On Thursday night Trinity’s ‘Worst Kept Secret’ brought the Prohibition era to the 21st century students, with Prohibition – A Charity Ball. Suas, Trinity VTP, FLAC, Trinity VDP, S2S and DU Amnesty were all involved in organising the night. The music, the outfits, the questionably dark corners, a night of prohibited fun was guaranteed the moment you crossed the threshold of the Dining Hall. Being greeted by a throng of men in smoking jackets and women in variations of Daisy Buchanan costumes set the tone of the evening- an effortlessly elegant affair accompanied by accepted BYOB practice. The presence of the live band invited people to melt away into their black tie persona and created an air of impending sophisticated debauchery.
Moving to dinner the grandeur of the Dining Hall was the only acceptable place to host the three-course meal (as it was the only building with a high enough ceiling to accommodate the noise of the Harry Potter theme song chanting). But the informal layout of longer tables welcomed all into conversation and encouraged the stroking of various items of clothing, as is the only acceptable response when someone wears velvet or fur.
The food was surpassed only by the continual activity in the room as energetic conversations competed with wizardry-related drinking games. However, the noise simply added to the atmosphere, which had people giving generously to the raffles and helped raise over and impressive €300.
Arguably the most remarkable feat of the night was transforming the GMB into a candle lit enchanting place where the inhibition of the partygoers could waiver. With the live band belting tunes and the free alcohol encouraging people to dance there’s no question as to why people refused to leave. The two-floor setting allowed people to converse in close quarters not hindered by prying eye or spin a partner around the dance floor. The small gap between dinner and drinks ensured that everyone stayed together keeping the atmosphere alive between venues.
Those who were able to brace the walk to Everleigh were treated by the set-up decorations. Bouncers stepped out of character, or perhaps into their natural character, as they dressed the part and played the part, yelling Prohibition slogans at the inebriated queue. After getting down into the speakeasy, and collecting your free glass of Prosecco, you were confronted by Prohibition poster and phrases plastered on the walls. Although the warnings on the posters did little to stop people from drinking it demonstrated the thought put into planning the event by various charity societies.
The photobooth props which lined the seating areas helped many people to create new cover photos. The continual throwback tunes, chart toppers and bangers played all night as people moved between dance floors.The night was only brought to a close as Everleigh was forced to shut, and even that failed to stop the energy of the people waning with dancing erupting onto the streets.
Against all the warnings, this was most definitely a night to be spoken of again.
