Newcastle Museum will be transformed into a 1920s ‘speakeasy’ next month when it hosts the NM:PM Roaring Twenties Ratbags and Razors Party.
Revellers are asked to don their best 1920s-era glad rags and be transported back to a bygone era, populated with all manner of nefarious characters.
The speakeasy vibe will be provided by Newcastle cocktail bar Coal and Cedar while the Big Al’s food truck will provide the eats.
Novocastian sextet Half Nelson will add the the vibe with their infectious brand of jazz.
The party is a celebration of the Underworld: Mugshots from the Roaring Twenties exhibition currently running at the museum.
The photographic exhibition, which features more than 130 compelling mugshots taken by Sydney police, now part of the NSW Police Forensic Photography Archive, investigates the life and times of Sydney during a time that most associate with jazz, art deco, glitz and glamour.
However, as this exhibition demonstrates, this era had a much more sinister undertone, when gangs, guns and violence loomed large.
“The photography in this exhibition is amazing,” Exhibition Curator Nerida Campbell said.
“The mugshots taken by Sydney police are unlike any you’ll see anywhere in the world – they’re candid, and compelling, and the stories behind the people in them are amazing.”
Reproduced from glass plate negatives, the images retain a high-quality level of clarity almost a century after they were taken.
The NM:PM Roaring Twenties Ratbags and Razors Party will be on at Newcastle Museum on Saturday 6 April from 5pm. The event is free however exhibition admission applies.
Underworld: Mugshots from the Roaring Twenties Exhibition is on at the museum until Sunday 30 June. Entry is $10 (adults), $7 (concession) and free for children (0-12 years)
