Author: birminghamreview

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Ocean At The End Of The Lane At The Alexandra Theatre From 23 – 27 May

Words by Jessica Goodman / Production pics by Brinkhoff-Moegenburg

★★★★

 “If you go down to the woods today, you’re sure of a big surprise…” Not for the faint of heart, the National Theatre brings its production of The Ocean at the End of the Lane to The Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham this week.

An adaptation of the book by best-selling author Neil Gaiman, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a story of memory, fantasy, magic, and friendship. Returning to his childhood home for a funeral, a man finds himself confronted with long-forgotten memories of his past and the sinister forces that once threatened to destroy everything.

Transported back to 1983, we witness how the suicide of a lodger who lived with his family kick-starts a series of events that bring forth an evil entity from another reality. With warnings for moments that some may find frightening and references to death, it’s an intense watch, bringing to life moments of profound fear and, contrastingly, spontaneous joy.

Katy Rudd’s production is a visual spectacle of the highest order. Against a backdrop of tangled thorns (designed by Fly Davis) it feels like absolutely anything is possible. Doors multiply and vanish. Monsters shapeshift and grow. People become puppets. Air becomes water. A circle of light becomes the only safe haven against a threat there doesn’t seem to be any sure-fire way to identify.

Special effects are brought to life by an ensemble dressed all in black, making magic happen before your eyes as long as you can imagine it. Moments of stark horror and freewheeling delight could be mirror images, constructed and portrayed with oh-so-similar graceful choreography.

Perhaps the play’s most spellbinding (see also: spine-chilling) scene shows our protagonist desperately trying to escape from the fear there could be (and, in this case, actually is) a monster behind every and/or any closed door.

This might be a tale of monsters, both literal and metaphorical, but The Ocean at the End of the Lane is at its best when it’s at its most uncomplicated. The growing friendship between our 12-year-old protagonist (Kier Oglivy) and his otherworldly best friend, Lettie (Millie Hikasa), is enchantingly pure, their dynamic the centrepiece around which the other characters orbit.

As both the protagonist in the present day and his father in the past, Trevor Fox plays the role of a man who’s both trying to do best by the ones he loves and battling the shadows of his past that drive him to destroy the very same.

From defender to danger and back again (at one point, even in the same scene), his portrayal of these complicated characters has a simplicity that ranges from endearingly to harrowingly human.

At its core, The Ocean at the End of the Lane is a nightmare-fuelled adventure in what it is to be human. We witness the profound joy of friendship, the harrowing physical pain that comes with loss, and so many degrees in-between.

It’s a play that will no doubt reward repeat viewings, offering new ways of viewing the world it inhabits every time. Did the story we see play out actually happen, or are we watching imagination being used as a way to process loneliness and trauma?

Does the magical memory snip-and-stich actually work, or is it a pretence for forgetting what we can’t stand to remember?

Much like we’re told “you don’t pass or fail at being a person, love,” in the final act, there’s no one-explanation-fits-all way to read this play. The Ocean at the End of the Lane could be whatever you choose to make of it. Open to your interpretation, it’s all about the experience.

Whether the events we witness are made up or not doesn’t really matter. What we’re given is both a thrilling edge-of-your-seat adventure and a celebration of imagination.

Ocean at the End of the Lane runs at The Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham until 27 May. For more information and link to online ticket sales, visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/the-ocean-at-the-end-of-the-lane/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham

For more from The Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, visit www.atgtickets.com/venues/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham

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Queers in Space: House of Allure’s ‘Worlds Away’ Glitters At The Nightingale

Writer Yasmyn Nettle / Photographer Connor Pope

I recently came back to the UK after spending time abroad. My journey involved grumpy airport staff, turbulence, and long queues. So when I find out the theme for House of Allure’s Worlds Away show is a space flight, and that I am to be seated in something called “premium economy”, least to say, I’m nervous.

