Tag Archives: entertainment

Scary films for your next Halloween

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When it comes to Hallowe’en, you could theme a Halloween party in a generic manner with cobwebs, spiders, skeletons and pumpkins. But if you want to give your Hallowe’en party a horror film list, here are some very cool film and entertainment ideas to make it an evening nobody will ever forget.

Stephen King’s It

The beauty of hosting a Hallowe’en party themed around Stephen King’s It is that the whole event is incredibly simple. Book costumed characters to dress in yellow coats holding red balloons – ideally facing away from guests – and book a clown (naturally with horrific makeup) to stalk the event and scare guests. If you want to take the theme further, by all means have a paper crafts table where attendees can make paper boats, which can handily be pressed down and act as a name tag. Clever.

Saw

Though we frown upon the idea of forcing two groups of guests into doing tasks to save their limbs, you can still have some fun with a Saw theme. Keep the lights down low and have an unseen voice speaking to guests as they enter. Add a digital clock counting down to zero – what will happen next? – as a unique way to say that food is now being served and yes, Jigsaw can always be cycling around the venue on his tricycle. Feel free to theme the event with numerous tasks from the movie franchise as well.

A Nightmare on Elm Street

Another easy theme to set up – simply hang an ‘Elm Street’ sign in your event space to create the titular setting – the beauty of holding an A Nightmare on Elm Street Hallowe’en party is that Freddy Krueger haunts the teenagers in their dreams. When it comes to event themes, nothing is more broad than ‘dreams’ as an idea because it be anything you want. Book macabre dancers, circus acts, costumed characters– Anything at all! Just be sure to have Freddy interrupt each scene throughout the evening (or perhaps meander through the audience) to ensure that the scares keep coming!

Night of the Living Dead

Not every Hallowe’en party has to focus on the slasher genre! George A. Romero’s franchise about ‘living dead’ or zombies as we now call them is sure to impress when guests enter a venue to be greeted by a horde of the undead. We highly recommend booking a photo booth to capture the experience and numerous attendees can enjoy an evening of avoiding the zombie outbreak. Marvellous.

Halloween

John Carpenter’s Halloween franchise is perhaps the most famous of all horror movies. Not only did it give the world Michael Myers, a deranged masked killer who famous brings all manner of terrors to Jamie Lee Curtis’ main character, but it also spawned a number of sequel including the frankly mad Halloween III, a film that focuses on the idea of a song turning the public insane. We highly recommend not only booking a costumed Michael Myers to scare patrons but also playing ‘Happy happy Halloween’ on a loop to really send those in attendance insane.

Vintage Event Entertainment

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There’s no denying that in the modern world, everybody loves a vintage theme. There’s just something about yesteryear that gets us going, no matter how old we are. With this in mind, we thought we’d let you know about five vintage dance acts that are sure to impress if you’re looking to get all nostalgic at your next event.

The Bees Knees
This talented trio are sure to fit right in with your event, no matter how big or small the celebration! When you book The Bees Knees, you can pick your era – 1920s to conjure up the idea of a speakeasy or 50s Hollywood if you’re all about the glamour of Bogart and Bacall.

Impact Dance Group
These talented dancers are able to perform a variety of different routines for your party or event. Hugely popular with all ages, the group have held residencies in some of the finest London hotels and if you’re good they may even offer to show your guests how to dance the Charleston.

Chica Bonita
If you’re working on a Las Vegas party theme then there is absolutely no excuse not to book some Show Girls! Chica Bonita is a troupe of glamorous and glitzy dancers, these fabulous women are available not just for dancing but also for meet-and-greet so get those cameras ready. Featuring stunning costumes and startling choreography, Show Girls are a perfect choice if you’re wanting to commemorate the glory days of Vegas!

The Cheek of it
Lady Cheek can bring the spirit of 1920s cabaret and social clubs to your event with her exciting and titillating performance. Able to take her cues from vintage Hollywood films like All that Jazz, Cheek can bring a wealth of experience to your event; she’s previously appeared for in many productions that he been captivated by her beauty..

Silent Disco

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Booking a disco for your party or event entertainment is generally a no brainer. Almost everybody in attendance will enjoy a chance to let their hair down but should you opt for the traditional disco with loud thumping beats or a silent disco?

