Madame JoJo's

Night Club in Soho
Madame JoJo's image
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No longer at this address

Our records show that Madame JoJo's is closed.

Address
8-10 Brewer Street
Soho
London
W1F 0SE
Map
Region
Soho
Nearest Station
Piccadilly Circus
0.19 miles
Category
Night Clubs
Venue Facilities

Food Served

Big Screen TV

Credit Cards Accepted

Music Played

Live Music Played

Private Area

The internationally-renowned Madame Jojo’s nightclub is the jewel in Soho’s crown - a ruby-and-gilt gem with a pedigree dating back to the 1940s. The plush decadence, saucy Fifties glamour and vintage art deco styling creates a warm, intimate atmosphere, the perfect backdrop for Madame Jojo’s wide range of artistic output.

Madame Jojo’s is established as one of London’s most distinctive and best-loved venues, presenting a host of entertainment events from top-notch cabaret & burlesque to celebrated cutting-edge club nights, and spanning a range of musical genres...

Madame JoJo's Picture Gallery

Madame Jojo's
Madame Jojo's
Madame Jojo's
Madame Jojo's
The Good Foot every Friday at Madam
The Good Foot every Friday at Madam
The Folly Mixtures at Madame Jojo'
The Folly Mixtures at Madame Jojo'
Tranny Shack every Wednesday at Mad
Tranny Shack every Wednesday at Mad
House of Burlesque at Madame Jojo'
House of Burlesque at Madame Jojo'
Burlesque Idol at Madame Jojo's
Burlesque Idol at Madame Jojo's
Lost & Found, every Saturday at Mad
Lost & Found, every Saturday at Mad
Lost & Found, every Saturday at Mad
Lost & Found, every Saturday at Mad
Kitsch Cabaret every Saturday at Ma
Kitsch Cabaret every Saturday at Ma
Kitsch Cabaret every Saturday at Ma
Kitsch Cabaret every Saturday at Ma
House of Burlesque at Madame Jojo'
House of Burlesque at Madame Jojo'
Magic Night at Madame Jojo's
Magic Night at Madame Jojo's

All In London Review

'Shimmy Shake' at London's Madame Jojo’s

So there we were, at Madama Jojo’s, sitting in front of a small, but nevertheless rather glamourous looking stage in anticipation of what we would see later on (I hadn’t wanted to have a look at the Shimmy Shake website beforehand, since I wanted the whole thing to be a surprise). My friend and I were both what the lovely hostess of the show, Ivy Paige, would later call ‘burlesque virgins’ – mind you, we weren’t alone in this, I’d say at least half of the people in the audience had never seen a burlesque show before.

I kind of knew what burlesque was about, that ‘back in the day’ it used to be a sort of cabaret, intended to make fun of bourgeois forms of entertainment such as the opera or the theatre by putting half naked ladies (SHOCKING!) on stage that would do little dance routines.

And I can’t say we didn’t get THAT (referring to the half-naked ladies and their dance routines), but it was so much more. First of all, it was a great laugh, the hostess (the aforementioned Ivy Paige) not only guided us through the night with countless puns & saucy remarks, while embarrassing members of the audience (they loved it) by, for example, reading out loud a love letter which she claimed a gentleman that happened to sit in the front row (don’t sit in the front row if you don’t want to be included in the fun!) had written to her. But Ivy was also reminiscent of a drunk Victorian prostitute (in terms of her outfit as well as her language!), although in the best, most charming way you can possibly imagine (now, try hard, it’s worth it!) –I don’t think she would mind me saying that, since, in the end, (apart from the fact that she was probably sober) she’s an actress and the fact that she had that effect on me just goes to show how amazing she was. In short, she was hilarious and extremely entertaining.

Des O’Connor, came on stage in an evening suit, with a bow tie and some sparkly make up around his eyes, with his lips painted. For some people, that might be entertainment in itself, but the actual act was him, dressed up and made up like that, with a tiny ukulele. He would sing songs about all sorts of wonderful things but of course – a true master of his genre – take the p***, errr I mean, sing about things in a very comic manner - ‘Blanketty Blanc’ for example was about “the beauty of cheap shite white wine” (his words not mine, in case you’re wondering) or ‘Pretty little Miss Dismorphia’, which was a song about a girl’s struggle to live up to the predominant (fake) image of beauty of our modern society. If that sounds like your cup of tea, check out his Myspace page to get a better idea of his music.

