a curious invitation last tuesday society
a curious invitation robert carlyles house last tuesday society national trust london
painting of an ayahuasca halucinagenic trip

 


Geoffrey Marsh
on
DAVID BOWIE

Tuesday 5th April 2016
Doors open at 6:30 pm, Talk commences at 7:00 pm

The career of David Bowie has been one of the most colorful and intriguing in modern rock history. From his first appearance as balladeer Davy Jones in the 60s to his spectacular gender-bending debut in the 70s as Ziggy Stardust, Bowie’s presence of stage spanned nearly fifty years and is often cited as a major influence on contemporary artists and designers.

Following a sold out run in New York, David Bowie's musical Lazarus is now set to grace a London stage. Writing a West End show was one of Bowie's childhood ambitions and in celebration of this feat, A Curious Invitation and Antique Beat will be opening their series of theatre salons with a talk on this singular musician at the venue Bowie held his alter ego Ziggy's last supper.

In this talk, Geoffrey Marsh, curator of the recent blockbuster David Bowie exhibition at the Victoria and Albert Museum, will look at the star's early years in Soho and describe how this most unique and chameleon like of characters emerged out of the culture of the district around the Cafe Royal.

Geoffrey Marsh
Geoffrey Marsh, Director of Theatre and Performance at the V&A, was the man behind the blockbuster exhibition David Bowie at the museum. The show pre-sold a total of 47,000 tickets, a record for the V&A and featured more than 300 objects from Bowie’s 50 years as a musician.

Tickets £20 including a glass of prosecco. Please click here to buy.

2016 DATES AT THE CAFE ROYAL

5th April 2016
Geoffrey Marsh on David Bowie


3rd May 2016
Peter Berthoud on London Spectaculars -
the City's Forgotten Theatrical Pleasures


14th June 2016
Brian Robinson on Laurence Olivier


12th July 2016
Jude Kelly on Joan Littlewood


19th September 2016
Antonia Fraser on Harold Pinter


11th October 2016
Neil McKenna on Oscar Wilde - the Dramatist


8th November 2016
Ian Kelly on Samuel Foote


In 1863, a French wine merchant called Daniel Nicholas Thévenon and his wife arrived in England in a bid to escape the clutches of creditors in Paris. So began a story that grew out of bankruptcy and culminated in the creation of Regent Street’s Café Royal: a truly remarkable and original establishment with what was considered at one point to have the greatest wine cellar in the world and was reputed for its excellent hospitality, dining and entertainment. 

Frequented by writers and artists such as Oscar Wilde and Aubrey Beardsley, the conversations, inspirations and discussions at ‘The Café’ were profound. Arthur Conan Doyle, H G Wells, George Bernard Shaw, Rudyard Kipling, W B Yeats, Walter Sickert and James McNeill Whistler were all patrons. Distinguished figures such as Winston Churchill, Augustus John, D H Lawrence, Virginia Woolf, Noël Coward, Jacob Epstein and Graham Greene were also often seen.