Bom-Bane's facts for kids
Bom-Bane's is a very special café and performance place in Brighton, UK. It was started in 2006 by a creative person named Jane Bom-Bane. This café is famous for its singing staff and its really unusual decorations.
In 2007, Bom-Bane's won an award for being the best venue at the Brighton Fringe Festival. Later, in 2012, it was even shown on a Canadian TV show called World's Weirdest Restaurants. In 2016, it was featured on a BBC Radio 3 show called The Verb.
Discovering Bom-Bane's Unique Venue
The small area downstairs at Bom-Bane's is where live shows happen. Many famous performers have played here, like Nick Pynn, Stewart Lee, and Arthur Brown. Every May, Jane Bom-Bane and her "Bom-Bane Family Players" put on a musical for the Brighton Fringe Festival. These shows often take place all over the building, not just on a stage!
Upstairs Dining Area Secrets
The dining area upstairs is full of surprises. Each table has a "mechanical secret." For example, one tabletop slowly rises, and another spins around. One table even has a tiny model of Brighton's Palace Pier with working rides! If you lift the salt shaker on another table, chimes ring out. There's even a table with a screen showing old black-and-white cartoons from the 1920s, based on Aesop's Fables. Jane Bom-Bane and her partner, Nick Pynn, built most of these amazing tables.
The Story of the Bom-Bane's Statue
Outside the café, there was a statue of Jane Bom-Bane. Her brother-in-law, John Jostins, who worked on the famous robot R2-D2 for The Empire Strikes Back movie, built it. Sadly, on December 1, 2012, thieves stole the statue. Jane Bom-Bane was very upset, saying it was "a part of us."
Since the original statue was not found right away, a puppeteer named Isobel Smith helped raise money for a new one. The second statue, made by artist Paul Harrison, was put up on January 11, 2015. However, vandals damaged this one on July 22, 2017, stealing its head and tray. Luckily, the original statue was found, fixed, and put back on the wall on May 9, 2021.
Activities and Learning at the Café
Bom-Bane's also regularly shows films. They offer occasional classes on art, photography, solving cryptic crosswords, film, baking, and singing. There's even a homework club for children on Wednesday nights. It's a place where young children doing homework are treated with the same respect as musicians practicing. Many people feel the café has a magical, dream-like feel to it.
Meet Jane Bom-Bane
Jane Bom-Bane was born Jane Bayley in Leek, Staffordshire. She grew up in Coventry and became the lead singer of a band called the Swinging Cats. They released one song called "Mantovani." In the 1990s, she started performing by herself. She played the harmonium, sang her own songs, and wore special mechanical hats. These hats "light up and turn and move in various ways." One famous hat looks like an animated goldfish bowl! Bob Blumer, the host of World's Weirdest Restaurants, described her hats as "part genius and part outsider art."
How the Café Idea Began
Jane got the idea to open a café while running a monthly music event in Brighton with Nick Pynn. She thought it would be wonderful to have a place where her harmoniums and hats could be together. She imagined a small venue downstairs and a café upstairs. At first, she thought it would just be her playing a few songs. But it grew into much more, involving many other performers, cinema clubs, and all sorts of activities.
The café opened on September 1, 2006. Jane remembered that she had never run a restaurant before, so the first year was a big learning experience. She started adding the music part of her plan in the second year.
Special Performances at Bom-Bane's
Bom-Bane's the Musical
The idea of having "singing staff" started when Jane hired Rosi Lalor and Candy Hilton. Jane realized they both had amazing voices and were great at harmonizing. She decided to use their talents, and that's how Bom-Bane's the Musical began. Jane wrote songs about setting up the café and the food, and everyone got involved. This musical was first performed at the Brighton Fringe Festival in May 2008 and continued for the next two years.
Rosi Lalor has said that working at Bom-Bane's helped her learn how to sing her songs clearly so people could understand the words.
