Inclusive club night returns to Alexandra Palace with headlining DJ Erol Alkan
An inclusive club night designed and produced by adults with disabilities returned to a historic Haringey landmark yesterday.
Now in its third edition and headlined this year by DJ and producer Erol Alkan, Rhythm Stick will transform Alexandra Palace’s Victorian Theatre into a club, with DJs, high-quality sound, lighting and visual production. This initiative combines a club night with a free events management course, giving adults with disabilities hands-on experience of creating and delivering a live event.
Participants work alongside Ally Pally’s event management, front of house, marketing, production and technical teams as well as industry professionals to develop practical skills across every phase of putting on a club night. The project has been co-produced throughout this entire process, with the group shaping everything from the line-up and promotion to audience experience and the production before putting what they’ve learnt into practice on the night itself.
The event is open to everyone aged 18 and over. Erol Alkan said: “I’m honoured to have been asked by Alexandra Palace to take part in such an opportunity and very much looking forward to being a part of this evening.” Mark Civil, Head of Creative Learning at Alexandra Palace, said: “Rhythm Stick is about creating a great club night that everyone can be part of, whether that’s on the dancefloor, behind the decks or behind the scenes.
“Creating more opportunities for people with disabilities to take part in live events, develop skills and explore the different roles within our industry is so important, and Rhythm Stick puts that into practice – all while bringing everyone together for a great night out at Ally Pally.” Rhythm Stick first launched at Alexandra Palace in 2019, when participants completed an events management programme before producing Rave Revolution in the Alexandra Palace Theatre.
It returned in 2023, duly culminating in a club night at Marcus Garvey Library in Tottenham featuring DJs from the disabled community alongside Alexis Taylor. Accessibility is built into the Rhythm Stick infrastructure from the outset, with provisions including accessible toilets, Blue Badge parking, a Changing Places facility, a dedicated sensory space, free companion tickets, hearing loops at service areas, a lowered bar service and step-free access.
Dedicated accessibility staff and a Welfare Officer will also be on hand throughout the event, with additional equipment such as hearing protection, mobility scooters, sensory bags and wheelchairs. In June last year, Alexandra Palace became only the third venue ever to achieve Platinum status on Attitude is Everything’s Live Events Access Charter, recognising the Palace as an industry leader in accessibility.
The Palace was also named Best Accessible Day Out at the Blue Badge Access Awards in April.
