The Found Footage Festival - The Black Box

 Where else can you see a kitten playing the piano, a man wearing tubs of peanut butter for shoes, an angry motor-home salesman, or a vibrating face exercising mask? The Found Footage Festival has arrived. 

On Tuesday 10th July my brother told me that he had won tickets to The Found Footage Festival being held in The Black Box and asked if I wanted to go along with him. I didn't really know what I was getting myself into, but I happily agreed and soon found myself in The Black Box in the Cathedral Quarter sipping on a cider. The room was quite full for a Tuesday night and shortly before 8pm the lights went down and the projector screen at the front of the room lit up. What followed was an hour and a half journey into amusement and madness.

I really didn't have any idea of what to expect, and for some reason I literally thought that they would just play funny movies, one after the other and that would be it. So I was surprised when two American guys stepped out to compere. It soon became clear that these two guys, Nick Prueher and Joe Pickett had dedicated their lives to finding the most unintentionally weird and funny VHS tapes from around the world and their witty banter between videos really tied the night together and made everyone feel a part of their descent into weirdness.  As a massive Mystery Science Theater 3000 fan I was very excited to find out that these funny guys had contributed, and their other comedy credits also include The Onion, Late Show With David Letterman, and The Colbert Report. So you have some idea of the hilarity which ensued throughout the night.

Personally, I think that the two rules stated on The Found Footage Festival website really sum up what The Found Footage Festival is all about: "Two rules govern Found Footage Festival: 1) Footage must be found on physical format.  No YouTube. 2) It has to be unintentionally funny. Whatever it’s trying to do, it has to fail miserably at that." These videos aren't of posers trying too hard; they are genuine, serious videos which people have produced. Which to be honest, makes them all the funnier. 

The night was filled with weird and wonderful videos, most of which were montages which the guys had compiled over the years and we saw such classics as: magic rainbow craft sponging, exercise videos, public access footage, a song about every single astrological sign,  Arnold Schwarzenegger at Rio Carnival, various home movies, "Rent-a-Friend", How To Seduce Women Through Hypnotism and a dating video montage. 

Between videos, we were told the history of the video we were about to watch and some funny anecdotes to match. These were very entertaining and there are all kinds of extras and interviews on the 5 volumes of 'The Found Footage Festival' DVDs, which are available to buy. The sixth volume is due to be released on 28th July and can be pre-ordered here.

The quality of the comedy was spectacular, we didn't see a single un-funny video and the room was in stitches all night. It's basically like someone showing you the funniest videos on YouTube and weeding out the stuff that it isn't worth seeing. Joe and Nick have done all the work - so we don't have to.

By Laura Caldwell

Vive le Cabaret! - Cabaret Supper Club joins Belfasts Dinner Theatre Fraternity

People like going out for something to eat, and people like being entertained, so it comes as no surprise that in the last year - the year in which Belfast has most flourished - we see a growing trend towards dinner theatre type venues. We've seen Burt’s Jazz at the Merchant and Cabaret Teatro at Botanic, both of which serve delicious food and sumptuous entertainment.  The latest addition to this is AM:PM’s offering  “Cabaret Supper Club”.

Living Social

PastieBap recently went to Cabaret on a Living Social Voucher. In case you’re not familiar with the concept, Living Social is a deal based website (like the ever popular Groupon) where they team up with local businesses to offer you a great deal every day.  In this case it was £24 for 2 people to attend the Sunday brunch at Cabaret and have a main meal each.  You just buy the deal online, print out the voucher, book your place and then show up. This is a great way to drum up business especially during opening weeks and to spread the word of mouth from (hopefully) satisfied customers. 

The Cabaret Supper Club

Situated near the Corn Market area of Belfast and next door to City Hall, The Cabaret Supper Club is directly in the centre of town, just an easy walk from Victoria Square also (as seems to be oh so important these days). It is also fairly close to the new Titanic Belfast building and Titanic Quarter too.  If anyone has seen the old film Cabaret with Liza Minnelli or the more recent Burlesque you will know the sort of look they are going for. A kind of Parisian, decadent, slightly gaudy look.  Mirrors everywhere, red velvet on the walls giving it a fairly plush look.


So the first thing you see when you go in is a giant mirror, a poster for Cabaret and red velvet everywhere.  As you walk up the stairs to the first floor you are greeted by a concierge who then takes your reservation and seats you for the performance.  When you are seated in your booth, you will notice there is a small bell which looks like a gold door bell just behind you. 

This bell is a great novelty and is used to call the staff should you need them.  We attended a Sunday Brunch where we were treated to a main course and a show.  Our party was six people strong and they were able to seat us all together in front of the decadent stage.

The Food

So we sat down and we were presented with the menu.  From the menu I selected roast beef, others in my group had the chicken and the lamb and it was all described beautifully in a delightful looking menu.  The roast beef turned out to be more like a thin cut of steak served on mash with a slightly sweet gravy like jus. This was delicious and cooked to perfection.  One wouldn’t expect to get such a nice piece of meat being described as roast beef.  We then ordered some drinks.  We did order tap water and were presented with a kind of self-bottled water which they charged us £2.50 for. This was a bit of a niggle as when you ask for tap water, you expect to get water from the tap which is free, so we were a little bit disappointed when we got the bill for that. 

We had some wine, deserts and coffees all of which were delicious.  The coffee came out warm, not piping hot which wasn't to everyone's liking, but suited me just fine. The staff were fairly attentive and well decked out, in matching black and white uniforms and when we rung the bell they came quickly enough.

