A very feral Q&A
Your burning questions about our upcoming FERAL event… answered:
Q: So what is this FERAL thing?
A: An opportunity to reconnect with your intuition, sensuality, physicality - and unleash your inner animal!
Q: What makes you think I have an inner animal?
A: We all do. You ARE an animal. You’re a primal creature with deep instincts that we’d love you to explore.
Q: But I’m primarily a human!
A: Maybe! Or maybe you’re an animal with human qualities; a spirit with animal instincts; a mind and soul whose ferality has been repressed and enchained ;)
Q: Is this a decom ripoff?
A: Not at all; we booked the theme long before we knew about decom’s, just after Summer of Love, when we were getting filthy & feral at Boom. But to be honest, it’s in our blood - do you think foxes & badgers are tame & civilised?
Q: But it also looks like Pagan Spring & Vikings vibes with all that fur & horn.
A: Well - both those cultures were closer to other animals than we are - but neither of those themes invited the full embodiment of the feral and animal that we summon here. This is PRE-pagan; pre-lingual, pre-language; pre-deities. On this night we worship a deeper and older form of BEING; the wild, howling instinctual that listens to and loves its senses; luxuriates in its embodiment.
Q: So can’t we just come as human bodies, e.g. Spencer Tunick style?
A: No
Q: And why so specific about certain animals? Why can’t I come as a wild giraffe?
A: Because we love coherence and consistency over cacophony, and feel we all benefit when we align to a hymn sheet rather than sing at full pelt all our separate songs.
Q: OK, cool, so is it all about fur?
A: It needn’t be! Fur, feathers, horn, beak, claw - you choose. There’s a huge amount of inspiration on our Pinterest page
Q: Thanks - tons there! What if I want to come filthily feral but fetishistic?
A: We fully and deeply welcome that! We love flesh & fetish & welcome all your manifestations; we just also ask that you embrace and manifest wild animality.
Q: I notice your core list of animals includes foxes - but not badgers. Have you culled yourself? Is this a kind of ritual suicide?
A: Nope - just a momentary nudge towards animals that more deeply hark of the wilderness. Badgers still have cute vibes; they and foxes are both Wind in the Wiilowsy, with whiffs of Beatrix Potter & children’s stories, but foxes for us have that wilder ancestral edge - that clear, wild, sensual survival instinct, as well as an inspirational sense of playfulness. Packs of badgers don’t fire our imagination & synapses as wildly.
Q: Gottit. Will you be running a costume-making workshop like you have been?
A: Yes! We really love them, and love converging all those creatives in our community to come together to playfully create. This time we’ll be constructing giant wearable antlers, laced with sexy celebratory woodland bling. Join us on the 19th December!
Q: How strict will you be on dress code?
A: Extremely. It matters deeply to us. We feel like our community’s creativity and care in the way they dress is sacrosanct and needs protection, and each act of costume negligence and flippancy dilutes the whole. We seek seriousness; reverence; devotion. Anyone who simply can’t be bothered doesn’t belong; this event and community is not for them. They can come to our meetups - nor dress code required there ;)
Q: What happens if my costume doesn’t arrive in time?
A: If your package somehow sinks in the sea, make something up. Use roadkill. Mimic fur. Build horns. Use belts or old bike tyres as sexy straps you hang with chains from charity shops. Make a cardboard wolf’s head you flock with fake fur. Scrumple paper into massive antlers you bind with masking tape and paint with stains and grow moss on. Have fun unleashing the animal of your wildest imagination! Worst case, you can come fully in fully dressed in just that fine skin that your mother gifted you with!
Q: OK! I’d love to chat with others and share ideas - can I do that?
A: Of course! You can chat on our Facebook group or our Telegram Group. We now have a Facebook messenger chat group for each event; find this one here. Or join our general community WhatsApp chat.
Q: Going back to the space, would you ever consider not running a playroom?
A: That’s a great question. We’re actually always considering that. There are so many things we want to offer, and a dedicated play-space never seems to either make great use of our little available space - or be the best thing we offer. Frankly, we never manage to make the playspaces as gorgeous as we like. And we always prefer to keep our guests in the collective energetic space - harmonising together as much as possible. We’re never going to be a great hotel, but what we can be is a beautiful congregation space. So for the next event. We’re going to unlock that small space we’ve previously allocated to play to other purposes.
Q: But I thought you were sex positive?
A: We are deeply sex positive. We worship and adore sex and sexuality (where we feel we have lots to still learn from animals - thus our theme), and all the ways in which we lovingly and sensually connect. But we’re beginning to feel like playrooms diminish rather than augment the collective energy. As if many of us were syphoning off the DJ music into silent disco headphones - scurrying away in our privacy, rather than ecstasing as a group, in reverential, ecstatic communion. There are plenty of play parties; we feel our core work and value lies in cultivating a gorgeous atmosphere, fuelled by beautiful atmosphere, costume, decor, and collective energy. We will continue to explore sexuality in our performances, dungeons and tantra spaces, and deeply welcome its sartorial expression; we just want to shift the energy away from people queueing to go private, and do what you can always do elsewhere.
Q: Would you consider having less performances? I don’t want to diss all those wonderful performers; it’s just - it’s amazing to have all those stages to dance on, and I’d love to get to use them more!
A: We hear you! And we agree, and we’re carefully looking at all of that. The intensity of our programming was always intended as a kind of gift; a surfeit of riches; an abundance to enjoy as desired, rather than a commandment to spectatorship, which we don’t love. We crave participation, and realise that in some way so much performance can inculcate a kind of stealth passivity. It can actually disempower all those gorgeous souls we most wanted to empower. So yes - we’ll be carving you more space, and letting you shine ;)
Q: So awesome - thank you! Tell me- what can I expect from FERAL?
A: Wildness! Sublime sleek svelte sensuality! Spaces without words, where we reconnect with other senses, and other ways of communicating without recourse to cerebral language. Deep human warmth. Sonic bliss. Surprise. Authenticity. Truthfulness. Trustfulness. Abandon. Shamelessness. Unselfconsciousness. Beauty. Contentment. Collectivity. Ritual. Renewal.
Q: How come you’re not doing a New Year’s Eve event? Why is this on the 30th, not 31st?
A: Because though we love the ceremonial midnight transition of New Year’s Eve, it’s also always an expensive night. Our nights cost enough already that we don’t feel comfortable doubling it all further, and want to respect the financial commitments that events like ours already inevitably entail. It’s our first night programming the eve of the Eve, and we see it as an opportunity to explosively exorcise the year just past, welcome in the the last day of ‘23 with wild abandon, and then more gently set intentions for the year ahead, and allow our community to find their one ways to carefully cross that precious threshold in the ways of their choosing.
Q: But did you have to frigging programme the same night as TG?
A: There’s always something else; there’s always a clash. We’re not the same and would love to offer something different. We love and respect what they do, and welcome alternative explorations.
Q: Sweet. Sign me up, you beast! Where can I get tickets again?
A: Right here! The cheaper early-entry tickets are now sold out. We very much hope you can come get wild with us!
