Chambers
Secret London Location
Reviewed – 23rd July 2019
★★★★
“a charmingly chaotic chimera of styles; as if Lewis Carroll had been aboard the Dr Who scriptwriting team”
The first, and most important, rule is: “You must keep all you see inside our worlds a secret”. Which kind of lets me off the hook. It gives me license to end the review here and take my coffee into the garden to enjoy the sunshine. It wouldn’t make my editor happy. But nor me, come to think of it. This is one of those events that leave you aching to tell everybody about.
Somewhere in Hoxton, Gingerline, the acclaimed group of dining adventurers, embark on another of their immersive dining experiences. The nomadic theatrical supper club, previously popping up in various secret locations along the East London Line (The ‘ginger’ line on the Tube map) specialise in surprise. I was lucky enough to journey on their ‘Grand Expedition’ back in February – but even that familiarity doesn’t prepare you for the next course.
So, what can I say about this palette twisting, interactive, multi-dimensional dining adventure? There are five chambers (as the title suggests) which represent five different dimensions. These are not so much dimensions as alcoves of the imagination. Recesses that you didn’t know existed, or you’d forgotten were there all along. Chambers, in fact, full of all those colourful thoughts, ideas and perceptions you thought you’d grown out of. And to match this, a cacophony of flavours is served up to tease and then satisfy the palate.
We are told to leave our belongings in the cloakroom before entering this alien world. It is a good idea, too, to leave your mind. Oh – and your expectations, preconceptions, rationality, common sense and reason. You do get your belongings back when you leave. As for the rest – that’s up to you. But what you do take away is a lasting memory of a very different and exhilarating night out. I can’t really tell you more. And you shouldn’t try to find out either.
The experience has a style all of its own. Or rather, it is a charmingly chaotic chimera of styles; as if Lewis Carroll had been aboard the Dr Who scriptwriting team, or Christmas and Easter had a baby. The latter was one of the hosts’ observations – so don’t ask me to explain that particular metaphor. Which is the crux of the evening. It defies explanation. It rejects categorisation, disobeys the rules of entertainment and abandons dining etiquette. All in all, an irresistible recipe.
Reviewed by Jonathan Evans
Photography by David Greig
Chambers
Secret London Location
Previous Gingerline experience:
The Grand Expedition | ★★★★★ | Secret Location | February 2019
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