Turncoats: The Ick
The Ick: Is London bad for love?
Love, Dating, London and Landlords
How did a throwaway line from a 90s American courtroom comedy come to dominate the love lives of Londoners? Neurospicy barrister Ally McBeal coins “The Ick” 15 episodes into her eponymous TV show to dodge a date. A quarter century later her quip is lurking behind abandoned flings, ghosted Hinge matches and lonely evenings in.
Dating in London is, and makes us, tough. We cultivate hard disinterested temperaments. Quick to discard, and be discarded. Scything our way through prospective suitors in search of sparks. Maybe the city is to blame; the long slog between Stokey and Brockley evaporating any frisson of attraction before it can bloom. Is it rising rents, pushing us ever further from our friends and the possibilities of spontaneous connections?
Perhaps the cult of individualism central to London’s neoliberal economy has tricked us into believing we can have it all. A best friend, a perfect housemate, someone to share a mortgage and parenthood while bringing us to toe curling orgasms – an insane shopping list from a consumerism fever dream of run amok. Or is it the apps; the worst tendencies of gendered flirting recodified by a Texan tech giant.
Spare Room ads which declare “no couples, please” (). Landlords who don’t allow partners to sleep over (). There is a special place in hell for politicians who have allowed the housing crisis to reach a point that a breakup can bring destitution. But what, if anything, can we do? What does a city good for loving and being loved in look and feel like?
Romance vs gentrification. Sex and the cityscape. This event, mixing comedy with heartfelt debate asks, is London giving us The Ick?
Speakers / Performers:
Ewa Effiom, Belgo-Nigerian architect, writer and occasional filmmaker
Olivia Petter, journalist and broadcaster. Author of Millennial Love (2021) and Gold Rush (2024)
William Rayfet Hunter, writer and junior doctor. Author of Sunstuck (2025), winner of the #Merky Books new writers prize.
Lucas Facer, architect, designers and Turncoats co-curator.
Paulina Lenoir, clown
Other speakers TBA
Event:
7pm (doors 6pm), Thursday 12 June, Set Social, 55a Nigel Rd, London SE15 4NP
Set Social has a (brilliantly affordable) bar serving cocktails and other drinks. Please buy generously to support their work and arrive early to avoid long queues for a negroni. Turncoats is a feisty mix of debate and ideas. Come armed with something to say and don’t be afraid to seize the mic.
Partners:
Turncoats is presented in partnership with the Future Architects Front and Architecture Foundation.
Tickets:
Solidarity £15 – Full time job? Living with a partner so able to split the rent? Get this one for £3 extra and support others less lucky in love.
Waged £12 – Regular price. Get your partner to pay as a late Valentine’s present, or bring your date (it’s cheaper than the theatre after all!)
Unwaged £8 – No work? Newly single and worried about how to pay the bills solo? Get this one. (But remember they are limited so if you buy an unwaged ticket despite having a job you're preventing someone who needed it from coming at all)
(nb: if all ticket levels feel out of reach, please get in touch and we’ll work something out!)
No physical tickets, your name will be on the door. The site will show an error message until you enter an address in the checkout. Sold out? Sign up for alerts when new tickets are released.
The Ick: Is London bad for love?
Love, Dating, London and Landlords
How did a throwaway line from a 90s American courtroom comedy come to dominate the love lives of Londoners? Neurospicy barrister Ally McBeal coins “The Ick” 15 episodes into her eponymous TV show to dodge a date. A quarter century later her quip is lurking behind abandoned flings, ghosted Hinge matches and lonely evenings in.
Dating in London is, and makes us, tough. We cultivate hard disinterested temperaments. Quick to discard, and be discarded. Scything our way through prospective suitors in search of sparks. Maybe the city is to blame; the long slog between Stokey and Brockley evaporating any frisson of attraction before it can bloom. Is it rising rents, pushing us ever further from our friends and the possibilities of spontaneous connections?
Perhaps the cult of individualism central to London’s neoliberal economy has tricked us into believing we can have it all. A best friend, a perfect housemate, someone to share a mortgage and parenthood while bringing us to toe curling orgasms – an insane shopping list from a consumerism fever dream of run amok. Or is it the apps; the worst tendencies of gendered flirting recodified by a Texan tech giant.
Spare Room ads which declare “no couples, please” (). Landlords who don’t allow partners to sleep over (). There is a special place in hell for politicians who have allowed the housing crisis to reach a point that a breakup can bring destitution. But what, if anything, can we do? What does a city good for loving and being loved in look and feel like?
Romance vs gentrification. Sex and the cityscape. This event, mixing comedy with heartfelt debate asks, is London giving us The Ick?
