London Nightlife: Halloween means dressing up. However, this year, why not choose an event which means you can really unleash your creative side?
Celebrating everything bohemian and debauched, La Belle Époque will be recreating the absinthe-fuelled hedonism of 19th Century Paris.
From the people who brought you The Blitz Party and Prohibition, La Belle Époque will take place in Shoreditch on Saturday 30 October 2010.
Shoreditch Studios will be transformed into a Montmartre music hall, designed to enrapture the soul and trick the mind.
With velvet drapes, distorting mirrors and silent art-house films, the venue’s many alcoves and stages will evoke the wild and bizarre vibe of the absinthe bars of Fin de Siècle Paris.
Circus performers and sideshow freaks will melt into the corseted crowd, entertaining guests with time-honoured trickery and unimaginable feats, while aerialists and trapeze artists twist and turn from the ceiling.
Throughout the evening, expert absintheurs will be on hand to guide guests through centuries-old sugar cube and fire techniques, introducing beginners to the delights of the green fairy.
Channelling their inner Degas and making like Baudelaire, guests will be encouraged to create art throughout the evening: whether by reciting poetry, indulging in
absinthe-induced ravings, or philosophising outside over a Gauloise.
Both live bands and DJs will play an eclectic mix of music inspired by the diverse and original sound that has emerged from the streets of Paris’s red-light district.
The evening’s dress code will be Choleric Courtesan or Tortured Artist. Men should emulate Toulouse Lautrec’s diminutive style and cultivate the ‘starving in a garret’ look; think moustaches and paint-splattered smocks.
For the bourgeoisie at heart, tuxedos, top hats and tails will make for a decadent and dashing alternative. Ladies should go for big hair, feathers and risqué hemlines – and, if possible, try to squeeze into a corset.
The night runs from 8 p.m. until 2 a.m. with aerial acrobatics starting at 9 p.m.
Tickets from £20 are available through www.belleepoqueparty.com.
