A friend of mine has just returned from a trip to the States where he went to the Windy City, Chicago, and New Orleans. While in New Orleans he told me about a wacky bingo event he went to, and have since checked it out on the internet in case I get the chance to go there.
It’s called the New Orleans Bingo Show and is held in a Church Hall basement. It began when a burlesque artist called Clint found a stack of old reusable Bingo boards in a second hand store in 2002. He got together with a like-minded bunch of oddballs, and developed a comedy/cabaret affair with Bingo games at its heart. Each of the callers and assistants have their own stage names, and wear a particular make-up and costume. There’sTrixi Minx, a sort of Calamity Kate Vaudeville Moll, who manages the numbers display, Mr The Turk, who looks like a 1920’s spiv, and The Maestro, the MC, who wears black and white face paint and a black Egyptian Fez.
My friend said that the show he saw was brilliant, a non-stop musical and entertainment extravaganza- wild, wacky and anarchic. He said it really did seem as though they’d only cobbled together the idea a few hours before the show opened- but that it was clear later that the whole evening was very carefully and skilfully orchestrated. He said that most numbers called had a particular “sign” be it a roll on the drums, a fanfare from the trumpet, a mini-dance routine, or a comedy sketch. He said it was actually difficult to concentrate on the Bingo because there was so much going on, and he was laughing so much! People from the audience are invited to participate in the Bingo number calling and in joining in the proceedings, so that he imagines each show is slightly different.
When there was a tie for one of the Bingo games, the joint winners had to do a jerky robo-dance, and the person who got the most applause from the audience won. Now you wouldn’t expect that down at your local Bingo Hall would you?
He said that it was really a sort of street theatre experience with games of Bingo thrown in, and not something that would appeal to dyed-in-the-wool Bingo fanatics. The prizes for winning were many and varied too. There was a sort of lucky dip arrangement, and you didn’t know what you had won until you drew a string out of the box and read what was on the bit of paper attached to it. Prizes varied from money, to the downright bizarre- like having to play the saxophone while balancing on one leg, or showing a custard pie into Mr The Turk’s face!
I think the closest thing I’ve come across that’s similar in the UK, is a place that does Heavy Metal Bingo: Bingo played to very loud and raucous music, where denim, black leather and studs are the required dress code! But I have to admit, I like the traditional game of Bingo without too many frills and spills. Perhaps I’m just getting boring in my old age!
Good Luck!