Before we begin, we should probably outline what you get when you book a silent disco. Rather than the usual thumping beats emanating from the DJ booth, you simply receive a pair of headphones. The DJ will still be in attendance, it’s just that their decks won’t make a sound. Rather than amplifiers around the room, it’s all about that headset around your head. All of the fun of a disco with none of the noise to keep up the neighbours…which brings us to point number one.

It’s Quiet
Yes, that may be obvious but there is a very important reason for opting to book a silent disco rather than a tradition disco in some cases. That one reason comes down to two words – ‘sound limiter’. Many weddings, events and parties take place in stunning venues and because of their historic significance or the fact that they are situated near a number of private residences, these spaces may have a sound limiter, which means that no music can go above a set level. Because a silent disco is err… silent, there’s no problem!

It Won’t Distract
This particular reason isn’t so much a problem at a wedding where the only activity to be enjoyed is a disco at the end of the evening, but at a party or event that perhaps takes place during the day (yes, it does happen), there may be a number of other activities also going on at the same time. Nobody wants to have their face painted to the sound of a deep bass flooding through the floor and thankfully the silent disco solves this problem!

Change the Tune
When you attend a traditional disco, you often only have the one DJ and you have to dance to his or her tune. Not so when you book the silent disco! Although you can opt for one DJ there is also the option to have two or even three putting out the tracks they love with those dancing in the middle of the venue able to pick the track that they’re listening to. So what’s it to be? Pop, rock or novelty tunes? The choice is yours!

Communication
You know when you go to a nightclub and find yourself shouting at the person next to you? This simply doesn’t happen with a silent disco! If you need to talk to the person on your left, take off your headphones and have a chat at a normal level. Those dancing won’t notice (because the music hasn’t stopped for them) and the two of you can speak as you ordinarily would with no threat of losing your voice or tearing an ear drum.

It’s Hilarious
At a disco, you’ll all too often be dancing with friends, colleagues or family to stop and observe the goings on from the sidelines. Even if you do decide to take a breather, there’s nothing that funny anyway because the dance moves are in time to the music that you can hear. Not so when you book a silent disco! Take off your headphones and take some quality videos of people jumping about in a silent room.

The Christmas Song that wasn’t

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If you can recall the very first lyrics to Jingle Bells sound eminently Christmassy; “Dashing through the snow, in a one-horse open sleigh, over the hills we go, laughing all the way…” Horses aren’t really associated with Christmas and although snow certainly is, there’s not really anything else to link the song to everybody’s favourite Christmas holiday entertainment song. The reason for that? It isn’t a Christmas song.

You might think of Jingle Bells being a Christmas classics, it isn’t actually a Christmas song! Read on to find out more to the history of this festive tune. Or not-festive tune as the case may be.

The song we sing today was written by a man named James Lord Pierpont in or around 1850. Nobody is exactly sure of the precise time at which it was written or indeed, where. What we do know is that Pierpont was an American and although he hailed from Medford in Massachusetts, he only published the song when living in Savannah, Georgia. The only reason that this is of importance is that both towns lay claim to being the birthplace of Jingle Bells.

You see, although we only ever sing the first verse and chorus, there are many more lyrics to Jingle Bells that none of us really know. Some believe that the song was written for children to sing to the congregation at Sunday School. The verses none of us know go in a pretty intriguing direction with references to the sleigh crashing, a race with another sleigh owner and picking up women: “Now the ground is white, go it while you’re young, take the girls tonight, and sing this sleighing song. Would children sing that? Probably not, though one could easily argue for the innocence of youth.

Others believe that Jingle Bells is actually a drinking song. Historians are aware that it was a hugely popular song to sing at private parties, with guests ‘jingling’ the ice cubes in their glasses as they sang. Jingle all the way indeed! So which holiday is it about? If we go back to what we’ve previously written, the clue might be found in the history of Medford, Massachusetts. Back in the 1840s and 1850s, the Medford Sleigh Races were a hugely popular event with townsfolk cheering on the sleighs as they tore around the town. But they didn’t take place in December! They actually took place during Thanksgiving, which makes Pierpont’s classic ballad a song for the holidays, just not the one we all thought!

Venues for events

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The Floating Cinema
This is one of London’s top 8 coolest art venues in 2013, the floating cinema is now available for private venue hire offering a unique event space for product launches, corporate away days, film shoots and special occasions.

