Queerguru loves to share good news, especially at a time like this, with so much political uncertainty that is aimed at our community. In London this weekend, one of the oldest gay pubs has reopened after it was forced to close suddenly 11 years ago. The Black Cap in Camden has been hosting cabaret and drag performers since as far back as the 1950s, when homosexuality was still illegal, and back then it was known as the “Palladium of Drag”
The reopening of The Black Cap is bucking a trend that has seen more than half of London’s LGBTQ+ venues close between 2006 and 2022, according to the Greater London Authority. The number of venues has plummeted from 125 to just 50, with many citing rising rents and changing habits among the reasons for closing.
The Black Cap helped launch the careers of drag stars such as Danny La Rue, Mrs Shufflewick, Regina Fong and even Lily Savage (Paul O’Grady), who regularly performed in the downstairs bar in the 1970s and 1980s. His widower Andre Portasio has loaned the venue a number of artefacts from the performer’s career, which will feature in the newly named Lily’s Bar.
The upstairs bar will be called Shufflewicks in homage to Mrs Shufflewick, who was a regular on stage in the 1960s and 1970s. Also making a return will be the iconic Regina Fong Terrace, which its owners have described as a suntrap.
The pub’s new owners LT Management have invested £2m bringing the venue back to its former glory. Alex Green from the #WeAreTheBlackCap campaign group says: “To see the respect the owners have given us and the community is incredible. “These guys have really listened to what we want.”
The campaign group surveyed thousands of people and Green says the results are reflected in the decor and the features that have been retained and restored.
It is hoped that the venue, which officially reopens this weekend, will become a haven for live entertainment, drag and cabaret
Leave a Reply