One night at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern : Sex, Drag and Rock'n'roll

The Royal Vauxhall Tavern is an historic cabaret venue and alternative club in Vauxhall, a district of London. It gathers LGBTQ+ community and others interested in spending a night out like no other. It opens 7 nights a week and until 4 a.m on Saturdays. Claire Grazini was there for a Duckie Night, and what a night it was!

It's 10 pm on Saturday 8 December and I'm standing in front of the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, a Victorian building also known as the RVT. In the Victorian era, homosexuality was considered to be a crime, but this gay cabaret/club venue existed before the decriminalisation of homosexuality. A queue of 50 people waits for the doors to open. Ten minutes later, here we are in the oldest gay cabaret venue club in of South London, hosted by a mysterious drag Queen with big, fancy round sunglasses and all dressed in white. The entrance fee is only £5 for six hours of fun. It’s definitely worth it.

Two or three cheap drinks later - about £5 for a single rum and orange juice, same for a beer. Amy Lamé, co-founder of the performance group Duckie, arrives on stage in a beautiful golden dress with sequins and introduces the first drag performer, Felix le Freak. It's 11 pm and the cabaret is almost full.

Felix le Freak, c'est chic

"I don't know what you expect from me but I'm not gonna play anything" says Felix le Freak, sat behind the piano. Then he starts to play the piano and sing funny songs about his sexual life and his relationships. He achieves a perfectly to mix of stand-up and singing. With his sober purple dress and leopard headscarf, his fancy blue make-up and especially his burlesque humour, he fascinates everyone and makes the very intergenerational audience laugh loudly.

The RVT definitely rocks

After a musical break, the second performer appears. ‘Black Elvis’ has rocked the party. He has flooded the stage with his flow, his wonderful sequin blazer and his quiff. When he ends his performance, the RVT turns into a night club. The night goes on mostly with rock and roll songs. People get excited when the song by The Who, Rock the Casbah, resonates. Lot of guys start to dance on the catwalk, because there is no more room on the dance floor.

Not only gay-friendly, it's friendly. You can dance, talk, laugh without inhibition. The RVT has that special atmosphere that I have never experienced in a club. That is what makes it so unique.