Hellfire Club
Men hanging from the ceiling with metal hooks through their flesh. Women violating their heavily pregnant bodies onstage. Hardcore S+M performances with frequent audience participation. All this is par for the course at the Hellfire Club. Sydney's epicentre of fetish is one of the most confronting nights out you will ever experience.
Since launching in 1993, the night - held on the third Friday of each month at The Gaff - has become known as one of the few risky evenings on offer in a city known for its rather tame nightlife. (One only needs to look at the nudity restrictions placed on Sydney's burlesque venues to realise how edgy Hellfire really is.) The night prides itself on the unadulterated nature of the entertainment it provides: there are no models, no staged performances, and no bullshit. Instead, members of Sydney's fetish community share the stage equally, participating in spontaneous expression - be that whipping, spanking, cutting, piercing, bondage, paddles or role-play.
This Friday's event is Christmas themed, with a twist on the traditional 'photo with Santa' offered at shopping centres - Miss Nude Australia, aka Suzie Q, will be sitting on all and sundry's laps and Hellfire will be snapping the results. If you plan on attending, remember the venue's dress code: fetish, fancy dress, formal or basic black. DS
Hellfire Club happens at The Gaff, cnr Oxford & Riley Sts, Darlinghurst 2010. (02 9380 9244 www.thegaff.com.au)