Shibari rehearsal at The Violet Crab

Shibari stars Nina Russ and Bruce Esinem kindly agree to tie the legs of my gallant little sewing table, a rescue job from Portobello.

I cleared out the rusty pins under its floral lining, and now it holds the art clobber which I need for drawing-the-cabaret-as-part-of-the-cabaret. This isn't strictly speaking bondage - it doesn't change the shape of the table or restrict its movement.



We are at The Violet Crab, the cabaret-themed exhibition at the David Roberts Art Foundation in Camden. Nina is rehearsing with Ayumi LaNoire.

As they are not performing to amplified music, I hear for the first time the sound of bondage rope being played over bamboo. It is like breathing.

String theory

A human maypole with static dancers, or a fish played by ribbons, Barbara Stimoli embraces a controversial area of theoretical physics in performing 'String Theory' by La Badini Collettivo. We're at BOUND, Japanese rope bondage in performance at The Flying Dutchman in Camberwell.

Tonight's other performers are Miumi U and Ayumi LaNoire; Nawasabi Shibari and Verena Venusian; Fred Hatt and MissBones. MissBones's profile is particularly noble tonight and I think of Christopher Marlowe's Lament for Zenocrate.