On the Warp-path
So Itchy thinks 'The Mission Rooms' is a pretty smart name for a club, then we turn up at the street address on the flyer and find ourselves staring at a church. A man dressed as Buddy Holly pushes past us and heads through a side door, followed by another bloke wearing a Henry Hoover on his head. The penny drops.
Yes, time travel-themed variety night Warped is in a church hall, but it fits much better than you'd think. Dimly lit, with opulent red drapes and a makeshift bar that feels like it might have been dragged from some 20s speakeasy, comedian Trevor Lock takes to the stage with a string of performers and party games to see out the night, (and about 150 years).
'Warping' via a crystal ball that looks like it cost £3.70 from Camden Market, guests travel from the Wild West, through the 20s and 50s, on to the 80s and finally into the future. You can dress from whatever era takes your fancy, and in between acts, when the DJ jacks up the volume, Calamity Janes and zoot-suited gangsters rub shoulders with girls in Minnie Mouse frocks and guys with 'taches like Magnum PI.
The fancy dress adds a pleasing element to the frequent episodes of audience participation (as does the fact that by the time you reach the 80s most of the crowd are soaked in alcohol), and the acts themselves are mostly excellent. On the night we rocked up there was a lasso and whip act, a burlesque dancer, some magicians who blended terrible comedy with the occasional blinding trick, and a gravity-defying man. Though the highlight was a small and nervy-looking fellow who did such astounding things with hula hoops (not the crisps) that he got a standing ovation.
And one shouldn't overlook the host himself. Old Trev does a slick job of keeping the night's momentum up, and while relentlessly abusing the audience as any self-respecting comic should, he keeps it all the right side of good-natured.
Alright, so a midnight close on a Saturday might have been a touch early for Itchy's liking, and no-one likes to have to queue for hours to get into one of the two toilets, but in all honesty we're just nitpicking. Warped is absurd and magnificent in equal measure, and you're bound to catch us heading back (to the future) before long.
Warped takes place every Saturday, 7.30pm–12am at the Mission Rooms on Exmouth Market, Clerkenwell.
For more details, check out www.warpednight.com, or if you'd like to win some tickets, have a look here.
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