HEADING OUT-OUT FOR GATSBY LATES

a few weekends ago i did a totally un-erica thing, and went out-out. i reserve my few out-out nights a year for special events like musical bingo, novelty club nights, or cultural milestones, and when this one invite landed in my inbox a few weeks back, i figured it fell into more than one of those categories; i had been invited to one of jay gatsby's legendary parties, in the basement of his very own drugstore, in south east london. the invite requested a step back in time to the 1920s for a night of dancing and debauchery, with a cultural takeover of one of this year's most popular immersive theatre shows in celebration of its re-launch: the great gatsby.

it was a 10pm start. that time of night is usually reserved for bed, but for something like this, i was willing to make an exception. the girls and i dressed to the nines, with feathers in our hair and sparkles on our bodies, and off we went, to the back entrance of gatsby's drugstore, ready to repeat the secret password at the door and head inside...

gin cocktails flowed, and within moments, it was evident the party was getting started. following an intro from the man himself, we were instantly transported back to the 20s through jazz, charleston dancing, beautiful costuming, and glimpses into the immersive show that is on the tip of everyone's tongues. we chatted with daisy buchanan in her bedroom while we had our hair and make up touched up, and helped her choose out an outfit for her meeting with jay. we indulged in gossip with the other guys and dolls over glasses of moet - only the best for jay gatsby, you hear?

the party was absolutely fabulous, and i couldn't wipe the grin off my face the whole time. sure, the todaytix takeover was a one-time thing, but you can still buy tickets to the show (it's on until december; you have to go!), and you can upgrade your ticket to a "gatsby lates" ticket, so you can enjoy a stripped back version of what we did after the show too.

i honestly cannot recommend the show enough; sure, i've not seen the whole thing as yet -but i plan to. the glimpses of it that we were treated to at the party had me gripped; from the wonderful transatlantic accents to the beautifully beaded costumes, there was nothing i didn't love about that party. so, that's my out-out quota dried up for the year, and i regret nothing. will i see you at the next show? check out the highlights from the party below:

*i was a guest of todaytix, but all promises to go and see the show in full are mine.