Author: birminghamreview

Writer Jasmine Khan / Photographer Connor Pope

 
Before I’m greeted at the door of House of Allure’s Tower of Terrors by two haunted concierges and a glass of prosecco, photographer Connor and I endure some rather distasteful homophobia outside of Missing Bar, cowardly flung from a licence plate I didn’t manage to catch.

If you don’t like ‘the gays’, maybe don’t drive down Hurst Street on a Friday night!?

The state of the world aside, House of Allure is hitting all the energies I’d hoped to feel in the moments leading up to halloween-burlesque-cabaret-drag. The loud, staticky 20’s music, dim lighting, and intimate seating hides me away from the world. It’s a bit, but not overly sexy, with a majority fem audience rocking everything from jeans to lingerie.

I’ve got time to take in all the decorations which includes a shimmering burlesque curtain, spiderwebs galore, and a sinister service elevator sign, as well as a chandelier that might be House of Allure’s, or Missing Bar’s. Either way it’s doing bits for the haunted hotel atmosphere.

Although the vibes are top notch, it’s not until 8:15pm that there’s a hint things are about to get going. This is my first time at a burlesque show, and maybe I’m being shady because I rushed my look to make doors at 7:30pm, but I’ve been on the edge of my seat for a while now.

Flash, and the lights are off. I’m back in Disney and shitting myself just like the last time, as the Tower of Terror voice over rings loud and clear over the speakers.

 
Then, disco music, an elevator ding and they enter. Miss Dominus Von Vexo themselves, dressed straight out of American Horror Story Season 3, but pink.

It’s worth the wait. Their lip sync is to the letter and the choreography is seamless and hilarious. Dominus is not getting enough applause in my opinion, but the crowd seems a little shy and needs some warming up.

“Please don’t touch our performers tonight,” Dominus says, “we have an axe behind the bar.”

I love a queen with firm boundaries. Dominus explains how they’re going to lubricate us before the evening’s fearful thrills – how exciting.

“Are we ready for our first hotel resident?” The audience’s response is a resounding yes.

Kitty Ribbons is up first, after some brief ghouls in the sound system, and she’s dressed as an army officer. This doesn’t usually tickle my fancy, however, it’s getting stuffy in here already as Kitty fans her blushing face, marching around, saluting and starting her tease.

Oh dear, she’s whipped an American Flag out of her bra and I’ve gone all Sahara Desert.

 
Dominus berates us for being too quiet as they host between the next act. It’s true, maybe we’re worried about screaming too much and coming across as perverts.

This next performer is much slower, sultry. Jada Love is donning a sequin, midnight blue ball gown and matching feather bower. A bluesed up version of ‘Seven Nation Army’ with extra bass plays as she commands the stage, directing us to appreciate every curv before throwing her bower callously to the floor.

Jada bends over daintily and slaps her arse firmly looking into my eyes (I swear). She’s not giving us too much just yet, with their final spotlight leaving Jada playing demure centre stage.

 
Mama Mamba has a filthy introduction from Dominus, so I can’t wait to see what she’s about. Dripping in jewels and basically nothing else, Mama Mamba sashays her way onto the stage winding her hips and waist slowly like a belly dancer. Facing away from the audience she takes off her bra and drops it by her side.

Turning around for the big reveal, she vigorously shakes her sparkly nipple tassels in circles. Then, starts stapling (yes stapling) tarot cards to her body. Not her costume, her body and specifically, Mama Mamba’s left breast.

Que the first 15 minute interval.

After the break, it’s the Salem Swingers featuring our stunning host with support, and yet against no one’s missing a beat.

 
Then, it’s Lolita Lash, and they are not what I expect to see when I hear the word Lolita. Whenever I hear the word Lolita, my gag reflex is triggered. Dressed as a sexy-scary baby-clown, Lolita Lash makes me very uncomfortable in a totally different way to standard interpretations of Lolita.

Their costume is detailed, and their paint is perfectly erratic. Their teasing is even stranger than the look, and some lady in the front row is screaming and jumping out of her chair.

