Month: March 2022

Riding the Mumbli Sound Waves

Mumbli, a Hackney-based start-up, is introducing its innovative technology to a number of places in Shoreditch. Mumbli was founded in 2018, and has been dedicated to research on hearing wellness and the monitoring of background noise in social spaces ever since. Its founder, Marion Marincat, lives locally. He experienced an 80% drop in his hearing at the age of 26. At this point, he couldn’t follow conversations in busy bars and clubs. In those types of settings, even hearing aids didn’t help much. 60% of the population actually suffer from sensitivity to background noise. Therefore, Marincat made audiology research his vocation and he has partnered with several leading universities.

Mumbli’s accredited venues are able to monitor sound in real-time using special technology. Members of the public are able to build a ‘sound profile’ and select places based on their personal ‘atmosphere preferences’. Venues have panels which absorb sound and are fitted with sound monitoring devices, which detect ‘sound sweet spots’.

There are 88 exciting venues trialling Mumbli in Shoreditch. Here are a few of the best.

Wahaca is the place to be if Mexican street food’s your thing. Indulge in a tequila-infused cocktail while you’re there, and have a go on the dartboard or the foosball table. With tetelas galore to munch on, you can’t go wrong at Wahaca.

Also using Mumbli are Bodean’s Old Street, Bulldog Edition, and St John Bread and Wine. All hangouts are great fun.

Diners at Bodean’s can tuck into buffalo wings, brisket and shrimp. While there, you can watch a plethora of sports on the bar’s screens from NBA and Premier League to the Super Bowl. Bulldog is full of opulent coffee tables and has a cool exhibition space for local artists. St John’s seasonal, homegrown ingredients are used to create mouth-watering dishes, such as crispy pig’s cheek and braised cuttlefish. A fantastic time can be had by all at the venue’s winetasting evenings.

Shoreditch will surely be enriched by this futuristic and awe-inspiring approach to hearing wellness.

Mime, Migration and Morality at Shoreditch Town Hall

Shoreditch Town Hall (380 Old St, London EC1V 9LT) has an impressive schedule of events, performances and classes this Spring.

Well worth attending are the monthly acting classes with Theatre Re. Inspired by the approach of Etienne Decroux’s Corporeal Mime, they combine fun games, ensemble work, technique and improvisation. Sessions cost £40 and take place from 10am-3pm every Sunday, until July.

Telethon is surrounded by much hype. It is a show within a show, and a darkly humorous take on public morality. Jennifer is the host of a Comic Relief-style TV show. If you come to see her show, you will join the pretend studio audience of the imaginary telethon, and witness a thrilling and catastrophic turn of events spurred on by the divisive tendencies of the public. Plenty of audience interaction makes it an electrifying night. The performance involves new approaches and technology to make it inclusive for all. There is integrated captioning and moments of British Sign Language interpretation. Particularly good is the creative captioning, which is part of the video design. In creative captioning, performers are acting in character and using BSL at the same time. You can see Telethon from now until the 14^th April at 7.30pm, and tickets cost £15.There is also the opportunity to be a virtual participant on 6^th and 7^th April, by joining the livestream.

New Earth Theatre brings Tsunagu/Connect Live to the Town Hall from 23^rd –30^th April. It’s a kaleidoscopic view of the voyages and many stages in the lives of migrants who come to settle in London’s East End. Following four Japanese women in different periods and settings, Tsunagu is a promenade performance piece – meaning that the audience physically moves around as the story unfolds in different parts of the space. The promotional poster displays the caption: “No one knows how many Japanese women live in the UK…No one knows their varied loves or hates, their achievements or mistakes, their opinions and contradictions…So we asked them.” It’s an irresistible experience. The show invites you to immerse yourself in Showa Era Japan here, the bedsits of ‘90’s London there, and to witness the Empire Windrush’s final voyage. Tickets cost £16 and Tsunagu/Connect Live is an absolute must-see.

Not only is Shoreditch Town Hall at the forefront of culture, the arts and entertainment, but it is a glorious feat of progressive Victorian architecture and it is steeped in British political history. I’ll see you there!