Speakers / Performers:
Ewa Effiom, Belgo-Nigerian architect, writer and occasional filmmaker
Olivia Petter, journalist and broadcaster. Author of Millennial Love (2021) and Gold Rush (2024)
William Rayfet Hunter, writer and junior doctor. Author of Sunstuck (2025), winner of the #Merky Books new writers prize.
Lucas Facer, architect, designers and Turncoats co-curator.
Paulina Lenoir, clown
Other speakers TBA
Event:
7pm (doors 6pm), Thursday 12 June, Set Social, 55a Nigel Rd, London SE15 4NP
Set Social has a (brilliantly affordable) bar serving cocktails and other drinks. Please buy generously to support their work and arrive early to avoid long queues for a negroni. Turncoats is a feisty mix of debate and ideas. Come armed with something to say and don’t be afraid to seize the mic.
Partners:
Turncoats is presented in partnership with the Future Architects Front and Architecture Foundation.
Tickets:
Solidarity £15 – Full time job? Living with a partner so able to split the rent? Get this one for £3 extra and support others less lucky in love.
Waged £12 – Regular price. Get your partner to pay as a late Valentine’s present, or bring your date (it’s cheaper than the theatre after all!)
Unwaged £8 – No work? Newly single and worried about how to pay the bills solo? Get this one. (But remember they are limited so if you buy an unwaged ticket despite having a job you're preventing someone who needed it from coming at all)
(nb: if all ticket levels feel out of reach, please get in touch and we’ll work something out!)
No physical tickets, your name will be on the door. The site will show an error message until you enter an address in the checkout. Sold out? Sign up for alerts when new tickets are released.
The Ick: Is London bad for love?
Love, Dating, London and Landlords
How did a throwaway line from a 90s American courtroom comedy come to dominate the love lives of Londoners? Neurospicy barrister Ally McBeal coins “The Ick” 15 episodes into her eponymous TV show to dodge a date. A quarter century later her quip is lurking behind abandoned flings, ghosted Hinge matches and lonely evenings in.
Dating in London is, and makes us, tough. We cultivate hard disinterested temperaments. Quick to discard, and be discarded. Scything our way through prospective suitors in search of sparks. Maybe the city is to blame; the long slog between Stokey and Brockley evaporating any frisson of attraction before it can bloom. Is it rising rents, pushing us ever further from our friends and the possibilities of spontaneous connections?
Perhaps the cult of individualism central to London’s neoliberal economy has tricked us into believing we can have it all. A best friend, a perfect housemate, someone to share a mortgage and parenthood while bringing us to toe curling orgasms – an insane shopping list from a consumerism fever dream of run amok. Or is it the apps; the worst tendencies of gendered flirting recodified by a Texan tech giant.
Spare Room ads which declare “no couples, please” (). Landlords who don’t allow partners to sleep over (). There is a special place in hell for politicians who have allowed the housing crisis to reach a point that a breakup can bring destitution. But what, if anything, can we do? What does a city good for loving and being loved in look and feel like?
Romance vs gentrification. Sex and the cityscape. This event, mixing comedy with heartfelt debate asks, is London giving us The Ick?
Speakers / Performers:
Ewa Effiom, Belgo-Nigerian architect, writer and occasional filmmaker
Olivia Petter, journalist and broadcaster. Author of Millennial Love (2021) and Gold Rush (2024)
William Rayfet Hunter, writer and junior doctor. Author of Sunstuck (2025), winner of the #Merky Books new writers prize.
Lucas Facer, architect, designers and Turncoats co-curator.
Paulina Lenoir, clown
Other speakers TBA
Event:
7pm (doors 6pm), Thursday 12 June, Set Social, 55a Nigel Rd, London SE15 4NP
Set Social has a (brilliantly affordable) bar serving cocktails and other drinks. Please buy generously to support their work and arrive early to avoid long queues for a negroni. Turncoats is a feisty mix of debate and ideas. Come armed with something to say and don’t be afraid to seize the mic.
Partners:
Turncoats is presented in partnership with the Future Architects Front and Architecture Foundation.
Tickets:
Solidarity £15 – Full time job? Living with a partner so able to split the rent? Get this one for £3 extra and support others less lucky in love.
Waged £12 – Regular price. Get your partner to pay as a late Valentine’s present, or bring your date (it’s cheaper than the theatre after all!)
Unwaged £8 – No work? Newly single and worried about how to pay the bills solo? Get this one. (But remember they are limited so if you buy an unwaged ticket despite having a job you're preventing someone who needed it from coming at all)
(nb: if all ticket levels feel out of reach, please get in touch and we’ll work something out!)
No physical tickets, your name will be on the door. The site will show an error message until you enter an address in the checkout. Sold out? Sign up for alerts when new tickets are released.