I’ve been looking for an excuse to visit the world’s oldest surviving grand music hall since my friends who live in Wapping had raved about it.
This seventeenth century former ale house (frequented in those days, it is said, by Scandinavian sailors) is hidden around the back of somewhat residential streets near Whitechapel. And I have to say that whilst it is only about 10 minutes’ walk from Tower Hill tube station – what with the construction works there, crowds of dawdling tourists and the one way road system through some desolate areas it wasn’t easy to find. Conflicting road signs didn’t help. Even my GPS got itself confused.
Nevertheless, it’s an impressive and interesting building. More so as it undergoes a dramatic refurbishment which means that the walls and ceilings are exposed at present – making it feel like a building site. A very busy one. The entrance is off an alley and you enter through The Mahogany Bar which was absolutely packed last night. I battled my way through to the small vestibule at the side where there is a box office.
They are currently running a “Chrysalis Club” series of events so that the entertainment can continue through the substantial refurbishment works – there are cockney sing-songs, Cole Porter cabarets, magic shows, folk mentalism, ballroom dancing, classical concerts, African music tours and opera events as well as pop up vintage fairs, yoga nights and history tours. Something for everyone then.
I figured that the upstairs balcony area was reserved on this occasion for VIPs. So I was down with the ordinary folk on the ground floor in the main auditorium. This is an amazing space with history oozing out of every nook and cranny. There are no chairs at present so it’s ideal for music gigs. However, I managed to find a few bench pews right at the back where I waited for the show to commence.
The audience mix was astonishing – just about every age bracket and every slice of the social spectrum was represented.
Things got off to a bit of a late start although no one seemed to mind as everyone was happily chatting away with frequent trips back to the bar. Finally, there was movement on the stage in front of enormous red curtains and illusionist Brendan Rodriquez, in a dramatic costume, performed some tricks with floating glass balls. The microphone issues didn’t faze the resident female magician who was brilliant as she won the audience over with her wicked sense of humour and some stunning tricks with cards, ropes, wine and newspapers. Then she introduced Gareth Jones who immediately engaged the audience with his hysterical escapology act – from cling film. It really was rather good.
After a short interval, the Montecristos took to the stage. A male drummer, a blonde beehive bombshell on a double bass, sax and trumpet players in short, sparkly dresses with very long legs and a lead singer on guitar. They are billed as a glam, trash, surf punk rock ‘n’ roll band but it’s more of a rockabilly vibe. They were founded by Neil “X” Whitmore and have recently released a Kickstarter-funded debut album. They opened with title track “Born to Rock ‘n’ Roll” which had us tapping our toes. They got into their stride after a couple of songs.
An amazing venue. I shall return.
https://wiltons.org.uk/index.php?p=234