The Entertainment

The entertainment afforded to us on the Sunday was a Magician, followed by a man playing the grand piano. He played all the rat pack favourites and then a few contemporary tunes done in a swing style. 

The first of the entertainment was a magician/comedian.  I would say that he was more suited to nighttime entertainment than perhaps Sunday mid-day, but he did the best with what he had and his tricks were good, and he was entertaining. He tried to get audience participation which people weren’t really having, perhaps they were hungover or perhaps they didn’t want to be taken up on the stage while eating, but he then said he couldn’t find enough volunteers and had to strip a bit off his show.  The bits he did perform were really good though and as somebody who really enjoys magic I thought his tricks were traditional, yet well done, which made for an entertaining act.  After that a tuxedoed gentleman came out and tinkled the ivories on a grand piano which sat in front of the stage.  The grand piano was an impressive sight to see and to heart being played over Sunday lunch was great.  The volume was pretty good too, loud enough to hear but low enough to talk over should you want.

The Facilities

A pet peeve of mine is that a lot of places put great effort into the decor of the main room and neglect the toilet areas.  It kind of ruins everything they’re working towards, especially with a themed restaurant.  But the toilets here were done out in the same style as the restaurant.  The mirrors were framed ornately and lacquered in black which gave them a slightly gothic look. They were clean and well kitted out.

The Round Up

Looking around the restaurant, it’s quite a large place, it looked like it could seat about 200 at at time.  Every table looked individual, some of them had high backed booths, some of them had individual seats, some stools etc.  There were chandeliers around and all in all the place looked fantastic.  The waiting staff were quick to serve and my only gripe would be about the tap water.  I think it said re-filtered water and it was presented in a glass re-usable bottle.  We asked for the bill and received it promptly and paid the remainder of what we owed, the rest had already been covered by our purchase of the Living Social voucher, and all in all everyone in the group agreed that it was a great way to spend Sunday lunchtime. 

We would all love to go back on a weekend night, when they have the full bill of entertainment, like the burlesque dancers, singers, magicians, and fire breathers, so it is definitely a place we will be re-visiting and a welcome addition to Belfast’s dinner theatre scene.

The Caberet Supper Club webpage
Living Social Belfast

Christmas Cracker at the Black Box

The Black Box in Belfast's Cathedral Quarter is one of my all time favourite venues and I like to go and support it as much as possible. So when I heard that they were holding a so called 'Christmas Cracker', I gathered up my family and headed out.

Suffice to say that none of us really knew what to expect, however we had gone to the previous two years Pigeon and Plum's Vaudeville Circus and this event featured many of the same performers. The Black Box itself lives up to its name very well, the main room is literally a black box, yet it had been transformed into a veritable wonderland of winter-ness. Paper decorations and tinsel hung from every possible space and a dozen or so tables had been set up across the floor. Christmas music was playing and guests were greeted by mulled wine and a man wearing a ridiculous wig and pink dress...this was going to be an interesting night.

The mood was high and the stage was adorned with christmas decorations galore, it was made up to look like an old 70's style living room, complete with an easy chair, a christmas tree and presents. As we took our seats and sipped at our mulled wine the room began to fill up and it was announced that the hog roast was ready. Yes, you heard, a delicious hog roast.  So after we had all eaten our weight in pork and crackling the show was ready to begin...

We were greeted by the charming 'Miss Candy Cane' who sang a selection of christmas songs including Jingle Bells and All I Want For Christmas Is You. Next up on stage was our host, Ron Crackling who wore a festive Christmas jumper and dodgy toupee. Ron was quite the character and his cheeky smile and sarcastic banter won the audience over instantly, it was clear that everybody was here for a good time.

The Christmas Cracker is basically a tongue-in-cheek variety show which doesn't take itself too seriously. Each performer has their own unique personality which is always as entertaining (if not more so) than the act which they are performing. The performers made good use of all of the Black Box's facilities, using a projector to display a short filmed skit of Ron running all around town looking for presents, this was an unexpected treat and added to the enjoyment over all.

However, I did get the impression that the Christmas theme wasn't a strict one, as the next performance was a hula hooping spacewoman and 'blue blob' (a woman in a blue morph suit who crawled around the stage grinning maniacally while staring at the spacewoman). This didn't matter though, as the audience was practically crying with laughter at this surreal scene. As an added bonus, the hula hooping was very impressive too.

Another particularly poignant, yet surreal moment is when Ron and a man wearing a David Bowie mask (and curtain/cape) dueted on Little Drummer Boy, both of which gave it stacks. Other performances included a sexy christmas burlesque dancer, a lot more singing and a rather impressive escapology act.

Next, the part we'd all been waiting for, the prizes for the 'best Christmas jumper' competition. The audience had donned their craziest knits and we saw some spectacular options including one which featured Santa's legs hanging out of a chimney. The winners however where a couple with matching his and hers jumpers (see below).

My personal highlight of the whole night is when the entirety of the cast gathered on stage in order to participate in a rendition of East 17's classic Christmas song Stay Another Day. Some of the older members obviously didn't know the words, but everyone gave it their all regardless, dancing and singing at the top of their lungs. It was definitely one of the funniest things I have seen all year. It's hard to describe The Christmas Cracker to someone who wasn't there, descriptions really don't do it justice at all. It's one of those 'you had to be there' events and I urge everyone to go next year, as it's definitely been the highlight of mine.