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Torture Garden 2017: June Ball at Fire

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Time 23:00
Date 17/06/17
Price £29
  • Produced by Torture Garden
  • Price £29
  • Get ready to fufil your fetish desires
  • Bring along an outfit that displays an exploration of sexuality
  • See you at Fire

'We’ve continuously pushed the boundaries of what is acceptable and legal' says TG founder David Wood. Are you ready for the world’s largest fetish / body art club?

Read our interview with TG founder David Wood here [archive].

4 Fantasy Themed Rooms + Large Outside Covered Chill Out Terrace.
Performance Installations:

Club Arena & Balcony Bar

DJs:
Electro House, Electro Trap, Techno, Booty Breakz, Dub Step, Drum n Bass

Dungeon

SM & Medical Play Equipment by Play Penz

Music: Atmospheric, Ritual, Erotica, Electronica, Boudoir, Ambient Soundscapes

Mash-up Ballroom

DJs:

Burlesque, Rock n Roll, Electro Swing, Party Mash Ups, R n B Booty

Playroom

Large Outside Terrace

Enforced Fetish Fantasy Dress Code (Full Costumes Only / No Half Measures / TG is an Extreme Event for Extreme People!):

Please note that TG is a home for people looking for something more extreme than the norm... our house rules mean that we are a safe and consensual space, and if you don't respect this, you will be asked to leave. We have an amazing crowd and won't tolerate anyone not behaving respectfully with other customers - this includes touching people, interrupting play scenes or taking photos, you are responsible for checking your own behaviour, if we find you not following the rules you will have to leave and will not be refunded! We very rarely have any issues, but should you encounter anyone not understanding our rules and affecting your night, please do tell a staff member at the time, so we can deal with it straight away

Fetish, Body Art, SM, Burlesque, Berlin Kabaret, Drag, Medical, Militaria, Moulin Rouge, Venice Carnival, Circus Carnival, Top Hat & Tails

WARNING!!! No Casual Streetwear / No Jeans (even black) / No Street Camouflage / No Cotton T-shirts, Trousers, Underpants / No suits (even with a hat) No lycra meggins, No Cheap Fancy Dress Copies!
You will not be admitted to the event if your outfit includes any of these items!!

No Hen or Stag Parties!

No Refund if Not in Dress Code!

No Cameras / No Use of Mobile Phones!
History:

Alan Pelling and David Wood formed Torture Garden as a Fetish Club in Oct 1990 and remain as owners / directors. Alan's background was as an alternative club promoter & DJ ¬ new to London, and David's was a conceptual art & film graduate who had been going to fetish clubs since 1984. Together they were bored with the existing retro alternative clubs and suburban style fetish clubs. They wanted to create a new kind of radical & edgy alternative fetish club that combined diverse & progressive music, multiple environments, fashion, performance, visuals, installations, market area and more. 100 people came to the first event at the Opera On The Green venue in a shopping precinct in Shepherds Bush on a Wednesday night, but by the 5th there were 500 and it was rammed! By this time TG had developed its own unique crowd that combined the Alternative post Goth / Industrial, hard-core SM, Fetish Fashion and Gay & Straight scenes, with the totally new Body Art / Piercing scenes. There was no other crowd and club in the world like it! Charlotte Hellicar joined TG Productions full time in 2003 as company manger following briefly working for TG Clothing.

Why Torture Garden and TG?:

Torture Garden was named after the 1899 novel The Torture Garden (Le Jardin des supplices) by Octave Mirbeau , which was set in a Chinese Garden of Torture. We chose it more because of the exotic and mysterious images that it evoked, rather than the specific novel itself. From the beginning we often shortened Torture Garden to TG, because it was shorter and didn't scare the Bank manager! But it was also a reference of influence to an earlier TG - Throbbing Gristle ¬ the seminal industrial experimentalists and founders of Psychic TV, Temple Ov Psychic Youth, Coil, Chris n Cosey etc. TG's circle logo was literally inspired by the back of a lorry on a rainy motorway drive! Keep an eye out in France?

Acceptability of Fetish:

In the 80's and early 90's Fetish & SM was still taboo and very underground, and even dressing in Rubber and going to a fetish club seemed a dangerous activity. As TG's notoriety grew, so did the 'shock & scandal' reports in the tabloids, resulting in the Police frequently forcing venues to close or cancel events in 1991 - 1993, and the shadow of the Spanner Case also hung over the scene during the early 90's. However, as numbers attending grew at prestigious venues such as the Ministry of Sound, and fetish fashion and creativity influenced the mainstream, fetish became trendy and venues actively wanted us at their venues. As British society opened up to sexuality in general during the late 90's, the media also changed in their attitude to fetish. From tabloid to channel 4, fetish was now generally depicted in a positive light. In the 2000’s it seems that everyone knows someone that's been to Torture Garden and it's generally becoming acceptable. However fetish and fetish clubbing is not for everyone, and we don't want just any-body at our events. In the media fetish is viewed as fashionable every few years with mainstream designers and pop stars constantly taking inspiration from the underground fetish scene.

The Crowd:

TG's multi-dimensional events cater equally for a huge range of open-minded individuals from young fashionable clubber to alternative arty weirdo, burlesque cabaret fan to sophisticated SM regular. Providing something every-body from any age group (18-60+), sexual orientation and gender. Creating an environment that accepts and encourages individualism, diversity and free self-expression. Ultimately it is the crowd above all that generates the energy and atmosphere of an event, and the TG crowd is the most diverse, radically dressed up and cutting edge crowd in the world wide scene. It is they who have made TG what it is. At TG the crowd are the stars and everyone is a celebrity, but famous visitors have included Marilyn Manson, Dita Von Tease, Alexander McQueen, Jean Paul Gaultier, Boy George, Katie Price, Courtney Love & Marc Almond. Unfortunately Adam Ant was turned away for not dressing up enough! There are also rumours of other famous faces, but it is the easiest event to appear at in disguise if you don’t want to be recognised!

Fetish Etiquette:

A fetish club is an environment that encourages the exploration of one's sexuality, but there are also strict codes of conduct within fetish clubs. Touching anyone without permission or any form of harassment of any kind is strictly forbidden. In general fetish clubs are the safest, friendliest and most relaxed club environments. They are places where men, and especially women can dress-up and be themselves without fear of harassment.

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COMPETITION: Win 1x pair of tickets to attend Torture Garden 2017: June Ball at Fire at 22:00 on Saturday 17 June. To enter the competition, send an email to lizzy@run-riot.com with the correct answer in the ‘subject’ line. The winner will be randomly selected.

Q: Which year did Alan Pelling and David Wood launch Torture Garden? The clue is in our interview with David.

A: .1) 2000 .2) 1990 .3) 1980 .4) 1970

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