The drag cabaret nights run by House of Allure have taken place at various venues in Birmingham, including The Flapper and Missing. Tonight, they have sold out one of the largest venues in the Gay Village – The Nightingale. 

Upon arrival, I’m shown to my seat by the beautifully donned and friendly HoA, all with matching outfits that rival Virgin Galactic. At my table, I find a glossy, in-flight safety mag, a snazzy printed ticket, and a glass of prosecco. 

The audience is dressed to the nines, and I realise I may be underdressed for what promises to be an intergalactic gender-bend extravaganza. 

The attendants are our opening act, setting the scene with a fun and super camp dance number. Then, a giant, glittering, pink, Vegas-style unicorn (our host Locques La Roux) towers over us. He strips and lip syncs to Lady Gaga’s ‘Born This Way’. It is an energising performance to open our individual acts. 

We are primed, strapped in, and ready to blast off. 

Up next, Mama Mamba serves sushi realness, sizzling on stage. Mamba delivers a super sultry burlesque routine complete with the devilish performances she is best known for, this time stapling Ariel’s Prince Eric to her heart.

Gasp. Gag. 

Royal Head of House of Allure, Dominus Von Vexo, presents their drag twist on Wacky Races with blink-of-an-eye outfit changes. A flash mob of twenty or so of Vexo’s dance students, including two on my table, jump unexpectedly onto the stage with belly dancing fans to complete the number. 

Each performance includes bespoke background animations, videos, and sound mixing. There is no doubt this is a serious production. Most of their held props are made of cardboard – we also love a thrifty moment. There is the HoA’s spaceship robot Echo, who has no job by the end of the show because we are already so entertained out of our minds. 

Lioness serves a believable Rick Sanchez cosplay, giving us cyberpunk rave fantasy, slime, and an accomplished dance routine utilising the entire stage.



The man, the myth, the legend, Manly Manlington has the best costume of the night, and Coheed and Cambria play as a soundtrack for this moody set. A bearded, caped, drag king, delivering a smooth lip sync performance, holding us hypnotised under that gaze. As he squares up to an epic fight with – you’d never guess – ‘Generic White Sci-fi Writer’. 

This show’s sparkling talent does not stop for one minute. It is an onslaught of diverse and unapologetic queerness. 

One thing did throw me off. When addressing the crowd between performances, the genders of the audience were assumed, called “gentleman” if bearded or masc and addressed as she/her if more feminine. This surprised me in a bad way because I can tell HoA performers are encouraged to be their authentic selves on stage. 

While the show does attract non-LGBTQIA+ folk, House of Allure – please do not forget your trans and non-binary siblings in the crowd who fear being misgendered. 

My discomfort does not last long as cute pink alien Lilly Snatchdragon bops out onto the stage offering her masseuse services. I could go for one too, but a blow-up sex doll is taken as a victim instead. Cuteness quickly descends into absolute madness – which the audience love – the pants rip off the doll to reveal a member, which Lilly, reminding me of a female praying mantis, makes light work of. 

By the end of the performance, her customer is nothing but a deflated husk. 

Lilly’s performance has the audience literally rolling out of their seats and is vulgarly fun.

Mama Mamba takes the spotlight for a second time. She has gone from underwater princess to a stunning glitter cowgirl – dancing and strip teasing to a compilation of songs including ‘Juicy’ and ‘Boss Bitch’ by Doja Cat. 

Mama Mamaba shows the audience what nipple tassels are made for. 

We move to a more serious portion of the night with two beautifully choreographed dances. The first is from Locques and Dominus, fusing elements of tango and contemporary. I would have chosen a different song, considering Todrick has his fair share of controversies. But the piece is delivered well, and the costumes are a divine fever dream I can only describe as ‘Gay fluorescent Roman warrior’. 

