CULTURE CLUB
LUCY PORTER: WAKE UP CALL CAMBRIDGE
31 Dec
JUNCTION, 19 JANUARY 2023, 8PM, £21
PARTY PIECE
NEW YEAR, NEW YOU ALEX FICE SPEAKS TO NEON MOON FOUNDER CATHERINE WATLING BREEN, FINDING OUT WHAT TO EXPECT FROM THE HOTTEST NEW YEAR’S EVE PARTY IN CAMBRIDGE!
Revelations and epiphanies abound in comedy queen Lucy Porter’s latest show, covering topics from the Scottish Enlightenment to pressure washers and Huel.
and even took part in a stage takeover at the Commonwealth Games. Audiences are encouraged to engage with the show by dressing to a theme or coming as their alter ego – the more extravagant, the better. “Most nights out tend to be a very formulaic experience,” says Catherine. “I wanted to totally get away from that and create a space where, if you want to turn up painted head to toe in gold, then you can!” Originality and self-expression are also key when it comes to selecting the line-up of artists. Over the years, Neon Moon has hosted some of the best talent, from international aerial acts to Cambridge-based artist Bendy Bendini and Alex the Mind Reader from Champions of Magic . “The burlesque, cabaret and circus scene in the UK is really active, and there is incredible talent out there,” comments Catherine. “Every performer I choose has to have the wow factor – but they need to be nice. You have to work intensively with people, it’s important to feel at ease.” Following a sensational Halloween spook- tacular at the Junction in October, Neon Moon will return on 31 December for a more intimate party at Bar -OH. “We’re bringing back the Moonlight Speakeasy – but with a Cyber City theme!” enthuses Catherine. “The whole thing is based around the idea of entering a dystopian reality where it feels like you’re in a cyberpunk bar. We’re working with a fantastic mixologist who is helping us make some amazing drinks. In the past he’s created poison-themed and neon-glowing cocktails, along with smoke-filled bubbles! There will be loads of music, including live accompaniment sets with trombones and trumpets. I want it to have a Jazz Age feel, but with a Neon twist!” For more information and to snap up the last remaining tickets, visit neonmoon.co.uk
Imagine a place where everyone is free to express the most creative version of themselves. For the last ten years, Neon Moon has brought these fantasies to life by hosting spectacular cabaret parties across Cambridge – featuring some of the most astonishing local and international talent on the circus and burlesque scenes. Neon Moon was founded in 2012 by Catherine Watling Breen, a dancer who studied fine art in Manchester and Norway before spending ten years touring the world communicating artistic and scientific concepts through immersive and interactive installations. In 2010, the Junction invited Catherine back to her hometown to be part of an immersive cabaret show called Salon Rouge – setting her on a path that would change local nightlife forever. “I’d not been part of the cabaret world before, but fell in love with it straight away,” she beams. “I was working with a dance partner at the time and quite quickly we moved onto the burlesque and cabaret circuit; within a year we were performing internationally!” However, Catherine soon found that she was struggling with the one-sided nature of the art world. “The reason I got into cabaret is that I’ve always been interested in going out into live spaces and making sure people are having a good time. I wanted to create a show where the audience immediately feels part of it, and that’s where the idea for Neon Moon came from.” Starting out in a tiny bar in Cambridge with an audience of 75 people, Neon Moon went on to have a three-year residency at Anstey Hall where it held lavish parties to rival Gatsby himself; with champagne-spraying burlesque acts in the Venetian ballroom, a Victorian menagerie and sword swallowers. More recently, it hosted a sold- out show at Brighton Fringe, dazzled audiences at the Swingamajig Festival in Birmingham,
TORI AMOS CAMBRIDGE CORN EXCHANGE, 1 APRIL, 7.30PM, TICKETS FROM £32.50 Global music sensation Tori Amos comes to Cambridge next year following the release of her critically acclaimed album Ocean to Ocean .
RUSSELL HOWARD LIVE CAMBRIDGE CORN EXCHANGE, 8-9 APRIL, 2.30PM AND 7.30PM, £33 Heralded as one of the world’s top comedians, Russell Howard returns to put the world to rights in his hilarious live show.
12 DECEMBER 2022 CAMBSEDITION.CO.UK
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