kingsland palace, rio and clara ludski

this saturday gone, the twelveth day of may, i experienced a double whammy, as a participant and as an observer: stav B's liquor bar set up home upstairs outside the auditorium, in a subtle, but atmospheric affair, with lowboys and edible flowers holly placed around them, instead of putting them in the punch and it looked lovely and warm and inviting! 
stav B was preparing for her brand new performance written and premiered at the rio cinema, in dalston, london, for the avant garde event, at home with the ludskis and included a tutu, feathers and a lot of fire!
i am writing here, as stav, talking about the brand and the personae, instead of speaking about myself in the third person... just saying...


but let me start from the beginning:


i became aware of the event, via a facebook email and a friend and i was instantly intrigued... avant garde and surreal and thought provoking and out of the ordinary with a lot of music and art disciplines and generally, a spectacle du theatre, need i say more? i loved it! i went to the first one for me, but third one for them, in january after work and i discovered, that a. i knew a lot of people there and b. what a fantastic idea! an event in a cinema, starting at 11:30pm after the last screening!


the next day, i was requested by granny ludski and as i added granny to all my groups (queen Bees and the liquor bar, at the time), i was invited to perform and do the liquor bar at the next edition in may! so, here we are: it is tuesday, the event has been and gone, but not forgotten and continually resonating in my mind, upon reflection and a major anti climax on sunday. (more on this at madam B and tricks blog)


clara ludski was a russian immigrant, who founded the kingland palace ( the first electric picture house) in 1909, cum rio cinema, in its art deco beauty, as it is today...
at home with the ludskis is a tribute to her with a multi disciplined extravaganza in its avant garde and surreal glory...


i wrote a brand new piece, refelecting my current state of affairs and heart, called 
'you and me and no one else' (more on this at madam B and tricks blog)


i created a small, but special list, to match the event and my stock and it was only cocktails, which made things not necessarily easier, but definitely more straightforward, in focusing on one thing and very well.


i made a big bowl of punch, which has become the bar's trademark, with its tropical fruit juices and fresh fruit and drops of grenadine and sugar, with or without rum... as the night progresses and the fruit naturally ferments, the flavours change to the better, blend to perfection and the mix is almost alcoholic, without the spirit! yumm - y!


the margarita, made with herradura anejo, to granny's delight, had also a splash of grand marnier, chocolate liqueur and lavender syrup, which, i'm telling you, is divine! no exaggeration there!


the old fashioned had cardamon and the gin was made to exquisite daiquiris with maraschino liqueur, bitterness galore and singapore slings, with the fantastic heering cherry liqueur, a whole cherry in your mouth with a dolop of booze and the ever classic and classy benedictine...


all @£5 made with love and attention and a great deal of skill...


we had fun, we made new friends and we were surrounded by our own, who were mingling and circulating, among their second and third orders...


it was a challenge, but definitely manageable and yes, i would do it again... waiting for the next date...


meanwhile,
i give thanks, to granny ludski, emie, gary, dominic, max, marta, andre, holly, anka, zbigniew, doug, diana and chris, who did a very good job, in their fields and being brilliant, in general... x

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