Lioness is up on stage for a second time, with a contemporary and seemingly partly improvised dance piece based on the lonely comet Hayley. This will not be everyone’s cup of tea, but as seen earlier in the night, she is an accomplished dancer and shows versatility in style. My eye is constantly drawn to Lioness in group numbers as she commits so well to expressive storytelling.

The heat rises once more aboard our space flight as Coco Kink graces the stage. Her PVC-clad catwoman performance is eye-bogglingly hot. She pleases the crowd with an alluring strip tease, complete with cat-like licks and a good whipping. 

Not quite sure what it had to do with our space journey, but I do not care one bit as she lip syncs to a sensual Sade number. 

Last, but not least, we are introduced to the surreal green alien Ginny Lemon, a Midland’s dear and Ru-Paul drag race star. They are, of course, in character the entire time. At one point, as Dominus receives flowers from the crowd, Lemon leans forward to grab them – and jokingly bitches to their fellow performers about their lack of bouquet.

They sing live in their characteristic voice to a spacey version of Madonna’s ‘Music.’ It’s magic, the energetic leaps from one side of the stage to the other. 

I also can’t go without mentioning the fabulous final dance number by House of Allure, in its entirety. The pink cyber-bot outfits look fantastic, adding to the closing performance of the night. They highlight reproductive autonomy, sexual health, cybersex, and queer sexuality. Each of the crew has a distinct personality.

A big thank you to Mimi, Amarise, and Lolita Lash for looking out for us throughout our travels. House of Allure is a balance of serious and silly, weird and wonderful performance, burlesque and cabaret tonight, all nodding to the sci-fi theme. 

By the end, I was so exhausted from clapping, whooping, and respectfully goggling the beauty and talent of the performers I needed to take an emergency escape pod home. 

House of Allure’s ‘Worlds Away’ @ The Nightingale / Connor Pope

For more from House of Allure go to www.instagram.com/_houseofallure_

For more from Ginny Lemon go to www.instagram.com/ginnylemon69
For more from Dominus Von Vexo go to www.linktr.ee/dominusvonvexo
For more from Mama Mamba go to www.instagram.com/mama.mamba
For more from Locques La Roux go to www.linktr.ee/locqueslaroux
For more from Afiyamia go to www.afiyamia.com
For more from Mannly Mannington go to house-of-mannington.teemill.com
For more from Lioness Lounge go to: www.instagram.com/lioness_lounge
For from Cocoa Kink go to wwwlinktr.ee/Cocoa_kink
For more from Amarise Andre go to www.instagram.com/itsamarise
For more from Lotlita Lash go to www.redbubble.com/people/Eyelasheye
For more from Lily SnatchDragon go to www.instagram.com/lillysnatch

For more from The Nightingale go to www.nightingaleclub.co.uk

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Black Country, New Road Live At The Crossing 12/05/23

Writer David Evans / Photographer Joe Marchant

Not far from the actual New Road in the Black Country, Dudley, I’m stood amongst a sold-out, heavily mulleted, Birmingham crowd at The Crossing. We are tightly packed and cheering wildly as the now six-piece band walks out on stage to take their places.

It’s fair to say that Black Country, New Road (BCNR) has been through a lot since losing its frontman and guitarist Isaac Wood when he left the band citing mental health struggles. Being announced just four days before the release date of their sophomore album, Ants from Up There, which was to be followed by a US tour, the news could feasibly have been enough to spell the end for the band.

Wood’s honest and cutting lyrics have never shied away from difficult emotions. To many, they were a defining feature of the BCNR’s sound which landed them a Mercury nomination and an adorning fanbase.

Given his central role, I’ve heard some question whether their new approach of sharing songwriting and singing duties could ever reach the same heights. To me, the newest material made post-Woods is steeped in Isaak’s influence, while taking a new direction allowing other members space to shine.

The question tonight is whether these new songs will resonate with this packed room.

Now assembled on stage, the night kicks off. Lewis Evans plays the descending pattern of saxophone notes marking the start of ‘Up Song’, the crowd is primed and cheering from the off. While his repeated riff builds tension, fists are held high in the air as Tyler Hyde comes in with a driving baseline, unleashing the energy in the room.

