Shunt Vaults

BView

unique 24th April 2008

3 found this helpful

this is probably the best venue I have ever been to. That may sound like a big shout but believe me this is almost entirely unique. It is the antithesis of a poncey cocktail bar in soho. The decor is completely minimal (in fact its pretty much non-existent). This underground venue still has original brick work and is much as it was before. There are random pieces of artwork/furniture dotted all over the place (an old grand piano, pinball machines and weird pieces of "modern art). It sells cans of Red stripe at a huge mark-up but hey, what the hell, its worth it!

Wheely at 24/04/08

Mmmmm.....I have a nephew who would probably enjoy this ...!..!

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gilka

shunt 16th July 2007

4 found this helpful

What a great place! Shunt is a very special venue.
The first time I heard about was from a friend who told me about an interactive theater play he saw there where the audience were taking part and being guided to different rooms. The audience didn't know who is an actor and who is just a viewer... very cool!

I saw there an experimental music event in which people were playing on some very weird tools including throwing a bunch of gems to make noise...

Inside Shunt you can walk around and try different spaces until you feel you got the right one!

It is tricky to find the venue- kind of inside London bridge tube without any big sign outside.

Shunt has now become a club and there usually a huge queue outside, if you want to get in come around 8ish.

Here is an event I saw there:
http://www.gilka.co.uk/2009/01/18/sharmanka-gothic-circus/

LondonistHazel

17th June 2007

6 found this helpful

This place is great for performance art and the more bizarre end of cabaret. Not so great for wine and beer - drinking is incidental to the spooky surroundings and the avant-garde events so the supermarket wine and room temperature beers are just about bearable.

elaborations

29th May 2007

3 found this helpful

If you have been following the Primeval episodes 2 this place will creep you out!! So I was on my guard for that Mammoth spider, as I was going deeper and deeper attracted by a faint light, and there I was with others like me attracted to this light, waiting in turn to be eaten by this mammoth spider. But it turns out to be a very funny stand-up comedian with a fat smile, amusing each one of us.

The overall experience was enjoyable and I will go back to Surprise and shock my guests.

Blash

Shunt Vaults 29th May 2007

3 found this helpful

This is how i can describe this place:

Have you seen Scary movie?

Well the feeling i got from entering this place was very similar to watching scary movie in the cinema with a room full of people. Scary movie is a film that is full of action/comedy/horror and a few bizarre scenes...
Shunt Vaults is a great concept. I really enjoyed my experience there and will recommend it to all my friends.

sue

Shunt Vaults 28th May 2007

4 found this helpful

Shunt Vaults would have to be the strangest bar I have ever been to. Try finding it for a start. It is near impossible. The entrance is via a little door in London Bridge tube station.

Once you finally locate the entrance, you then find yourself heading down a long, pitch black in places, underground tunnel. The tunnel has scary looking alcoves on each side with strange noises and voices resonating from them. Not a place to walk by yourself if you are easily spooked!

Once you reach the end of the tunnel, turn right and you will wonder if you have travelled back in time. The cave-like bar is nothing quite like I have experienced before. Its interior comprises of arched ceilings and crumbling brick walls held together with creeping ivy, along with the odd chandelier, and a mix-match of eclectic furniture.

The music earlier in the evening sounded like something that would have been played in a wild west saloon or at a circus freak show.

I loved it.

idoru at 28/05/07

After the wine I felt like I was in a dream it's such a SURREAL place!

walid at 29/05/07

After wine you always feel like in a dream Idoru ;-)

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Frankie

Womb or tomb? 27th May 2007

6 found this helpful

This is a pretty strange and sensational place.

You enter through a dark tunnel...

Your nostril hairs quiver in the cold air (black velvet mildewed). You see the darkness and are reborn as a Goth.

Actually, they could have gone for a gothic cliche but the club has expressed itself in a sort of thrift store, French Resistance chic. It is entirely dramatic here and thrilling. The place is run by a theatre group http://www.shunt.co.uk/ and reminded me of a recent physical theatre production at Wapping by Punchdrunk http://www.musicomh.com/theatre/faust_1006.htm but I don't think they're connected.

Well, the social atmosphere was jolly and warm (accept any TP invitation that comes your way!). But as the evening went on I began to be aware of a glum presence sitting alongside us in the walls. Kind of benign but strange. A giant, too heavy to ever stand up again, a bird caged. I ran out into the light shouting 'I'm Alive, I'm Alive!'. It could affect you mentally if you joined up for this club.

Lacrimosa

26th May 2007

6 found this helpful

Ouch! With head still spinning from last night's meet at the Shunt Vaults (thanks for a great night, Trusted Places!) I shall attempt to separate fact from fantasy. It'll be tough going though.

This place is odd. Very odd. If you were to hit London in search of the elephant man, the bearded lady, Siamese twins and the Amazing Reptile Man from Deepest Utchichudo, this is where you should look first. It's like a recreation - a spookily authentic one at that - of the venue for a Victorian freak show which, historically, may well have been held in vaults like these. Hurdy-gurdy fairground music completes the effect. The only thing missing is the freaks (no sir, before you suggest it, I ain't no bearded lady) but Rob's review below demonstrates that freaks do sometimes make an appearance.

Loved the drollness of the staff. One on the door offered to wave the £5 entrance fee if I gave her my springbok handbag. Later on, the donation by one of our party of four tickets to see Meatloaf at Wembley Arena was handled in a enviably deadpan manner by the female DJ. There wasn't many people about when we arrived circa 6.30pm on a Friday, but the place gradually filled to a comfortable level. Through the gloaming, I even spotted people playing table football.

One last thing... there was some talk last night about this place closing down once the lease runs out in the summer. Can anyone confirm or clarify that?

Buraco at 26/05/07

Not only unbelievably prompt review, but great writing too. Your words really capture the enigmatic atmosphere wvery ell. I'm very concerned about this rumour of closure and demand someone comes up with answers!!

Lacrimosa at 26/05/07

Why, thank you, Alan. :-)

Think it was Sokratis who had the info on possible closure... I agree, it would be a tragic loss, having only just discovered the place.

Busi_78 at 03/04/08

I am thinking of going there tonight, is it any good on a thursday?

Lacrimosa at 04/04/08

Sorry, Busi_78, I didn't see your question until today, Friday. Looking back, it was a Friday night when I went - haven't been since (though would love to) - so I can't really give any pointers about what it's like on a Thursday. Hope you enjoyed it if you went, though.

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LuluMcC

21st May 2007

4 found this helpful

Enter through a hole in the wall in London Bridge tube station (next to a vending machine is all I will say) and you enter a totally new world.


If you can find this place you are in for a surprise. One minute you are surrounded by commuters, the next plunged into damp darkness...but in a good way.


If you aren't freaked out by the pitch black vaults you will eventually pass some interesting art installations, the odd live performance or perhaps a theatrical "happening". When you finaly reach the bar the drinks are reasonably priced and the crowd friendly.

If you are looking for something out of the ordinary in SE1 then check it out.