Tunnel vision

In the nine years I've been singing with the London Bulgarian Choir, we've performed in some weird and wonderful venues around London. If a barge on the River Thames and Westminster Abbey count among the most wonderful, then the Thames Tunnel entrance shaft must be in the running for the most weird. Located in Rotherhithe, south-east London, we were there last month for a concert with an indie-folk singer who goes by the name of Wilderthorn. 
Access to the venue was a performance in itself. First there was a clamber over a wall with only metal pins to step on, then a crawl through a low passageway and, finally, a clatter down two storeys of a tall metal scaffolding tower to the floor of the entrance shaft, all in full Bulgarian costume, mind.

About to enter the tunnel's passageway, having cleared the first hurdle 

Stooping to crawl through the passageway into the shaft space

The tunnel was created by Marc Brunel (father of Isambard Kingdom), who pioneered a tunnelling shield method of digging and building under a river. It was the first tunnel under the Thames and quite a sightseeing draw in its day – described as the Eighth Wonder of the World when it opened in 1843. You can still see where the staircase wound its way down. 

The Thames Tunnel when it was a Victorian tourist attraction

Though it had been conceived as a freight tunnel, the company underwriting the project ran out of the funds needed to make the ramps necessary to convey horse-drawn carts down to the tunnel. In 1865 it was taken over by a railway company and used by trains and, more recently, became the tunnel used by the Overground route between Wapping and Rotherhithe. It was then, in 2010, that a concrete floor was suspended over the tunnel, so that the former entrance and ventilation shaft could be used as a concert venue and tourist attraction (managed by Rotherhithe's Brunel Museum).

Feeling as if we've landed on the set of a Peter Greenaway film

The interior, all train-smoke blackened walls and dusty atmospherics, was lit by dozens of candles with a few spotlights attached to the scaffold. It was a sell-out gig – only room for 100 or so in the audience – so the ambience was warm and buzzing, everyone delighted with themselves for finding this place… for being cool Londoners.

The audience perspective during the choir's solo set

The choir kicked off with a solo set, the dissonant chords of our trusty concert-starter Izreyala Yasna Zwezda, reverberating around the circular space. Our songs were underscored by the bass notes of the occasional train, rumbling along the tunnel beneath us. The Wilderthorn headline set followed and we joined in with backing vocals and drones on four of the songs. 

The London Bulgarian Choir adding dissonance to Wilderthorn's set

The audience were very close to us and it was interesting to see reactions. One Bulgarian woman had come to see Wilderthorn and was moved to tears by the bonus surprise of discovering a Bulgarian choir. She'd lived in London for years and had no idea there was a choir singing the music of her home country. 
We thought the quirky shape and acoustics of the venue were perfect for our sound and are seeking a stand-alone concert date. Watch this space…