Describing their unseen struggles and the band’s ability to support each other through tougher moments, the crowd starts singing back every word. I see a smile creep onto Hyde’s face in a great moment of warmth and support.

Arriving at the song’s central and very wholesome “look at what we did together, BCNR friends forever” refrain, the room chants, many with arms spread high apart like a slightly strange post-punk football crowd. And I have to say I love it.

Moving into their second track, ‘The Boy’, the musical talent of BCNR becomes clear. May Kershaw leads the song, and it’s hard not to notice her casually playing a piano arpeggio with one hand and squeezing chords out of an accordion with the other, all while singing the lengthy fairy-tale-like tune.

I’m slightly transfixed watching, but the crowd is still just as energetic, with their continued singing inevitably leading to more smiles from Kershaw – also not immune to their charm.

The follow-up song, ‘I Won’t Always Love You’, shifts the spotlight back to Hyde as they demo a new arrangement of weaving and intricate nylon guitar parts alongside bandmate Luke Mark. The group onstage is intensely focused on their playing. I love how this new rendition starts delicately before building and working up to a dramatic wall of violin, piano, saxophone, and guitar, pushing the dark chords to their climax.

This song draws in the biggest applause so far and shouts increase. While there’s no question that the band doesn’t take itself too seriously, I’m rolling my eyes when some white boys heckles: “Brrap brrap.”

I get the impression BCNR aren’t strangers to this aspect of their fanbase. When a “Rock on” shout is mistakenly heard as “Fuck you” by Evans, he smiles back, “Fuck you?” and hushes the over-excited crowd with his hands.

Stepping up to the mic for his moment, we are led into ‘Across the Pond Friend’ – a personal favourite – featuring its reminiscing chorus about a holiday romance: “In my dream you came running to me,  and then fall back into my arms, wake up, let’s eat.”

Again, quite endearingly chanted back by the audience.

Now midway through the set, the band begins to unveil a number of new, unreleased tracks. Evans stays on vocals for another upbeat song in a similar style to the last before the spotlight shifts to Georgia Ellery (also of Jockstrap fame).

Swapping out her violin for a mandolin, Ellery plays out moody chords and delivers some incredible vocals, which until now have been criminally unused by Black Country, New Road. It’s great to see this passing of the mic, and just after Ellery’s rendition we are subjected to another depressingly multi-talented musician.

Drummer Charlie Wayne picks up a Banjo for the final unreleased song. It’s a bit of a surprise, but the track really works, especially when he jumps back to his kit mid-song to pick up the energy.

Returning to the released material and entering the closing tracks of the Bush Hall live album, we move into some more emotional territory.

The band plays fan favourite and touching tribute to Woods, ‘The Wrong Trousers’, recollecting the hurt and the distance between them before taking comfort that they “made something to be proud of.” Having been requested throughout the set, it’s met with a massive reaction from the crowd, and there are a few glassy eyes on stage.

Clearly, this means a lot to Black Country, New Road.

Next, the band drops emotional bombs with ‘Dancers’ and ‘Turbines/Pigs’. These are my highlights of the night and feel like a real apex of the set. Both are standout tracks from the album. With the crowd now firmly gripped into silence, I notice a distinct lack of heckling in the quieter moments and plenty of heavy breathing around me.

When we finally pull into the closing version of ‘Up Song’ it feels like a resolution; emotional comfort for what’s been shared. The slowed-down version of the opening track crawls to a quiet end, and there’s absolute silence before applause breaks out.

Amidst the cheers, Hyde, Kershaw, Evans, Mark, Ellery, and Wayne all take to the front of the stage for a bow dressed like a hodge-podge range of supply teachers. There’s no need for an encore. I’m left blown away. Here in Birmingham, the band really has wrestled with the past and made something to be proud of.