Fuck, now there’s balloons and Lolita Lash is popping them with their nail. Will this nightmare never end?

At times Lolita Lash’s lip sync is a bit out, but it’s a tricky track and I must say the experience is exceptionally creative, as well as traumatic. Which is clearly the aim of the game with tonight’s theme. Bravo.

Dominus introduces the next act, scolding and scowling, “this is my understudy Lioness” and they roll their eyes before exiting the stage. Lioness enters dressed as a sexy French maid; an experienced dancer, she moves across the stage deliberately, popping her limps at weird yet somehow graceful angles.

Lioness is power, she’s raw energy, and she’s fluttering her grey feather duster all over my photographer Connor. Bless, I’ve never seen them, or perhaps anyone, look so pink and flustered.

All of sudden, Lioness has dragged a chair centre stage. Perching on it, she proceeds to slide down on her belly, leaving her bare bum exposed at the top wiggling it in the air.

As Lioness sulks off, finger in her mouth, dragging the chair with her, I see… is that Velma from Scooby Doo on stage?

 
No is Locques La Roux. I’m trying not to fall off my chair as Velma nervously bites his nails, running around, before slipping and spreading eagle. As he strips down to his deliberately bulging speedos, the crowd turns into puddles of giggles.

Another break!? Maybe it’s to make room for all the extravagant costume changes.

Three ghosts in sheets and suspenders appear to welcome us into the next part of the show, bopping around in sync to an old Louis Armstrong track – ‘Spooks’. Finally, they reveal themselves to be Dominus and the concierges, yet again.

Our little soldier Kitty is back after the break as well, but she’s much more pussycat than before, with silk white gloves and a simmering pink ball gown. After a brief zipper problem that she plays off perfectly, Kitty’s down to a diamante encrusted corsets – how babydoll.

The stockings come off one by one, and we get peaks of soft skin behind the stunning (and I hope faux) fur shawl. Whilst all the acts are indeed thrilling, Kitty gets my award for the most classic and you’ve got to appreciate her attention to detail, and drama.

 
The crowd becomes privy to a secret announcement from the House of Allure. That being, on Friday 12 May 2023, House of Allure will be taking over Nightingales’ bottom floor.

“No expense has been spared, it will be our biggest show to date,” cries Dominus.

Just as I think it’s over, Lioness dressed as Alice is back for a stomper, embodying all the emotions and weird frills of Wonderland. Her dancing is better than before and I’m bending my neck around everyone trying to make sure I see every move.

Her facial expressions shift and quickly as her movements and Lioness ruffles her skirt petticoats up around her shoulders one by one. Throwing them into the crowd, and stropping, stomping her feet, she mounts a chair once more, removing her bodice, revealing white silk and lace lingerie.

With one act left according to our host, I’m not sure what’s left for House of Allure to throw at us.

Jade Love closes the show as Voodoo Queen. This time, there is nothing demure about her performance, quickly stripping down to just her thong, with plastic skeleton hands hugging her breasts.

Jada Love falls to her knees, staring up at the ceiling and pours hot candle wax all over herself with the candle still aflame, then hot oil, before dropping into a full split and pumping up and down with her thighs at just the most suggestive amount.

You killed me House of Allure, tell my mother I died happy as a clam.

 
For more from Missing Bar go to: www.missingbar.co.uk

For more House of Allure visit www.linktr.ee/_houseofallure_ or check out @_houseofallure_ on Instagram

Writer Zenisha Peterkin / Photographer TQ Archive

 
I stopped drinking in excess earlier this year, partly due to the feeling of regret and the crushing headache I would wake up to in the morning, but mostly because I still have the most amazing experiences without alcohol. That isn’t to say that I’ve stopped drinking completely – I can enjoy a double gin and cranberry – but I have to make sure I’m surrounded by people I trust.

I think trust is the reason why the idea of a Sober Pride appealed to me when I first saw it advertised.