This intimate venue has a capacity of 12 passengers when cruising and 20 people standing while static. The Floating Cinema is a purpose-built wide beam barge with a flexible ‘whitespace’ auditorium that offers a unique and original experience for guests. The space can be easily reconfigured to accommodate meetings and team building sessions. As a cinema it offers state of the art high-spec lighting and surround-sound facilities, a fully equipped cinema auditorium space and a stunning central viewing deck from which guests can enjoy a new perspective of London’s most iconic views.

Beach Blanket Babylon
Is a decadent venue in trendy Shoreditch perfect for exclusive events and celebrations with an impressive capacity of up to 800 people. The venue has a number of opulent event spaces on offer that lend themselves perfectly to stylish corporate networking events, cocktail receptions, corporate event dinners, gala events, conferences and fashion shows.

The Champagne Lounge is ideal for private parties of up to 300 guests with rich wooden surrounds, decadent mood lighting and unique decorations. The Gallery offers a versatile self-contained space, with rustic wooden floors and white walls it is the perfect blank canvas for conferences and exhibitions and can hold up to 175 guests. The Mezzanine and The Bar are both gorgeous spaces; The Mezzanine elegantly holds up to 70 guests while the vibrant cosmopolitan bar holds up to 250 guests.
To complete the look and enhance the atmosphere Red Masque entertainment have a few Swing and Jazz bands on our books from London to provide standout musical entertainment that will.

The Warner Bros Studio in London
Home to Harry Potter film sets – offers an exciting event space not just for fans of the Harry Potter franchise. Corporate event organisers can choose to host exclusive dinners and award ceremonies in the Great Hall, sip cocktails and tankards of butter beer in the Three Broomsticks, and host networking events in Dagon Alley.

What better entertainment to accompany a corporate event in the place where Harry Potter was filmed than a string quartet that will create an atmospheric setting fit for the Harry Potter films and could even play the film franchise’s iconic theme tune!

Russian party ideas

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If you want to have a Russian themed event, here are some great entertainment ideas for your party..

Cossack Dancers

Perhaps the most obvious option for your event, book Cossack dancers for a fabulously Russian experience! Able to perform a choreographed performance that is guaranteed to have guests thinking that they too can accomplish this most difficult of dances, they are the most sought after Russian entertainment act. Oh and don’t try to copy what you see; the dancers only make it look easy because they are professionals!

Ballet Performance

If you had to list famous Russian or Russian entertainment, we feel that Tchaikovsky would be quite high up on your list. Whether you prefer Swan Lake or The Nutcracker is immaterial because ballet dancers can perform both! How better to pay homage Russia than by enjoying a bespoke five to ten minute performance of a ballet in a stunning venue?

Moscow State Circus

Okay, we aren’t advising that you book the entire Moscow State Circus but many excellent circus performers are Russian and we can highly recommend booking an aerial silk artist, aerial hoop artist, an acrobat, etc. Booking circus acts always ensure shocked faces and a roar of applause so you can’t go wrong!

CSI

Okay, so this one is a bit of a joke entry due to the links between the UK and Russia in the news over the past six months or so! That being said, booking CSI is a great idea if you are looking for a team building activity that is also great fun. Climb into your Silent Witness-style jumpsuit, learn how to search for fingerprints and solve the crime! Unlike any other form of entertainment that we put out, booking CSI is a must!

Getting the entertainment just right

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Sometimes you need some inspiration and here’s a real story of what somebody hired from Red Masque Directory to liven up their private party!

“I was searching for some kind of fun and unexpected entertainment for a birthday party for my Grandfather’s 80th. We were having live party band after dinner but I wanted something to kick off the party with a spark of fun after everyone arrived.

Our family knew that Grandad adored Frank Sinatra. I took the opportunity of hiring a celebrity lookalike; and I was very glad I did. I had the opportunity of talking to the act before and to go through all the particulars. The act told me he was rehearsing for a theatrical play in the West End and told me about all the other roles he has been involved with.

When my Grandad’s 80th birthday arrived. I was so excited when the party entertainer to came in, when he walked into the party there was definite ‘stage presence’ he engaged with my Grandad and his stage act dance was so authentic. He loved every minute of it.

A group picture was taken with the Frank Sinatra lookalike surrounded by all our guests.
One of our guests, who is 85 years old, came up to my party entertainer lookalike to tell him he had met the real Frank Sinatra. He was gracious and listened to her story all the while keeping in character.

We knew we found someone special in this act. He was not only charismatic, young and talented; he was charming and a delight to work with!

Well done Red Masque and of course Frankl!!!

