The Roger Ely Experience

The Roger Ely Experience - A Cabaret

Thursday 12 November 2026

20.00 

Tickets £12.50/£10 concessions *see note

An evening celebrating the life and legacy of Roger Ely featuring short turns and films by a wide range of artists, musicians and film makers connected to Roger.  Performers include Liz Aggiss, Richard Strange, Phil Minton, Dave Stephens, Steve Beresford and Neil Butler with more artists to be announced shortly.

Roger Ely (1952-2015) was an extraordinary and influential artist, publisher, archivist, curator, and collector. This event marks the British Library’s acquisition of Roger’s extensive and unique archive, enabling generations to come to discover a significant, rare and unrivalled history of the alternative and counterculture of the late twentieth century.  

From Leeds Arts School in the 1960s, to the Brighton Contemporary Festival of Arts in the 1970s, to the Final Academy in the 1980s, to the Zap Club in the 1990s, Roger Ely was at the centre of the underground scene that influenced the art, music, film, literature, cabaret and performance that went on to change the world.  

His collaborators, connections and collections are breathtaking - William Burroughs, Brion Gysin, Ian Hinchliffe, Genesis P-Orridge, John Giorno, Kathy Acker, John Maybury, Cosey Fanni Tutti, Lydia Lunch, Marc Almond, Kenneth Williams, Anne Bean. Paul Burwell, Derek Jarman and countless other luminaries and characters all feature in some way in his life and in his archive.

The Water Rats cabaret follows a discussion at the nearby British Library from 6pm to 7.30, looking at Roger’s archive and the cultural landscapes it shines a light on with Steve Cleary, Dave Stephens, Neil Butler, Lois Keidan, Anne Bean, Barry Miles and Rob La Frenais.  GET YOUR British Library TICKETS HERE

*And NOTE: Tickets to British Library will also enable entry to the Cabaret at the Water Rats, later the same evening so if you're booking a British Library Ticket there is no need to book a separate Water Rats Ticket on this site.