The Blitz Party in Shoreditch London is the closet you can come to a time machine.

In a small corner of North East London, there lies the doorway back to Narnia, closeted away in an anonymous back alley of Shoreditch. When you step through that door you come out into a magical land you couldn’t have thought it existed, or indeed that down this small side alley there exists, because while it’s not literal magic, it may as well be.

The Blitz Party London, brought to you by The Village Underground, is one of those events so intricately and spectacularly well done, that you feel like Lucy did the first time she walked into Narnia, utterly in awe. The irony is in this respect it’s almost the reverse, because instead of leaving war torn 1940s Britain, you’re entering it.


 

Tucked away in an old underground railway storeroom, it is the perfect location to replicate those covert underground London parties during The Blitz. Stepping over the threshold and into the main room is the closest you will ever currently get to a time machine. There is not a modern application in sight and not a single person makes a half hearted attempt to replicate the style and feel of the 1940s. Everyone, women and men alike go all out with everything from seamed stockings, red lipstick and faux fur to full suits, fedoras and replica army and naval uniforms. Everyone pretends, it’s like playing make believe as a grown up, but with none of the shame. The event is classy, well done and although not exactly cheap, as can be expected in Greater London, still so enthralling. There is so much to look at, from the intricate costumes to the big Union Jack, there is no skimping on details; even the toilets are vintage (yes they’re those ones with the hanging lever) and if that wasn’t enough to make you forget there exists a world with Ipods and mobile phones there’s even a sandwich stall with a man making cheese or ham sandwiches for the hungry evacuees from the modern age. Not only this, but it was proper fluffy handmade bread, not cheap Tesco’s own. Now you don’t get that in a modern day club!


 

In fact the nature of the event means that it is nothing going out in the modern day, people are courteous, there’s no one puking on the side of the road and random strangers Swinging together; it’s as if the wartime spirit had never left us. The event includes a jazz band playing some old and new favourites, mixing new songs into some vintage jazz and a DJ set, (ok so I guess there still needs to be some modernisation to really set the mood). The music was brilliant playing tunes such as the original ‘We No Speak Americano,’ and some obviously some Glenn Miller. I feel I should probably add a small warning here, most people like the classic Disney song, ‘I Wanna Be Like You’ this is fine, but if you like it, be prepared: they play it. A lot. Sometimes it might be worth a trip to the toilet to escape and salvage the song for yourself.



  

This is not the only strange anomaly of The Blitz Party... Despite all my ravings of how truly authentic it was, the end was... well the only way I can describe it was trippy. You know I compared it to discovering a magical land earlier... well this was more equivalent to being Alice as she went through the looking glass, as opposed to being Lucy. Towards the end of the night the jazz DJ set slowly transformed into the Yolanda Be Cool and D Cup remix of ‘We Speak No Americano,’ perfectly fine as people had almost been waiting for it all night, but then they started to Dubstep everything. Now Dubstep is fine and to be expected in a place like Shoreditch, just perhaps not when you are all inhabiting romantic visions of war torn Britain and playing dress up, (it got more trippy when they wacked out a Dubstep remix of James Bond, it was pretty entertaining). None of this sounds that complimentary, but in all honesty it worked, it was just trippy. By the end of the night there is only so much 1940s entertainment they can give you, and as the early hours roll around and the alcohol takes hold, the underground cavern transforms into something a little trippy, but certainly a night you will never forget; it is just one of the many things that makes the entire night feel like some fantastic dream. Perhaps it’s just Bourne and Hollingsworth’s way of showing you how diverse they can be; either way it worked marvellously. Overall, a jolly good show and a spiffing night.


 

If you’re interested to find out more, you can take a closer look on their website here: http://www.theblitzparty.com/

Their next event is on the 1st of September 2012

If the 1920s is more your cup of tea, then they also do a Prohibition Party see here for more details: http://www.prohibition1920s.com/


 

Aly x