The Box

Simon Hammerstein hit the scandalous jackpot with his New York club when it opened in 2007, combining flagrantly outrageous shows with high-rolling clientele and tales of behind-the-scenes controversy. Early in 2011, he opened the London branch on the site of the old Raymond Revue Bar to tabloid squawking. So what can you expect? For a start, you won't get in unless you have very deep pockets (table reservations are several thousand pounds) and/or know someone. If you do make it in, you'll see they've remodelled the place a treat, in a decadent-chocolate-box kind of way that seems to be to the taste of the mostly young, bouji clientele. The show is of a high technical standard, with mostly exclusive acts compered by mischievous MC Raven O. Some, especially the skills-based turns, are very strong; others tend to the titillating or have more production values than originality. The stand-out is the extraordinary Rose Wood, a transgendered performer whose pieces – generally heavy on nudity, violence and bodily fluids – aroused spluttering tabloid outrage but in fact bespeak a sophisticated, funny and deeply humane engagement with the context of the Box and the world beyond.