Happy Halloween!!

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It has to be said that for a Halloween party, you have to get people in the mood. You can’t have someone walk up all smiles and simply sampling the canapés, oh no! What you need is a few scares here and there before they even reach their welcome drink. In order to do this, we highly recommend a freaky meet and greet act that can create a whole host of incredible characters that are guaranteed to give you the shivers.

Moving on from your meet and greet, it’s now time to get stuck into the party. Perhaps a few themed actors running through some classic scenes from your favourite horror movies could be a big hit, though make sure that they are very well known; you don’t want a guest fainting from the fright as a slasher villain rocks up and nobody knows who they are meant to be.

Interactive strolling entertainment is a classic way for Halloween parties to really make their mark. From stilt walkers to magicians, everyone can get dressed up and go a little macabre for the evening. Magicians love a bit of fire whilst a few mentalism scares are guaranteed to get the guests talking! Strolling bands are also not averse to a bit of costuming!

How best to remember the proceedings from the night before? With a photo booth of course! There are a number of options when it comes to booking a photo booth from ones that provide props, logos, theming and more. You can even book a photo booth that adds a three dimensional feel or gif to the final shot.

There are so many ways to put on the perfect Halloween party and we hope this blog has made you think when it comes to booking party entertainment for your scary event this October.

May the force be with you

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Star Wars never goes out of fashion so here’s a few ideas to get you started as you ponder whether you should go as Luke Skywalker, Han Solo or Obi-Wan Kenobi.

Upon entering the party, have a drink – a Star Wars cocktail perhaps? – at your Star Wars themed bar before venturing on and sampling the entertainment. Hopefully this won’t be in a galaxy far, far away but fairly close by.

As you meander through your hired event venue, you might begin to notice a few recognisable faces. Whether you’ve gone for lookalikes or costumed characters, a Star Wars party is only really complete when you feel as though you’re in amongst the action. Other Star Wars party ideas might include an area to duel with lightsabers.

Naturally upon entering the party, you’ll be wanting to experience the delight of Star Wars from the get-go with a string quartet playing the Star Wars theme. This has worked at many previous film-themed events. It gets people in the mood to have fun and more importantly, puts them in the right mindset for what is going to be a thrilling experience.

We love a BB-8 inflatable balloons, naturally you can always pick someone else from The Force Awakens, but BB-8 is quite clearly the cutest choice. And once that’s done, you can savour the memory of the occasion by basking in the glory of a Star Wars Photo Booth.

And finally, as the party is fully underway, it might be an idea to ask your party band to turn up the music and play the ultimate song. Enjoy your evening and ‘May the Force be with you’!!!

Throw a Private Detective party

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Are you a fan of Sherlock Holmes or do you love a good detective series? Whichever person you are; you’ll still love our fabulous ideas to create an unmissable Sherlock Holmes party theme.

Silhouette Artist
These amazing silhouette artists can even cut in various props should you desire them. So yes, every guest could be posing with a Sherlock themed prop if you so wanted! All that’s required is paper, scissors and a little time to stand still and your guests can go home with a wonderful original prop to remind them of the evening!

Eyecon Art
Eyecon Art is one of the coolest new acts on the entertainment events circuit. Sitting down with your guests, a photographer will take a photo of your eye, which you can then be sent at a later date. Now in terms of looking for clues, it’s all about seeing the bigger picture…and who hasn’t seen a famous drawing of Sherlock Holmes with a magnifying glass to his eye?

CSI
This game basic format allows for a variety of guests to ultimately solve a crime through a variety of team building activities. Do you have what it takes to be a resident of 221b Baker Street or are you resigned to simply writing about the case in a style of Rd. Watson?

Violinist
Aside from cracking crimes, Sherlock Holmes is also known for his love of music, in particular gazing out at London’s clientele whilst playing a good old-fashioned violin. a violinist will no doubt go down a storm at your Sherlock party.

Costumed Character
Now what about putting that violinist into a costume? We can see it now. Deerstalker hat? Pipe? Whether you’re thinking the old fashioned version of Sherlock Holmes or the new Benedict Cumberbatch infused creation, we’re more than confident that tweed will get a look in. But which other characters should be present? Rd. Watson? Mrs. Hudson? An appearance from Moriarty wouldn’t go amiss either.

If you’re holding a Sherlock Holmes party or have been inspired by some of the various acts, then do have a look at our party themes on our website to inspire you even more!