This 3 minute film by Mark Richardson beautifully documents the visual delights of the sold out show ‘Tainted Love’. This show included amazing performances by Ruth Getz, Caroline Ullyart, Michelle Dee, Russ Litten, Dean Wilson, Bobby Diamond, Rich Reynolds, Tamar and Jo, and Sophie Thompson with musical interludes by DJ Harl Vind. This event was presented to the good people of Hull at Walton Street Club on Friday 7th February 2020.
The event was attended by around 170 audience members, tickets sold out two weeks before the event. We have a huge amount of positive feedback for these events. We are really conscious of creating a rich experience for the audience transforming the space by creating costumed characters and building stage sets with props and also dressing the walls and tables and placing masks and hats for the audience to wear to create a real party atmosphere.The performances for this alternative valentine event were constructed around the theme of 'Tainted Love'. We created a narrative that weaved itself through the evenings performances of a tainted love story told backwards beginning with the funeral procession of the 'Dandy Lion' and their beau 'Norma Mae Swansong' brilliantly played by performers Michelle Dee and Caroline Ullyart. Michelle Dee also performed a spoken word piece creating the ominous character of a Voodoo Vicar. The 'body' of the Dandy Lion was carried on by two gold suited pandas and led by Psycho Bunnies (dancers Jo and Tamar). Romantic advice was given by 'Dr Babs Danish - Singing Shrink' played by vintage songstress Ruth Getz. We included a tango performance by the Dandy Lion and Norma Mae and also a Musical Statue Tango competition with prizes where we invited audience members to take part. Writer and poet Russ Litten had two roles one as a film noir detective character and also as a quiz show host clown who compared the show 'Love Match' with two couples randomly chosen from the audience. We ended the show with Dr Babs Danish singing the Carpenters track ‘Close to You' while the Dandy Lion was reborn / born coming out of a giant-sized egg inspired by the wonderful Salvador Dali. We feel really blessed that we were able to create this event just before the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic took hold and made it impossible to imagine when and how anything such as this type of event may be able to happen again. These events are a joyous coming together of performers and audience transforming the everyday into magical moments of wonder.