In its second year, Polls (they/them) and “a group of independent creators” called Fruit Punch, helped to create Sober Pride to welcome: “Other communities and queer folk who can’t relate to mainstream LGBTQIA+ scene.”

 
Traditionally, the idea of Queer celebration is one of finally embracing ourselves as we are and releasing the persona we adopt around people we don’t feel comfortable with. For some, alcohol and drugs enable that escape. But for others – like me – it can cause anxiety, giving us another kind of pressure to fit in.

For 25 years of Birmingham Pride, Sober Pride successfully fused the link between community and celebration, inviting Birmingham-based Queer creatives to showcase their work and perform their art over the course of two days. I danced to Q Sermon on decks, as she mixed drum and bass.

I saw Miss Sundi embrace their inner diva. I even made a mould of my fingers at Yazmin Fay’s workshop (yes, it is now a centrepiece in my bedroom).

 
The main event space was the garden of the Warehouse Café, with a makeshift stage, using sustainable materials, surrounded by growing plants, flowers and vegetables – a subtle nod to our ever-changing characters. The non-alcoholic bar took up a space to the side of the stage, with wooden chairs and benches laid out in front.

Inside the venue, whilst people tucked into vegan meals, Owain from Temporary Cruising Zone was selling zines and magazines made by Queer creatives and speaking to people about the lack of inclusive sex parties in Birmingham. We spoke about the misconceptions people have about Queer play parties and the way that Queer people tend to make others feel more comfortable in a space.

 
I was working at the event, so I missed some performances, but everyone looked like they were having a good time and a lot of people returned for the second day. The best part of the event for me is simply meeting so many people in the Queer community in Birmingham. I have lived here for two years, because of my university studies, but I have not experienced such a welcoming atmosphere anywhere else.

Initially, I had planned to just attend the event, but a week before, Polls sent out a message calling for LGBTQIA+ people of colour to work at the event. I encouraged my friend to apply with me, and on the day, she worked as a bartender, serving mocktails and different non-alcoholic drinks, whilst I welcomed people and checked tickets.

 
Unfortunately, in the first five minutes of opening the event, a man started to antagonise the staff, trying to take photos of people without their permission and using people’s incorrect pronouns. After the founders asserted that he was not welcome in the space, he left, and the rest of the event was so peaceful and incident-free, everyone forgot about it.

As irritating as the incident was, I would say that it really is moments like those that remind you why Pride is still being highlighted. Pride is still a protest as well as a celebration – the idea is bittersweet, but it helps us to remember to cherish the safe spaces where we feel loved and accepted as we are.

 
For more from Sober Pride go to their Instagram @soberpridebrum
For more from The Warehouse Cafe go to: www.thewarehousecafe.com/

Writer Jasmine Khan / Photographer Maddie Cottam-Allan

 
It’s 7:30pm on a Monday evening in the Custard Factory and there’s just a few punters chatting outside Auto-Brew. Apart from their gentle murmurs, poet, public speaker, and all round creative Adjei Sun and I have the quiet, subtly lit space to ourselves. Which is important because Adjei’s not one to raise his voice.

Adjei’s been creating space for discussions around mental health since he was 18 years old. Now 22, his audience has grown in accordance with the topics he’s brave enough to tackle in a public setting. By focusing on the relationship between masculinity and mental health, as well as discussing mental health in POC and specifically Black communities, Adjei addresses complex social factors which often result in stigma.

“To me, it didn’t feel like ‘I’m someone who’s coming to speak about mental health’,” explains Adjei. “It more started with me telling my story, my journey with anxiety and bullying, and writing was always my way to express that.”

Adjei began his mental health journey by sharing poetry and music, he says, “it was me helping myself by expressing myself, then it turned into helping other people, because people would come over and be like ‘this really helped me’.”

 
Adjei’s experience is textbook in the mental health space. Giving yourself permission to be honest and share in turn gives other people the same opportunity.

