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Under the arches
By Chris Beanland, London Lite 07.03.08
Low life: Under a busy London street, performers, artists and clubbers mix at the Shunt Lounge
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It's almost 10pm on a Friday night, and we're watching two women hang on suspended hoops for dear life as a third rides about on a mini tricycle dressed as a bear. In the next room, there's a giant video screen showing a baby's face. The soundtrack to it all is a gipsy folk racket that people are starting to dance to. This is an eye-poppingly surreal start to any evening out.
We're at Shunt Lounge, hidden away beneath London Bridge station. It's one of London's best-kept clubbing secrets - in fact, it's so good, it's tempting to want to keep it to yourself.
Where else in London can you check out avant garde installations, chew the fat over some video art, see a wacky Edinburgh Festival-style performance, drink and then dance the night away?
And how many of the thousands of commuters who tramp through the busy station every day know about this inspiring netherworld that's hidden away underneath their feet?
Which brings us to the first challenge with Shunt Lounge - finding the entrance. My friend Jess and I turn up at the station at 9pm and, as instructed by friends who have been before, we head for the little brown door - lower level, opposite the pie stall. There's no sign and it's unmarked.
Later in the evening as I pop out for air I observe a couple of bewildered wouldbe punters wondering around like wide-eyed extras from 28 Days Later. Luckily, these lost souls do eventually find their way in. But this is part of Shunt Lounge's appeal. It's a hidden gem, spread over the past 18 months by word of mouth alone.
We sidle in, pay our £10 entry and enjoy the Aladdin's cave moment as the club rolls out in front of us. We wander down the long dark passage that forms the spine of the subterranean venue.
At the other end we emerge into a different world to find a stage where bands perform, a bar which is so odd (in a good way) that it looks like it was designed by hobbits, and the high brick arches of this former wine warehouse, each forming distinct parts of the club.
It's rough round the edges but the darkness, exposed brickwork and candlelight add to its historic otherworldliness. The furniture is clapped out and mismatched: sofas, school desks and a grand piano.
A different artist from the collective that runs Shunt Lounge curates the venue every week, so every weekend you get a new surprise. Artist Layla Rosa has programmed the action we witness tonight.
With bottles of Budvar (£3) in hand, we watch the aforementioned circus tricks (involving bear suits, hoops and baffling storytelling) of Dalston-based The Sugar Beast Circus. Next we go and watch the video art dream sequences on the big screen.
Then, while we're ordering double gin and tonics (£5.50) and wine (£3), a mysterious belly dancer called Hannah appears on a ledge above the bar and starts wiggling. The mixture of bizarre performance and intriguing art is a real feast for the senses.
Another big tick in Shunt Lounge's box is the friendly, good-looking crowd it attracts. Friends Guro Eide and Charlotte Wiig are typical punters. "Someone told me this place would change my life!" laughs Guro, who works on arts documentaries for the BBC and lives in Notting Hill.
Charlotte, a photographer from Brixton, says: "The art gives you something to talk about. I really like it here, it's got something for every taste."
There are several hundred happy punters wandering around, drinking, dancing and making new friends. I chat to lots who have heard about the place through friends and I meet two girls from Berlin who are thoroughly impressed.
In the spirit of the Balkan rhythms pumping out, Guro and Charlotte give me an impromptu gipsy dance lesson as my friend Jess looks on with barely suppressed laughter. In a change from my usual "waving one finger around in the air" dance, I look as if I'm trying to man an invisible market stall, flogging bruised oranges to old women who exist only in my head. But it's all good fun, totally in the spirit of the place.
Later Jess and I have another dance on the central dancefloor - the music has become more poppy, with disco stuff and Madonna evidently very big with the crowd - and knock back a few more G&Ts. As the night continues, Shunt Lounge fills up and feels much more like a regular club - but still a pretty bohemian one.
We dance on until around 2am, when we concede defeat and stumble out with the place still rocking, but we promise ourselves to come back again soon. The only problem is that half of all you Londoners reading this might now be doing the same. I never could keep a good secret.
• Open Wednesday-Saturday, 8pm-late, last entry 11pm. Entry £5 Wednesday-Thursday, £10 Friday-Saturday; Joiner Street, SE1 (020 7378 7776; shunt.co.uk)
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