Black Country, New Road Live @ The Crossing 12.5.23 / Joe Marchant

For more on Black Country, New Road visit www.blackcountrynewroad.com

For more gigs and events at The Crossing, visit www.thecrossingdigbeth.co.uk

For more from This Is Tmrw, visit www.thisistmrw.co.uk

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Heathers The Musical At The Alexandra Theatre 16 – 20 May

Words by Ed King / Production pics by Pamela Raith Photography

★★★★

Dust off your croquet sets and primary colour prom dresses, Heathers the Musical opens this week at The Alexandra Theatre. Directed by Andy Fickman, it runs in Birmingham for five days before heading out to 20 more venues across the UK with a vibrant new cast.

Based on the 1989 cult film classic, this all-singing-all-dancing adaptation centres around 17 year old Veronica Sawyer (Jenna Innes), a less than popular American high school student who uses her forgery skills to win friends and influence people.

Namely the titular Heathers – Chandler (Verity Thompson), Duke (Summer Priest), and McNamara (Elisa Bowden) – who sit at the top of the Westerberg High’s social strata firmly in that order, represented by the colours red, green, and yellow respectively.

The ’Heathers’ are the most revered clique at Westerberg, and blue Veronica eyes them and their endorsement as the safest passage through her formative years. High school can be tough; you need a plan, you need allies. And in her own words Veronica’s so called friends are “just people I work with and our job is being popular and shit.”

But the ubiquitous tale of pimples and peer pressure comes with a twist, as Veronica’s “teen angst bullshit has a body count” after meeting the dark horse Jason Dean (Jacob Fowler) – an itinerant rich kid, with a “destruction business” dad who’s got more explosives lying around the house than is arguably healthy.

After some cafeteria hysteria with the school’s top jocks, Kurt Kelly (Alex Woodward) and Ram Sweeney (Morgan Jackson), the growing bond between Veronica and the abbreviated JD becomes the catalyst for killing off the classroom’s bullies and bitches – using Veronica’s flexible handwriting to pen suicide notes for the wildly popular pupils. That, and a ceramic cup full of bleach and a couple of handguns.

First on the list is Heather Chandler, who vows to destroy Veronica’s reputation after she drunkenly stands up to (and throws up on) the top girl at a party. With Kurt and Ram as targets two and three, following a failed gang rape attempt and some salacious school yard rumours to protect their egos and shame Veronica.

Told in part by Veronica’s inner monologue, confessing all in her “Dear diary” entries, and shoulder to shoulder song and dance routines, the stage is set for an unrelenting musical. One that murders three people over two acts and explores the darker corners of teenage life – alongside a sycophantic society’s willingness to accept any young adult self-destruction.

In short, bullies beware – as the brochure proclaims: ‘it might kill to be a nobody, but it is murder being a somebody.’ And to borrow a line from another brooding rebel, death makes angles of us all. So, you can probably get away with a couple before the end of term.

The curtains lifts for Heather the Musical to a full cast cafeteria routine of ‘Beautiful’, the opening song and a buzzword for acceptance and popularity. And whist the Birmingham audience was predominantly too young to have any direct relationship with the era or original that spawned this production, the theatre wide whoops showed deep love for Laurence O’Keefe and Kevin Murphy’s modern day homage.

Skilfully lit by Ben Cracknell, the fast-moving narrative stays close to the film, with enough key words and phrases kept in to give those that can a few chances to lip sync the original script. Everyone born after the millennium seems to know the songs verbatim too.

There are some wonderful additions, with some useful padding to the story behind the bullets that kill Kurt and Ram, and some wider historical references that show even the most popular and most unpopular can still share a past.

The previously gun toting JD relies more fighting than firing, no doubt in light of the disturbingly continuous school shootings in North America since the original film came out. And much of the story is told through song – such as the poignant ‘Lifeboat’, where yellow Heather bares her soul before eating a fist full of sleeping tablets.

