Absinthe is the new cocaine. In the dual Sohos of London and New York, this highly potent tipple has replaced tablets and powder as the latest, greatest, up-to-datest social acquisition. Banned in most civilised countries, absinthe is said to have hallucinogenic properties and prolonged use can lead to partial blindness. Still famed as the tincture du jour among last century's fin de siecle writers and artists, its current revival via the clubbing circuit is most appropriate in these millennial times. Part of its attraction for today's louche imbibers is the paraphernalia associated with the drink. Absinthe, which should only be drunk in small shot measures, must be poured at a precise angle over a sugar cube - and hardcore users insist on it being decanted along arcane ritualistic lines which we needn't go into here. A bottle will set you back about £70, and although it's not a proscribed drink in Ireland, it simply hasn't been available. Until now.
A new club in Dublin's Andrew's Lane Theatre, Club Absinthe, will be importing a few bottles from the Czech Republic for its opening night this Friday (12th). The organisers had to get special permission from Customs and Excise to bring the drink in, and depending on the demand for it on the night, hope to stock it on a regular basis - alongside a stern health warning about what the drink can do to your sensory system. Club Absinthe is one of Ireland's first contributions to fin de siecle madness and mayhem. While it's a shade unlikely that today's liggers and media hangers-on can rival the Belle Epoque of turn-of-the-century Paris, whose numbers included Van Gogh, Verlaine and Degas, the club hopes to succeed as a meeting point for anybody suffering from or thriving on PMT (pre-millennium tension).
Naoise Nunn (26), who has previously worked with the Bickerstaffe Theatre Company and the Cat Laughs festival, is the man behind the new club, and says he set it up solely because he couldn't find any other club suitable for people of his age and disposition. "It's going to be an antidote to the big dance clubs," he says. "It's for people who want to get away from that hi-energy scene. I wanted somewhere I could go out to, somewhere that wasn't excruciatingly trendy or wasn't a super pub. I think there's a whole lot of people of around my age group who want something different to what's already available. They want a pubtype surround but without blaring music and with the chance to be able to hear and be heard. Even if you go to the Temple Bar pubs now in the early evening, they're already packed. There's also the theatrical element to the club - we didn't want something that would need all-consuming attention like a tradition theatre, but something in between."
The new club is dressed out in a cafe style with tables and chairs and a relatively muted sound system. There are two resident bands - The Burt Backeract, an Irish/ American eight-piece ensemble doing the works of Burt Bacharach (funnily enough) and an Irish-based Brecht/Weil cabaret act. Alongside the live music, the club also promises magic, comedy and revue. "We're going for a sort of Belle Epoque, Weimar Republic, Hollywood in the 1930s and 1940s feel," he says. "It'll be all about atmosphere."
The club is aimed at the over-25 crowd, but it's more a question of style than age, says Nunn. "I think initially it will attract a media/ theatre type crowd and we hope to get the balance right between half-theatre and half-pub. We're not going to take any bookings, so anybody is welcome to come along on the night. The venue only has a capacity of 200 people but if it works like we think it will, we hope to expand over the coming months."
Club Absinthe is at Andrew's Lane Theatre every Friday night from 11 p.m. to late. Telephone: 01- 6795720.
Stand up straight: if you can, after a couple of glasses. Comedian Mark Doherty in action at Club Absinthe
