A new private members in one of London’s poshest streets describes itself as perfect for the ‘curious and the hedonistic’ – and has a ‘secret’ basement, lit in red that features near naked performers in cages.
Dear Darling enjoyed a glitzy launch night on Thursday, after quietly opening back in September; Celebrity DJs included Skepta and model and socialite Lady Mary Charteris, with Love Island star Arabella Chi among those in attendance.
The lavishly decorated two-floor VIP club – with erotic art on the walls – is housed in a former Mayfair brothel on upmarket Jermyn street in the capital.
What happened to dancing around your handbag? A new VIP club night has taken over a regal Mayfair property from Thursdays to Sundays and the immersive experience promises a risque night out
Dear Darling takes inspiration from Soho cabaret club The Box and the current ‘immersive’ theatre trend; those who make it through the doors can expect burlesque-style shows, and are invited to explore their ‘deeper, darker desires’.
Downstairs in the basement, staff wear latex and photography of performers writhing in cages is strictly prohibited.
There’s plenty of role play too. An invitation to this week’s launch party said the club’s racy current show centres around a tale of ‘identity, lust, and loss’ in ‘the mansion of a widowed matriarch’.
The 18+ guest list only venue tells the story of a widowed matriarch discovering a ‘secret sex life’; with photography banned in the red-lit basement, where performers writhe in cages
The private members club opened in September but enjoyed its official opening this week, with Jammer BBK and Skepta attending the launch party
Love Island star Arabella Chi was amongst guests at the launch party, where tables cost £1,000
It continues: ‘On the surface is a beautiful antique mansion house, but beneath the fold is a secret sex life nobody ever expected.’
A YouTube trailer for the club’s recent Halloween night saw actors in period dress playing out a bacchanalian scene that ends with a throat being slit.
The private members night is the latest project for the increasingly powerful London-based Cream Group, which also runs cabaret dining room show Cirque Le Soir, Westfield London’s roller-skating club Flippers and The Windmill in Soho.
Open from 11pm until late between Thursdays and Sundays, with an ‘occasional’ after-hours party, Dear Darling is guest-list only and has a strict ‘smart and sexy’ dress code, with ‘high heels preferable for ladies’.
The price of a standard table at the lavishly decorated 18+ venue? £1,000…with a VIP table setting revellers back £2,000 – and there’s a vague entry price too, ‘typically at door discretion’.
Also on the decks at the launch party was model, socialite and DJ Lady Mary Charteris
The ground floor level houses cocktail lounge The Living Room, decadently decorated to appear like a Victorian smoking room, with green and red velour sofas and chairs, chandeliers and velvet drapes.
Dear Darling seems to be a natural successor to take over the property at 91 Jermyn Street; previous incarnations of the elegant Mayfair residence have seen it used as a brothel and a onetime sex club for gay men.
The swish Mayfair residence has a saucy past, it was once used as a brother and was also a gay sex club
The venue is the latest string to the bow of the influential Cream Group, which is behind some of the biggest clubs and restaurants in London. Pictured: A macabre scene plays out in the immersive club. Right, a human lampshade
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