The perpetually bullied Martha Dunnstock (Kingsley Morton) also gets a little more time in the spotlight with ‘Kindergarten Boyfriend’, sung superbly, as she unlocks the memories of when her weight or social standing didn’t seem to matter.

But perhaps the best new kid at school comes in the opening song of Act Two, where the fathers of recently deceased Kurt and Ram – who’s staged suicide was purported to hide their homosexuality – come out of their own closets with the song ‘My Dead Gay Son’. A real highlight of the new version.

Heathers the Musical debuted at Joe’s Pub in 2010 and first opened off Broadway in 2014, going on to win ‘Best New Musical’ at the Whats On Stage Awards in 2019. Supremely popular, the song and dance stage show run has built up a pan Atlantic legion of fans, with a score that has sold across the world.

All the principal players in the 2023 show deliver their roles with aplomb – with stand out voices coming from Jenna Innes, Jacob Folwer, and Kingsley Morton. Alex Woodward and Morgan Jackson bring a superb Kurt/Ram caricature double act, and the cast carries no weak links – energetically committing to 22 songs and reprises, whilst covering every square inch of David Shields’ versatile stage.

The only downside is the dark subject matter is too easily glossed over, with a pep rally score that arguably fails to reflect the dour and self destructive journey the cast are going on. Filling out every corner of the two hour running time, the narrative moves along a little quickly at points leaving some characters and scenes a little undeveloped.

It’s clear JD’s dad is a bit of a psycho, and Ms Flemming is a bit of a flake, but there was a missed opportunity to see more through thodse adults eyes. And the somewhat cavalier approach to rape is just worrying.

So, if you’re looking for a dark, gritty, live theatre realisation of Daniel Waters’ acerbic analysis of High School hierarchy and teen angst in the greedy 1980’s… this is not it.

But if you’re coming of age and want a fast paced, colourful, and catchy reflection of the horrors only a teenager understands, then get yourself a ticket to Heathers the Musical and enjoy this fantastic carousel of a show.

Heathers the Musical runs at The Alexandra Theatre in Birmingham until 20 May. For more information and link to online ticket sales, visit www.atgtickets.com/shows/heathers-the-musical/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham

For more from The Alexandra Theatre Birmingham, visit www.atgtickets.com/venues/the-alexandra-theatre-birmingham

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Electronic DJ Ringers’ Journey From Low-Key To High-Key

Writer Jasmine Khan / Photographer Connor Pope

Sitting on stools in the Dark Horse that are slightly too big for both of us, DJ and founding member of High Key, Ringers, is telling me about her introduction to electronic music and how she’s made the jump from consumer to producer in just two short years.

For Ringers it all started during her first year of uni, with PST and a jungle night she attended with “a slightly cooler friend.” Ringers explains her raver baptism “wasn’t a very conscious thing,” but the difference in vibe between club events and raves kept her coming back for more.

“I just felt really cool, the music seemed cooler, and I liked how heavy and bassy it was,” says Ringers, thoughtfully comparing her Broad Street experiences to those in Digbeth’s underground scene. “People are more there for the music. Not just to get drunk.

“It’s always something different at the rave. It’s more unique, not to shit on the mainstream.”

Ringers emphasises there’s nothing wrong with enjoying regular clubbing. Still, she feels like raves (often but not always) “serve a different purpose.”

She continues: “I don’t know many sober people who enjoy going to clubs, but I know a lot of sober ravers and DJs, so there’s a differentiation there.”

When Covid-19 made cramming hundreds of sweating bodies into well-dressed warehouses illegal, Ringers “was missing going out and missing the culture.”

Following some well-intended Youtube research and becoming inspired by a girl who was a bedroom DJ on Tik Tok, Ringers “bought the cheapest pioneer dj controller from Argos” and set about “mixing tacky drum and bass” – a right of passage for every electronic DJ.

