Welcome to Sheekeys Speakeasy

“Fornication!” shouted Carmen Callil from the audience. Not exactly what you’d expect from the founder of the feminist Virago Press. A score of us, including Callil and the actor Douglas Henshall, were in the oyster bar of J Sheekey’s restaurant for a new venture called Speakeasies, where you can savour seafood as well as comedy or a music show. The first one involved a group of actors and singers who kicked off by asking the audience for names for the themes, setting and characters. Hence: we got Fornication! The Musical, set in Berlin in the 1930s.

I haven’t been able to stop thinking about two things for the past six days: the best crab roll I’ve ever tasted and the image of comedienne Pippa Evans dressed as a man, seductively crooning 1920’s Vaudeville style to an innocent waitress who’s turning cayenne pepper-red at the bar. The unofficial “Sheekey Song” by Evans herself seems to sum up the night perfectly, ‘so cheeky, J. Sheekey, it’s divine.’

I felt the evening had a wonderful rhythm to it, and not just in terms of the performers.  Each time the act shimmied off ‘stage’, the next delightful course was served.  The seasonal menu on offer that evening included dishes such as West Mersea pearl oysters, razor clams with chorizo and padron peppers, shrimp and scallop burgers (life changing!) and sauteed octopus with datterini capers and lemon dressing

What a delightfully unusual evening! Laughter rippled around the three sided-bar like a Mexican wave; I was in my element and even my chap was laughing his head off in spite of himself. The cast are rightfully receiving critical acclaim for their vast knowledge of musicals and the ability to deliver off-the-cuff, clever, and downright hilarious lyrics around a myriad of random topics.

Every second Sunday in the month, J Sheekey Oyster Bar in the West End suddenly transforms into a soupçon of vaudeville. For three hours, both at lunchtime and evening, the bar area becomes the smallest and most intimate stage on earth, with a selection of marvellous acts ranging from singing comedians, a drag act and a mind reader.