Performance: An electrifying memoir from the dark heart of London's Soho

by Ruth Ivo

'Performance is theatrical, immersive and utterly heartbreaking. An astonishing debut' Christie WatsonAs 'Ruby', Ruth Ivo was a successful burlesque performer, living in blissful bohemian squalor on a decommissioned military boat and spending her evenings unfolding from a Fabergé egg in various London clubs. Her life changes when she is asked to become show director at 'The Club', a place as secretive as it is notorious. Before long, she's trawling Soho back streets for props and knocking back shots with movie stars and billionaires. But as her nights unravel in a maelstrom of glamour and chaos behind the scenes, she feels her grasp on reality slipping through her fingers, and her soul wrung out by decadence. Under pressure to produce shows each more shocking than the last, she watches the performers under her care contort themselves before baying crowds. When a devastating event leaves her unmoored, Ruby has to wonder if she's sold her soul to the devil . . . or become him. Performance is a visceral and exquisitely written portrait of a place that has come to embody the excesses of late capitalism; of tumbling willingly down the rabbit hole, only to lose yourself in the dark.

236 pages, Kindle Edition

Published May 9, 2024

Reviews

[Caitlin Holloway · Rating 5 out of 5]

Thoroughly enjoyed this one. An honest insight into a side of London that I knew was there but never had any access to look into. Ivo allows us into a world that you can tell she has once had such a profound love for, but an awareness enough to show us the damage that it caused to her life and mental well-being. Honest and a story I’ve never seen anywhere else.

[Olivia Wharam-Lewis · Rating 4 out of 5]

After stumbling upon this hidden, seemingly lesser known, gem in my local Waterstones, from the blurb alone, I knew it would be coming home with me.

You could not find a better title for this book, than ‘Performance’ if you tried. Theatricality, vivacity, intensity, and excess merge together in this novel to create something both tantalising and reprehensible. All of the sensory facets are fully subsumed within this novel fittingly written in Acts. The skilful writing, and the richness of Ivo’s use of metaphor and figurative language, make this memoir a testament not only to the secret stains of a London that likes to present itself as pristine, but the persistence, and insistence, of authenticity and bold-living alongside the inherent value and necessity of diversity in a world that constantly pushes for conformity.

Ivo is able to portray her simultaneous reverence for and disapproval of this world, creating a narrative that confronts and at times, appreciates, its own flaws.

[Mary Chamberlain · Rating 5 out of 5]

I absolutely loved this book, exquisitely written and so evocative of the seedy underbelly of a former Soho. She captures the mood of the time and the spirit of this world with all its warts and wonder, and always with compassion and understanding. The subject matter is not for the prudish or the squeamish but the insights and the prose carries you along. It's a marvel of a memoir.

[Word Bird · Rating 5 out of 5]

Evocative and erotic, insightful and compelling, Ruth Ivo’s ‘Performance’ grabs you by the scruff of the neck and pulls you into the seedy underbelly of London’s Soho in its prime… It’s a fascinating immersion into a sexy, steamy, sordid world long supplanted and sanitised by chain store coffee shops and pizzerias. A romping good read.

[Liv · Rating 2 out of 5]

I felt confused reading this story, I felt like I was considering what the point of it was. And then what the story timeline was like. To me it didn’t feel like a fully flourished story? But then I came on here to rate it and realised it was a memoir, which isn’t my usual genre. Maybe it was just not the right story for me

[Alex Tsergas · Rating 5 out of 5]

A spellbindingly atmospheric story of a raucous, debauched Soho. Evokes the feel of the nightlife there yet with an undercurrent of the emotional attachments and relationships people in the night economy have.

A wonderful read and brought back some memories.

[Louise Webster · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn’t put this book down. Every time I picked it up I was transported into another world that became harder to come out of! It is beautifully written, you will want to savour every word. I was genuinely bereft when I finished it. Highly recommend.

[aliya · Rating 4 out of 5]

i always thought myself a soho girl, spending my first year in london working on the tottenham court road and drinking in the various pubs / dives / bars that stud the area. but oh, man. ruth has really seen it all. she's a wonderful, ferocious lady, and i'm in awe of her.

[Ella P · Rating 5 out of 5]

Love love loved this

[róisín · Rating 4 out of 5]

this iis a book i appreciate

[Lily · Rating 5 out of 5]

What a captivating book! It was a privilege to get a look behind the curtains of The Club, and found quite thought-provoking the cost of the art on the artist, as well as how far one would go to express oneself and make a living out of it.

Ruth Ivo is such a talented writer, and a person it was a pleasure to meet at Daunt Books Summertown. Thanks to the way she described the performed acts - whether on or off the stage - the scenes appeared like photographs or films, making it possible to feel more than to understand how one can quickly go down the rabbit hole due to drugs.

Performance is the kind of book I will never forget, and which will accompany me every time I get to visit Soho (or the London canals)!