“God bless my friends for putting up with my awful mixing,” she reminisces.

So how did Ringers go from bedroom/house party DJ to putting on gritty, inclusive events across the city? Well, it all started with Birmingham’s much-loved Nikki Tesla. “I met her through one of my uni friends,” says Ringers.

Meeting Telsa spurred Ringers to join Selextorhood, and Ringers explains her “journey would’ve been so different if it wasn’t for that community.”

After a Selextorhood open decks, and her first paid gig at The Sunflower Lounge – filling in last minute, Ringers secured an infamous Keep Hush slot via their open deck program, travelling to Bristol to perform what was essentially her second-ever gig to hundreds of people.

“I got a big leg up, and it was such a big opportunity early on.

“The stories I’ve heard of other DJs and how they’ve had to come up and get gigs is very, very different. It’s a lot of putting up with shit from promoters if you want to climb your way up, unpaid gigs, men being creepy to you if you’re a woman.

“It’s a really unregulated industry. I always say there’s no HR department for DJs’ or union for DJs and producers.

“It’s underground music, so the culture is underground,” but High Key is working to change that culture.

High Key started as house parties before Covid. “It wasn’t even me,” Ringers explains, “it was more the boys who I run the label with. They were bedroom DJs, and it was this big motive that happened every couple of months.

“They called it High Key cos’ when they were hanging out it was ‘low key’, and when they were house parties they were…’” Ringers laughs, it’s simple but effective.

“That ended when they all finished uni,” she continues, “but lots of us were still around in Birmingham. But living in flats, got 9-5s, and didn’t have the amenities to run a house party anymore.”

Someone suggested that High Key make a come back in the form of a kind of uni reunion, but Ringers wanted to “make it a wider thing and share it with the rest of Birmingham.”

The first public High Key happened at Sucki10c and “went really well.” making Ringers more determined that the events have a “moral compass” and addressed “exploitation in the scene and making it inclusive and safe for people.”

Ringers adds: “It’s me and a bunch of lads, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be inclusive. Why don’t the events I go to (regularly) have safe space policies?”

Ringers wants High Key to “set a standard” when it comes to making sure everyone can rave happily and safely. “A lot of our residents are male, white, and straight,” she says, “but that doesn’t mean we can’t be inclusive of everyone. We want everyone to feel safe at our event.

“We recognise that being a promoter is a huge responsibility. It’s not just about booking DJs and getting clout.

‘You’ve got 100s of people potentially coming to your event who might be on drinking or on substances. You don’t know what’s going to happen, and up to a point, it’s your responsibility to manage how the event functions.

“If you have messaging up that says, ‘look we’re not going to take any kind of harassment or discrimination’, they know they can’t come to an event and get away with it.

“It’s kind of our USP even though it shouldn’t be,” and we both agree events shouldn’t have to be ‘community-based’ to be safe and inclusive. Creating safe-space policies should be standard procedure. Though Ringers reasonably acknowledges “for a lot of promoters it doesn’t cross their mind” because they “don’t have that lived experience.”

“It’s a male-dominated scene, especially in terms of venue owner promoters, security guards, so there is just going to be that lack of understanding.”

While “it’s definitely improving,” Ringers stresses, “people are always like we need more female DJs and artists, which we absolutely do, but we need more women in high-up positions, in managerial positions organising and directing things.”

High Key puts on monthly open deck nights at the Dark Horse in Moseley every third Thursday of the month. For more from High Key, go to www.highkeyrecs.com

And it’s High Key’s ‘1st Birthday Rave, Murder He Wrote’ on 19 March in The Rainbow’s Cellar, featuring the club night’s staple combination of UK garage, DnB, and jungle. For online ticket sales, click here.

For more from Ringers, go to www.soundcloud.com/ringers

For more from the Dark Horse, go to www.darkhorsemoseley.co.uk
For more from The Rainbow visit www.facebook.com/therainbowpub