Torture Garden Birthday Ball Weekend Review

The 2009 Birthday Ball @ SeOne

There was one major problem, which we won't hide from and will fully cover later in this newsletter, but first let's talk positives.

What was best about the event?
You were!
The crowd was fucking amazing, and you all looked awesome with some incredible and truly original costumes. We don't think you'll find a better dressed crowd at any event in the world and you made the night a unique experience. So well done to everyone that dressed up to the max and were the true stars of the show. Thank you for making TG what it is.
Perhaps the award for most twisted costumes of the night goes to the 'so wrong, but so right' gollies!
In the end we hit an attendance of 2300 which was a little down on our previous sell out capacity of 2600, but in reality with the layout and decor this seemed a perfect number to remain busy throughout but avoid excessive overcrowding. We think we'll stick to this for future events as it seemed just right.

Second up we thought the club also looked fantastic and we were really pleased with the production and decor throughout. Every fantasy room and installation area seemed spot on and came together as a diverse, but balanced, theatrical whole.
We loved the roll up roll up energy of the Circus entrance and the creepy & disorientating Butchers tunnel. Especially between 10pm and 11.15pm when the venue wasn't too busy and they both worked so well as film set installation zones with great interactive performances. It was unfortunate that the circus performances had to stop when the entrance became too crowded at peak times.
Many thanx to The Baron & Missy's Misadventures and Bing the Clown, and also the Piggy's Vivid Angel, Tony & Rob for making the entrance a highlight experience.
The Last Tuesday Society twisted toys in the Dungeon also added a surreal edge, the neon created glitz n glamour in the Ballroom, the fairy light oriental Garden was a cosy chill out, and the dramatic lighting rig & visuals provided a stylish main room stage set, along with the amazing robots! Whilst the Medical and Cabaret rooms are always TG fantasy classics.
Overall we thought the venue looked it's best yet for a TG event and every diverse room and corner was an experience to explore. Plus it really did work as a genuine party atmosphere on a giant scale with the music working well in all the rooms.

The main shows are usually the highlight attractions at TG Birthday events, and although they may have been a little overshadowed by the crowd and the decor this year, the performances were still every bit as good as usual and we probably had our best ever international line-up.
Part of our concept at SeOne is that the night is organised chaos and a whirlwind of experiences, so wherever you are and whatever you are seeing or doing, you're missing 5 times as much somewhere else. That is part of it's charm and magic in that every ones experience of the night is completely unique.
So what did you see and enjoy?
We knew when and where everything was and even we missed more than we saw!
Highlights that we caught were: Frank Sanazi blitzing the crowd in the Kabaret Room (we'll get him back for more soon), Midori & Kumi's original & visually stunning paint-splatter bondage, the European premier of the stylish Antiseptic Fashion Show and Lukas Zpira & Satomi's romantic 3-way suspension. But we're sure everyone else was every bit as good or even better! Check out the photos to see what you missed.
Unfortunately one of the new names that we were looking forward to seeing most - Narcissister - failed to make it into the UK, but we managed to replace her last minute with the very capable Roxy Velvet. We hope to be able to finally get Narcissister on at TG London later in the year.

After all the pre-event worries and concerns about the new ID Scan system, on the night, as we expected, it was a pretty painless experience, with the venue being helpful to accept a variety ID's and staff getting you through the system as quickly as possible.
We hope that the system may be overturned by the time we next use SeOne in October and we will work towards that, but even if that fails we expect that it won't be greeted by the same fears next time.
Despite the ID Scans and a near capacity fetish attendance the cloak room queues were also not as bad as in previous years and generally acceptable for such massive numbers attending. Again, avoid peak times if you don't want long queues.

So finally what was wrong with the event?
We'll the bars were a nightmare and not good enough for such a prestigious event. We apologise to all those who suffered long queues to get a drink at almost every bar at SeOne during peak hours.
There were not enough bar staff working and the bars were also poorly stocked. We like a drink at our own party as much as anyone, and we've never been so sober!
For those who do not know how most London clubs work. We as promoters create the event and entertainment and take ticket money, but the venue runs and takes all money for cloakroom, smoking area and bars. But of course it's our event and we are responsible if there are problems.
We complained very strongly to the management of SeOne both on the night and after the event, and they have assured us it will never happen again.
Given that even when we had sold out previous years at SeOne, the bars were always well organised and queues minimal we have accepted their apology this time. Although, we do feel let down that such a simple element got in the way of what was otherwise a near perfect event.
For us and our friends, TG is still our favourite night out as well, and we fully understand how this spoilt the night for some of you. However, we did receive a surprisingly small number of complaints and it seemed that most of you had such an awesome night out that you were even willing to forget this for the overall picture.

TG at SeOne is a massive fetish festival and with so many people, rooms, performances and installations it is a unique organic experience with a life of it's own. Each event is unique, every bodies experience is different and no party is ever perfect. When we stage the perfect event we'll retire!

Special thanx to everyone who performed, modelled, DJed, worked and most importantly attended an unforgettable night. Especially all the overseas visitors. This was our most global event to date and we hope to expand that next year.

Check the website for the amazing gallery photos. Up early next week.

Don't miss Torture Garden's first ever Halloween event at SeOne on Sat31st October. We'll be going to town even more with themed decor throughout and this will be the worlds most spectacular Halloween Ball.

The International Fetish Ball and Boudoir

The opening night International Fetish Ball was a fun and social launch to the weekend and was a nice way to meet up with the many overseas visitors before the main manic Birthday Ball. There were also some great shows by Suka Off, Roxy Contin, Ancilla Tilia & Vima, as well as a great atmosphere in the dungeon and chill out areas. Attendance was close to last years at around 550 but it seemed quieter with more extra social space open at the Colosseum away from the main rooms. So overall a good event but perhaps it was all a little too pleasant and lacked a TG edge?
We preferred last years event at Mass, and as a result we'll look at the concept for next years weekend and will try to come up with something more challenging.

For those still standing by the Sunday (and we noticed a lot of our performers couldn't last the distance!) Boudoir was again a fun and relaxed way to end a mad, bad and dangerous weekend. With the glamorous Platinum Bar again providing the perfect party atmosphere with added playrooms.

2010 Birthday Weekend

Overall a very successful weekend with our biggest international travelling crowd to date and especially good given the ID worries and the global recession!
We're looking at moving the date a little earlier next year to the May day bank holiday, so check for confirmed dates soon and put it in your diary.

Torture Garden June Ball

Fri 12th June @ Club Coloseum

After the massive Birthday Ball TG will downsize in June to a more modest 800 capacity event back at the Colosseum with a 4 room layout and shows by Lazlo Pearlman, Fancy Chance (winner of Alternative Miss World) and Vicky Butterfly.
Check TG website for full details.

TG Brighton - Date Change

Next TG Brighton now Sat 18th July

Due to unforeseen circumstances we have been forced to change the date for the next Brighton TG. We have had to move our June 27th date to July 18th. We apologise for any inconvenience caused and hope that people can still make our July date!