FROM secret speakeasies to themed-bars and late-night restaurants, London has so much to offer after dark.
And no one knows that better than circus performer Emma Phillips who is on stage with Sabrage , incredibly outrageous cabaret show, every night.
Emma Phillips is a foot juggler on stage with Sabrage at Lafayette
Emma reveals her favourite after dark haunts she goes to after the curtain closes
Emma, who grew up in , is a foot juggler, aerialist, and you can watch her in action at the Lafayette in .
Starting her working day at around 4PM with rehearsals, quite often Emma won’t get out of the theatre until late, and here are her favourite haunts.
Talking to , she said: “I like to be able to eat a meal around 11 o’clock, and one of the places I love is 27 Old Compton Street . It’s new, a tiny Italian restaurant, but it’s beautiful and they make handmade pasta.
“Or there’s Bubala , which has great vegetarian options and on certain evenings it’s open until midnight.
“There’s a great bar in Granary Square called Spiritland . It’s a seventies theme bar with records on the wall, and they do lots of different flavoured Negronis.
“Recently I went to Soho and found a speakeasy called the Opium Bar which is very cool.
“My friends and I were there the other night, it’s behind a hidden door in the middle of Chinatown, so most people don’t know it’s there.
“I love the cocktails, some are really interesting and have popcorn on, they do late night food there too, and have great dumplings.”
Emma has always been a performer and found her speciality after heading to to learn acrobatics.
As a foot juggler, she literally balances parasols and solid wooden tables on her feet and has taken her act all over the world.
Emma revealed that the crowds in London are very different to other countries
Having experienced all sorts of different crowds, Emma revealed to that there’s a big difference when performing in – and it’s all to do with the audience.
Emma explained: “I’m used to lots of styles of audiences, and when we first started, we found the London audience to be much more conservative.
“They aren’t as outwardly loud, so they won’t clap or hoot or holler like other audiences do in America or .
“Sabrage isn’t traditional theatre, we want to go crazy and we interact with the audience a lot. We worked out early on that we almost have to give the audience permission to let loose.
“Although sometimes we have ‘woo girls’ – which are bridal or birthday parties and a group of women like that love making noise which really helps.”
As for where the rowdiest audience has been, it might not be where you expect.
“I’ve performed in a lot and there are places like and where they get quite loud and naughty.
“The Australian audience are the craziest I’ve seen. In , German audiences are quite reserved – but not as much as London.”
One of Emma’s favourite late-night eating spots is 27 Compton Street
As for the show, Emma performs in a full face of make-up and tiny outfits, but she admitted the actual show is the most glamorous we’ll see of it.
She revealed: “During the day, I’m recovering from the shows and the training, so I’m either at the gym, doing physio, or in an ice bath.
“My body is taped up and during the day, because of my act, I have to wear specific shoes – I can’t even walk around a lot, which is annoying because I want to explore the city before work.”
Emma doesn’t let that stop her though and still makes sure she sees London in the daytime too.
“The majority of my nights off, I spend in another theatre, I love them, I saw Matilda recently and it was brilliant.
“I love too, I’ve been to the Picasso exhibition at the Tate, and the Marie Antoinette at the V&A.”
Emma recommends the vegetarian dishes at Bubala
As for life on stage, Emma told us: “I’m constantly running out of makeup, which does get expensive after a while.
“I’ve had to make the switch from Fenty to Maybelline when it comes to foundation because we go through bottles of it.”
Through work she’s performed in major cities across the globe, and like London, some come alive at night.
“Obviously is incredible, but as well which I’ve travelled to a lot – and it functions so well at night, so many there are open until 3am.”
Away from the stage Emma travels the globe
Emma also loves to travel in her downtime too and has ticked off 40 countries around the globe.
When whichever show she works on comes to an end, she makes sure to book a trip away for some R&R and scuba diving.
“We had a break with Sabrage in July so I was off for five weeks and the first thing I did was fly straight out to the Maldives and went scuba diving there for two weeks, it was heaven.
“I also went to to see some friends, then I was in and then I was in diving around shipwrecks. My dream destination is the Islands – it’s very high up.
“The problem with travelling is that the more you do it, you realise the more there is to see.”
Caroline McGuire Gives Her Verdict on Sabrage
Head of Sun Travel (Digital) Caroline McGuire
“When your cheeks ache from laughing at the end of a show, you know you’ve had fun.
“I felt hugely disappointed that the fun was over, when the curtain fell on the final act of the new Sabrage show at Lafayette in London’s , on the night I visited.
“It features raunchy dance acts, juggling acts, pillow fights, physical comedy, some acrobatics and the two funniest comperes I’ve ever seen in the
“This show is not for the faint-hearted – it’s 16+ only and they mean it. There are penis jokes, masturbation dances, penis songs… all designed to have you screaming with laughter.
“Those wanting to add to the glamour of the visit can pay for access to the venue’s ‘Nola’s bar’.
“The speakeasy-style room is accessed through a secret door with a password, which is certainly a glamorous step up from most theatre bars, with exceptionally friendly cocktail waiters.”
To see Sabrage head to the website – tickets start from £30.
Sabrage evening performances take place Tuesday to Thursday at 7.30pm, Friday at 6.15pm and 9.15pm, Saturday at 5pm and 8.30pm and Sunday at 5pm.
Tickets are on sale now with the final show scheduled for December 31, 2025.
For more entertainment, check out this .
Plus one Sun writer tried the world-famous .
Circus performer Emma loves reveals her favourite places to go after dark 