A Musical History of 24 George Street
For her 2011 fringe show, Jane Bom-Bane researched the history of the building where the café is located. She wrote songs about the people who lived there before. During the show, which included a three-course dinner, the audience went on a musical journey through time. The story of the building was told through songs, from when it was built in 1795 to the present day. Performers shared stories of the many families who lived there, like a musical instrument maker in the 1830s and a bicycle dealer in the 1950s.
Jane Bom-Bane's House
In 2012, Jane Bom-Bane used the entire building for her fringe show for the first time. A small group of four audience members was led upstairs by Jane, who sang a safety warning about the stairs. They visited the bathroom, where they saw a beautiful scene and heard a song. Next, they went to the living room, where different guest performers did wonderful and curious things. Then, they went up more stairs to see a display of Jane's famous mechanical hats from past shows, all moving to a new song. Finally, they went to the attic for a surprise performance and then to the master bedroom for a final song. After exploring the house, they were led back down to the restaurant for an all-you-can-eat buffet. It was a truly magical evening.
5 Down 20 Across
In May 2013, to celebrate 100 years of the crossword puzzle, Jane Bom-Bane created 5 Down 20 Across. This show turned the building itself into a puzzle. Audience members had to solve it by finding clues on all the doors in the building. Each door had a black-and-white painting by a different artist. One of these doors, painted by Peter Chrisp, told the story of the Franklin Expedition.
Merrily on High
In 2013, Jane Bom-Bane wrote a Christmas musical called Merrily on High. It was performed throughout December and featured puppets by Daisy Jordan. The songs were sung by a folk trio called The Silver Swans, which included Jane Bom-Bane, Emma Kilbey, and Eliza Skelton (who is also the café's chef). Merrily on High was performed again in December 2020, with Martin Peters replacing Emma Kilbey. Daisy Jordan made new puppets for this show.
The Long Lost River Song
Bom-Bane's May 2014 fringe show was inspired by Brighton's hidden river, the Wellesbourne. This river sometimes flows and sometimes disappears. Five audience members were invited to follow the river's path, starting from its source in the attic and ending with a sea-themed song in the cellar. Afterward, they enjoyed a meal made from foods found along the way. Reviewers said the show took them through different rooms of the house, gathering performers as the "river" gained strength. It ended with a delicious, locally sourced meal in the restaurant.
Saippuakivikauppias
Bom-Bane's 2015 fringe show was called Saippuakivikauppias. This Finnish word means 'The Soapstone Seller' and is also one of the longest palindromic words (words that read the same backward and forward). This show was a second collaboration between Jane Bom-Bane and puppeteer Daisy Jordan. It told a story Jane had written in 2002, the year of the Palindrome. The audience followed the Midgard Serpent into the lower part of the café. There, a story about a craftsman who felt forced to be perfectly symmetrical was told through songs, puppets, and animation. The songs were sung by Jane Bom-Bane, Martin Peters, and Eliza Skelton. After the show, everyone enjoyed a Finnish meal, including mackerel pâté, "Firewater" (vodka and cranberry juice), meatballs, and blueberry pie. It was described as a wonderful experience for all the senses.
Bom-Banimals
Bom-Banimals, performed in May 2016, was a musical fantasy about animals. It also took place throughout the building. A small audience of six people moved from room to room, meeting different musical animals. In each room, an animal had to give up something they loved to find their true voice. The show suggested that giving a part of yourself when you love someone can be risky but can bring great rewards. It also highlighted the importance of unique, intimate live experiences.
Snow White and the Seven Sisters
For Christmas 2018, Jane Bom-Bane and Eliza Skelton wrote a folk musical called Snow White and the Seven Sisters. This show mixed the classic fairy tale of Snow White with stories of seven sisters. These included the constellation of stars, a waterfall in Norway, and the chalk cliffs in Sussex. To fit the theme of seven, the songs were written in seven time. Eliza Skelton played Snow White, Jane Bom-Bane was the witch, and the rest of the cast included Daisy Jordan, Becca Dyer, Kate Daisy Grant, and Martin Peters.