“Having conversations with my peers (men), around these important topics, that say years ago in school or college I wasn’t having with my peers, even though it’s probably something that a lot of us were dealing with, I feel more full from being able to show all of myself.

“I’m not trying to come into conversations with a man and be like ‘am I able to say this as a man’, rather I just go into those conversations and be like, ‘we’re human’.”

Adjei’s upcoming project Gifted and Black, which he confirms takes inspiration for its namesake from Nina Simone’s ‘Young, Gifted and Black’, will be held at the Moseley Exchange on 8 October. It’s clear Adjei is keen to continue his work holding space for communities who might not have easy access to conversations around mental wellbeing.

 
“The feeling in that Nina Simone song gives me a feeling I want to put into the event,” says Adjei.

“In terms of Gifted and Black, I think I was having a conversation with my mum about Black History Month, and I really wanted to create a black history-present-future month event.

“I want to have this intergenerational conversation between different Black men from different Black backgrounds to get their perspectives on giving. When I say giving, talking about how do we give to communities and how do we give to ourselves.”

What are healthy exchanges and how do we appropriately balance giving and receiving? Although neither me nor Adjei will come to any concrete conclusions in this conversation, Adjei explains the intent behind his intergenerational approach.

 
“The more mature people that I’m speaking to, one works within the mental health service, and the other does lots of work with young people and the community. I really wanted to have people who work with young people as part of it, because the whole idea of giving and giving back to the community, they’ve lived it.

“There’s an African proverb that says: ‘when an elder dies a whole library is burned’.

“We need to have conversations with older peoples because there is knowledge we can take from that will be lost otherwise.”

As the title suggests, all of the speakers at Gifted & Black will be Black (and gifted), but Adjei wants to stress the universality of the event.

“I really wanted to create something that speaks about generosity and again those themes of giving and receiving, so everyone who comes to the event can take something away from that.”

The emphasis Adjei’s places on giving and receiving throughout the project, and our interview, makes me think he’s considering the balance of these energies in his own life. People who work in mental health, at least those that I’ve spoken to, always seem to fall victim to giving a lot and I wonder if this trend will continue with Adjei.

 
I ask Adjei what giving and receiving mean to him and he’s quick to answer: “Love. How do we give love and how do we receive love.

“It’s about love as more than a word or noun, it’s love in action, and what does that look like?”

Adjei reflects on the accessibility of the project and ensuring that he’s provided a safe, comfortable space for people “to have uncomfortable conversations.”

Not everyone will be able to make it on 8 October, so Adjei’s ensuring there will be a condensed online discussion available after the event.

When Adjei talks about receiving love, he’s quick to talk about the ways he gives love to himself, making sure he sleeps well and eats. As much as I’m happy to hear that he’s making room for self-care, I remind Adjei that what he’s telling me doesn’t count as receiving love.

He smiles, and pauses: “I was having an interesting conversation at one of the events with a man who spoke about it being easier to give love than to receive it.”

So, how do you make room to receive love Adjei!? It’s important when you dedicate so much of your energy to other people.

 
“It’s a real journey that I’ll continue going through, one thing that’s helped in terms of receiving compliments and things like that is, there was a teaching from a particular discipline who said, when he received a compliment he would think about the person who inspired or helped him develop that trait.

“So now when I get compliments, I think about that.”

Adjei’s calm manner, gentle poignant tone, and clear love of love should not be mistaken for poetic whimsy. He’s got a firm, practical eye on the future and Adjei wants to make sure he is not just starting conversations but continuing to develop them, and sharing their findings with the wider community through workshops with young people.

It’s a genuine pleasure chatting to Adjei Sun, and I expect you’d agree if you manage to make it down to Moseley Exchange on 8 October.

 
Adjei Sun’s Gifted and Black comes to Moseley Exchange on Saturday, 8 October – priced at £10 including complimentary Caribbean food. Click here for online ticket sales.

For more from Adjei Sun check out his Instagram @adjeisun

For more from Moseley Exchange go to: www.moseleyexchange.com