This is a guest post from Cleo Hayes, reviewing last Saturday’s Rockabaret.

Last Saturday, if you started the evening thinking you were going to the dark side but ended going up with the faeries, then you were probably at Rockabaret’s Scary Monsters Ball. Rockabaret, if you didn’t already know, is a psychedelic mash-up of vintage French, fancy dress, cabaret, burlesque, performance art and club night, all rolled into one. Hell, even the bar staff haggle among themselves to get to work the night there. Its second successful night at Sin since its relaunch, it packed out every conceivable crevice of the club with the spectacularly dressed-to-kill. Every conceivable ghoulish fantasy figure was here - from Dracula to Vampira, and everything in between. What made it so special was the live art performances taking place everywhere - you really can’t help but stand in awe and wonder if you really are seeing things…. In the Experience Room, Syban V (of Torture Garden fame) acted out her “Blood Bath” as a Victorian ghost handing out sweets and devilish treats…and tricks. If you were very lucky, you’d get handed a tomato paste-splattered bottle top, but only if she really liked you. And you couldn’t miss the mesmerising “Woman In White” (Tania Rocha), whose dead-pan expressions and graceful gait won everyone over.

And if you wanted to shake your boots, there was no shortage of worthy tunes from Monzu, Kitten and Wiggy Stardust. Monzu in particular has mastered the DJ’s ‘Art of the Tease’ by playing tantalising snippets from certain tunes, namely The Damned’s ‘Grimly Fiendish’, with a slightly out-of-tune harpsichord… but that’s another story!

The performances on the main stage were also like nothing ever seen before - what really stood out was the Inko Dancers’ macabre dance set in Tim Burton’s world about evil living dolls. There was a definite nod to Marilyn Manson’s ‘ModScene’ burlesque in there too, all very sassy goth-chic-chick!

If all that wasn’t enough, there was a tailor-made Rockabaret Scary Monsters cocktail list too - with names such as ‘Bloodshot’ (a shot of red absinthe!), Frankenstein, Witches Brew, Cannibal Corpse and Gravedigger, there really was something for everyone’s taste. So be sure to make room in your diary for Rockabaret’s November extravagance dedicated to all things French, to be called ‘Oh La La’, before its venue Sin gets turned into a Crossrail station. But may Rockabaret, like Dracula, carry on and on. Long live Rockabaret!

For more information about Rockabaret, visit www.rockabaret.co.uk. Also under ‘Rockabaret Experience’ on Facebook.