Sapphira, the director and producer of Shimmy Shake performed herself several times during the night – she is a real professional when it comes to burlesque matters as well as belly dancing. Whether in a tiny, sailor-like costume or as a glamorous, swan-like act all in white, she certainly knows what she is doing!

Violet Crumble who performed later during the night, was a perfect example of burlesque elegance.

Hollywood’s belly dancing queen, Princess Farhana performed right at the very beginning of the show and again later on – if you see her routine you'll know why she’s the belly dancing queen of Hollywood. Another performer, Suraija was no less of a talent, that’s probably why she’s won an international competition for professional dancers.

Another belly dancer performing that night was Hanna, who is also a member of the trio AnaRkali, the belly dancing troupe that hit the stage of Madame Jojo’s later that night; their routine wasn’t accompanied by traditional belly dancing music, oh no, they performed to The Prodigy’s ‘Smack my b**** up’. Now, for those who don’t know the song – it isn’t exactly the sort of music you’d expect when it comes to belly dancing. But these three ladies really made it work, it was absolutely brilliant.

The DJ of the night, Peter von Sleaze, played everything you could have imagined in that sort of environment. From rockabilly, to exotic beats here and there plus the odd surf or salsa tune. (I believe the other stuff he played is called ‘lounge core’. Anyway, it doesn’t matter really, what it’s called, does it?) I enjoyed the fantastic music and it gave the whole thing that extra special atmosphere, which is what counts.

Well, if what I’ve said so far doesn’t sound like fun in your opinion then I just don’t know what’s wrong with you. Only kidding, but seriously, mark my words, it’s a night that is absolutely worth going to (despite the £13 to get in (£10 if you book online) and the rather pricey drinks), completely different to what you’d normally see. Nostalgics, people that like Tim Burton movies, belly dancing fans, admirers of colourful, lush costumes, people into old-fashioned cabaret-style comedy – THIS IS YOUR NIGHT.

Reviewed by All In London
Published on Sep 24, 2008


User Reviews

Sooz

May 21, 2014

Really fun venue, great for a hen night (or any other I'm sure).. lots of old-school kitch but in a good way. You can't go far wrong (ok fine, they could reduce the drinks prices to make it even better, but that goes for most of London!).
honeybear

Oct 28, 2010

I went to this beautiful venue for my hen night on a saterday for the Kitch Cabaret i went with 5 of my friends and all of us had an amazing time we had food and a table and we had a great view of the stage all of the performers were very entertaining and sunny the snake boy who comes out in the interval was so nice when he came to our table with the snake he let me hold it for ages and he was so nice everyne down at madamejojos was nice and the barbets were amazing so honestly i dont think i had a bad moment at all definutly worth going :D
Anonymous

Dec 8, 2008

The Kitsch Cabaret was not as described sadly. Paid for 12 of my friends for my birthday and was very disappointed. The show is drag but is described as an all female las vegas style show. It was actually
three men dressed in drag putting on a very poor show which none of us were even interested in watching in the end. The best bit of the show was when a drunk started stripping and upstaged the drag!
We were told the music would e rockabilly but we were led to a dance club called an anon. Drinks prices were OK but the 20 is way too expensive for the show. Its a real shame as they have an otherwise lovely venue. When i complained the manager was really rude to me.
Anonymous

Nov 13, 2008

When I went there for the first time, I loved the art-deco venue in the middle of Londons famous Soho. It had a great atmosphere and the people that were there were very friendly. I went to Lost and Found for the first time, a great night for old school music, pure rhythm, blues and soul. Had a fantastic time, and have been back sooo many times!! I found that Kitsch Cabaret, Saturdays, would be a fantastic night for a hen night. Music has so much versatility from night to night. If your searching for underground bands, go to White Heat, they are constantly introducing new bands, its seriously a hell of a lot of fun!!
anna_spanner

Jan 9, 2008

Awesome little club - intimate, stylish and down to earth. funk and soul when i was there, also loads of people break dancing - great to watch! the only down point was that some of the other (female) customers were a bit unfriendly and frankly a bit prejudiced against straight people in the club, even though the crowd was very mixed.