promote contemporary and alternative art and also hold their our own events. The Flying Dutchman features in the book “The Mumper” by M. Baxter and P. Hewitt soon to be a motion picture titled ‘Outside Bet’.
The main area, which is the part we will be using, is a cosy wood-panelled bar with a stage and a handy courtyard smoking area.
Downstairs houses The Forbidden Vault, open for other events, featuring a massive dungeon and medical room, whilst upstairs their is a white-tiled wet room.
The plan is for there to be several performances or ‘jam sessions’ throughout the evening by Nina, both as model and rigger, and I, plus other invited artists. In between, there will be opportunities for others to jump on stage to showcase their work. There are many aspiring performers and others whose talents deserve to be shared. Thanks to groups like Hitching Bitches, I am delighted to see more skilled female riggers and I hope this will become a platform for them. However, it is not intended to be a rope ‘free for all’ as we feel that performers might be disturbed if people are playing during shows. We hope to create an atmosphere conducive to all styles, whether they be flashy ‘circus bondage’ or quiet intense newaza sessions.
We are aiming for a Friday night commencing around the end of March. Nothing is yet set in stone and, like LFAJRB, will be somewhat fluid in format. It will be a non-dress-code event but fetish friendly, of course. We will be posting a date in the What’s On section and making further announcements via forums and social media in due course.