Performance

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What to expect

'Enthralling... Ivo captures the euphoria and comedown of Soho's clubland so acutely' THE TIMES
'Stunning . . . a love letter to the aliveness of London and its nightlife' SOPHIE MACKINTOSH
'A wild night of a book' OCTAVIA BRIGHT

As '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.
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'Performance is theatrical, immersive and utterly heartbreaking. An astonishing debut' CHRISTIE WATSON
'A story this addictive, it's hard not to consume it in one go' RHYANNON STYLES
'I devoured this book in two days, all of its twisting corners and dark alleyways. I know Soho like the back of my hand and this brought that lost world back in vivid colours' JODIE HARSH

Critics Review

Performance is theatrical, immersive and utterly heartbreaking. An astonishing debut
Christie Watson
A story this addictive, it's hard not to consume it in one go
Rhyannon Styles
Performance is a stunning memoir. By turns wildly entertaining and deeply moving, it vividly captures a bittersweet snapshot of a Soho of glamour and defiance, a love letter to the aliveness of London and its nightlife
Sophie Mackintosh
I devoured this book in two days, all of its twisting corners and dark alleyways. I know Soho like the back of my hand and this brought that lost world back in vivid colours, like a technicolour, X-rated movie. I knew the places, knew some of the characters, and probably knew Ruth! What a debut, I can't wait for more
Jodie Harsh
A wild night of a book... Ruth Ivo lets you follow her behind the velvet rope of old Soho into a riot of transgression and decadence. It's a vivid snapshot of a city - and a young woman - in flux
Octavia Bright
An enthralling volume with shades of Christopher Isherwood's Goodbye to Berlin... Ivo captures the euphoria and comedown of Soho's clubland so acutely
The Times

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