Review: Flipper’s X Adidas Originals Party at Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace ★★★★★
Flipper’s X Adidas Originals Party was certainly THE party of the season. Rolling skating is having its moment, and we are here for it.
★★★★★ Flipper’s X Adidas Originals Party | Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace | 2 December 2023
Glitz. Glamour. 70s getups. This event had it all. It wasn’t your typical Jane Fonda aerobics attire, as you might imagine a retro roller derby to be. It was less pastel leg warmers and more sleek black sequin bodysuits accompanied by sunglasses, in a sexily-lit dark room.
Surrounded by beauty and fame, friendly staff served us endless trays of deliciously refined diner nibblies – mini sliders, fried chicken tenders, and mac n’ cheese bites. Cocktails overflowed, cheesecake melted in our mouths, and we danced the night away – on roller skates, and only two metres away from the vivacious Mel C (Sporty Spice, anyone?!). Stop right now, thank you very much!
We couldn’t possibly stop… the sparkly star-studded event had us enthralled, and live covers of ‘September’ and ‘Boogie Wonderland’ were absolutely on (Earth, Wind &) FIRE. On the rink, experienced skaters grooved along, shaking their hips, twirling, and dancing away to the slick beats. Talent abounded, smiles beamed, and as newbies inevitably crashed into one another, there was always a helping hand ready to pull you back into the loop. It was a thrilling night.
The Flipper’s X Adidas Originals party took place on December 2nd, 2023, at Flipper’s Roller Boogie Palace in White City, London. Organised by creative marketing agency The Romans – which specialises in sport, influencer, and artist PR – the party featured drinks, roller-dancing, and an electric live show featuring musicians like Chaka Khan, Olivia Dean, London Community Gospel Choir, TJ Mizell, and Tara Kumar. With celebrities in attendance – the aforementioned Sporty Spice (Mel C), plus Rita Ora, Taika Waititi, Liberty Ross and Olivia Dean amongst others – it was a night to see and be seen at.
Flipper’s London has partnered with Adidas Originals to launch a 4-piece streetwear collection that celebrates their shared 70’s heritage. Venue founder Liberty Ross was inspired by the original Flipper’s, a West-LA 70s roller rink founded and run by her father, Ian ‘Flipper’ Ross. The new London Boogie Palace features a fantastically large rink up against a stage equipped with a state-of-the-art sound system, and surrounded by plenty of standing room mixed with padded benches perfect for people-watching as daring skaters do their thing.
Downstairs, Flipper’s hosts a beautiful bar and lounge room filled with vinyl couches and high-tables that feel both vintage and modern, as well as a bar and an in-house restaurant specialising in the best kind of upscale burgers, chips, and fried snacks. There’s also a Flipper’s boutique, where you can find the new streetwear collection for sale, alongside other skate-wear clothes and the Palace’s blue suede roller skates.
Jump into a pair of skates, and hop onto the rink, Baby (Spice?)! This stylish, sexy, and fun venue is a night out like no other in the city.
Mary Tooley (she/her) is a performer, producer, facilitator, and theatre maker with a passion for cultivating collaborative and creative spaces of care and community. As a scholar focussed on the political and personal potential of practices of feminist refusal, she programs provocative socially-engaged work and women’s workshops that challenge the idea of what theatre can be. Her performance practice finds majesty in the mess. She created and starred in two comedic participatory one-woman productions called Belly Flop and Polish Me Up? at BLOC Venue in London. She is a Venue Manager for Box Office & Reception at Wilton’s Music Hall. She produced Peopling the Palaces 2024, an eight-day arts festival curated by Lois Weaver with Queen Mary University of London and Air Supply. She is a facilitator with Almeida Theatre and Coram Shakespeare, and an Embedded Evaluator with Half Moon Theatre. She will be performing in Walking Each Other Home with Stacy Makishi at the Southbank Centre. She loves Burt Bacharach, tarot, MGM musicals, and ghost stories. Originally from Toronto, she lives and works in East London.
Hamish Hutchison-Poyntz is a theatre practitioner, writer and reviewer, and aspiring director/producer. He recently completed his MA in Theatre and Performance at Queen Mary, University of London, specializing in the use of games and participatory theatre to respond to the climate crisis. Originally from Vancouver, Canada, he now lives in London’s East End. Besides theatre, he loves games, spooky audiodramas, and good cats (which is to say, all cats).
