The Menagerie Brighton

The Menagerie is a Brighton-based event series for the sex-positive and ethically non-monogamous (ENM) community, operating as a roving collective rather than a fixed-premises club. Its tagline — Desire, Consent, Pleasure — signals the organising philosophy: events are explicitly framed not as a sex club but as 'an intimate event for people who want to explore giving and receiving pleasure,' with connection and safety placed alongside appetite. The series runs two distinct formats: open social mixers held monthly at rotating licensed venues across Brighton, and private play parties held at a vetted, undisclosed central Brighton location. The social mixers — held at queer-owned and queer-friendly bars including The Archives and The Greenhouse — are capped at between 50 and 65 guests depending on the venue. The atmosphere is deliberately low-key: cosy lighting, soft music, and a pub-appropriate dress code ('express yourself and feel comfortable, but keep it pub-appropriate — explicit kink wear and lingerie might be best left for other occasions'). No sexual activity takes place at the socials; they function as a community meet-and-greet as well as an in-person vetting step. The play parties draw a smaller, fully vetted crowd of around 40 guests at the undisclosed address. The community skews poly, queer, and LGBTQ+-inclusive throughout. Socials run monthly — most commonly on Thursdays or Wednesdays — from 20:00 to midnight, with a minimum age of 21. Attendance at a social is a prerequisite for play party admission: prospective attendees must be vetted in person before a play party invitation is extended, and attending a social carries no automatic guarantee of future event access. The Menagerie website and its Skiddle listings are the primary booking channels.