Supper Freak | A ’70s-style, soul-filled, funk-laden dinner show
Harlem, 1974.
In amongst the crime, the poverty, and the social inequality a pair of truly beautiful things are flourishing: funk & soul.
It’s this extraordinary, tangible demonstration of the power that music has to uplift & inspire us that Supper Freak taps into. A vibrantly choreographed, interactive dining experience from director Munotida Chinyanga, it’s going to celebrate funk & soul’s place in black history in what sounds like a pretty delicious & entertaining way.
The whole thing’s going to take place in the Bloomsbury Ballroom, which is one of the most beautiful venues in the city: built in the 1920s, it’s both huge, and filled with neat little Art Deco touches. And although – as you might expect – it does have a stage, they won’t be using it for Supper Freak. Instead, the cast and the band will be performing right in and amongst the audience.
For the purposes of the evening, the space will no longer be the Bloomsbury Ballroom circa right now, but will instead become the legendary (and completely fictional) Harlem nightclub Little Paradise, in the year 1974. It’s the hottest ticket in town, where the city’s elites rub shoulders with the stars of the black music scene. Word on the street is that the joint’s celebrity owner, Don Chamberlain, is looking to sell the place. Given that this could be his last party, and the last one that matters if he does sell – a couple of young troublemakers named Angela and Grace dress up, sneak into the club, and try to win the famed dance-off…
Your part in all of this will simply be to have a good time while the house band (Party Up) plays the hits from the likes of James Brown, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder all around you. And as well as feeding your ears, the show runners will also be feeding your actual stomach with a three-course meal & some first-rate drinks. Exact details are still under wraps…
…but don’t expect any Harlem shakes.
NOTE: Supper Freak takes place on Thursday 2nd May. Tickets cost £50, and part of the proceeds will be donated to the Black Ticket Project, an initiative created to increase access to theatre for young people of colour. Snap them up right HERE.
The Bloomsbury Ballroom | Victoria House, Bloomsbury Square, WC1B 4DA
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