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LONDON | Mam Sham is the love child of best pals and foodie lovers Maria K Georgiou and Rhiannon Butler. The pair specialise in creating quirky immersive supper club experiences around London, blending good food with art, music, comedy and general tomfoolery. We at The City Lane were fortunate enough to be invited down to their most recent venture, The Last Resort, to see how Mam Sham fits within London’s extensive supper club scene.
For the evening, guests were invited to escape London’s dreary weather and escape to some sort of fantasy summer getaway within the confines of Shoreditch’s Biscuit House. Bottles of wine and beer were sprawled out on all the large bench-like tables along with glitter, streamers, the obligatory bunting and all other sorts of homey party necessities.
After everyone had dived into the bottomless booze options, the first entertainer took the stage. The British comedian, Eshaan Akbar, spoke of his family holiday to India where the waiters’ sweat was often seen as just another condiment. He also recalled his first trip to America during which time his family was interrogated by border force control because they believed a humble bag of pakoras were, in fact, drugs. It was a great set that was quickly followed by the first course.
We were given plastic gloves, homemade pakoras in a bag labelled ‘suspicious contents’, vinaigrette in a bottle with the words ‘man sweat’ inscribed across it as well as a delicious curry rice dish. The food was simple and tasty but it was the theatrics behind it which made the experience so much fun.
The second act consisted of the comedy duo, Rowena & Maisie, who dressed up as a naked couple who were trying to enjoy a summer picnic in the park. Each were covered in flesh coloured stocking material, with one having large saggy breasts and the other adorning an enormous dildo. The two played racquet ball together, accidentally dipped their genetalia of themselves into the food and just generally used every silly physical innuendo joke you could imagine. It was right laugh.
And the food that followed was brilliant. Between four people came a large cardboard picnic hamper filled with masses of nostalgic picnic grub. In Tupperware and tin foil came potato salad, aloo gobi scotch eggs, a tomato, radish and fennel salad, pickled cucumber and labneh sandwiches on white bread, guacamole, cocktail sausages and chicken thighs coated in an apricot and soy glaze. It was a massive feast which took me right back to my childhood. I wouldn’t say the food was particularly restaurant standard but that wasn’t the point of it all. It was more genuine and honest than that. It was home cooked and the experience of unwrapping it all with excited strangers was just an extra bonus.
The last act was by the Greek-born drag diva, A Man to Pet, who ran around dancing, stripping, jumping into a child’s play pool and flirting with the audience. It was just a whole lot of over the top shenanigans which was accompanied by a basic jelly cocktail with apples and some coconut cream in a sunscreen bottle. I was a bit disappointed by the dessert and the very short set by A Man to Pet, but all the guests were a bit too drunk and giggly to be bothered by it.
Things quickly wound down from there but I would have loved it if the music was turned up, the lights turned down and a space had been made for dancing. I think everyone was in such high spirits that the evening could have gone well into the night. And that is a testament to the Mam Sham team who put on a wonderfully silly show.
It was full of nonsensical comedy acts, fun food and free-flowing alcohol. You were transported into some sort of ‘Brits Abroad’ world where strangers came together for a night of unfiltered fun. There’s little more one could ask for. But if I could, I would have like the last two comedy acts to have been longer and for the food to have been given a bit more attention. Other than that, it was a roaring success. We at The City Lane are super eager to see what Mam Sham has planned for their future endeavours.
Mam Sham
Telephone: 079 8090 7211
Email: [email protected]
Website
Location and times change depending on the event. Keep an eye out on Mam Sham’s social media accounts for details as they’re announced.