The Royal Vauxhall Tavern is a gay nightclub in London. It is also known as the RVT. It is South London's oldest surviving gay venue [1].
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The RVT was built in 1863 at Spring Gardens, Kennington Lane, on land which was originally part of the Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. It started life as a Victorian music hall. After the war, returning servicemen and local gay men were attracted to the venue, which held shows of female impersonators, the forerunner of drag shows.[2].
By 1975, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern had two bars around a kidney shaped bar which doubled as a stage for the drag artists to dance along in their stilettos from the tiny apron stage at one end. The public bar attracted rougher local workers whilst the lounge attracted the local gay community. Notable acts from this era include "Carla" famous for her Barbra Streisand impersonation and "The Great Lee Paris" who brought the house down on a Saturday night with Land of Hope and Glory , and There'll always be an England.[3] Freddie Mercury was also a frequent visitor during the seventies.[4]
Also during 1976 the great Roy Alvis staged an all male revue both at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern and The Union Tavern, Camberwell New Road. The revue spawned a fabulous four piece all male cabaret group called 'The Boys Plus' In the space of a couple of months this group was seen in residencies all over the London drag circuit....The Union, The Vauxhall, the Black cap, the Cock (Lewisham) just to mention a few. Sadly the group only lasted a couple of years but set the trend for shows in the 21st century such as Funny Girls in Blackpool
The RVT survived local redevelopment throughout the seventies and eighties and has managed to maintain its independence as a gay venue. Many of London's top drag artists have appeared at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, including Hinge and Bracket, and Diana Dors[5]. A resident for eight years and probably most famous entertainer, with shows four times a week, was Paul O'Grady's Lily Savage.[6].
AIDS devastated the South London gay community in the early eighties and the RVT lost many of its customers to the disease. The venue was also under attack from the developers in the nineties, when Lambeth Council entered into a three year agreement with a developer and announced plans to build a shopping centre on the site[7]. Protesters marched to Lambeth Council and the development was subsequently dropped.
In 2005, the Royal Vauxhall Tavern was taken over by gay businessmen Paul Oxley and James Lindsay. With a new lighting and sound system the venue is now open seven nights a week and is currently as popular now as it was when Lily Savage left in 1994.[8].
The most prominent show in the present day is Simon Casson’s avant garde nightclub, Duckie, hosted by Amy Lame. For the past 14 years, Duckie has run every Saturday at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern providing progressive working class entertainment for the homosexual communities of Vauxhall[9].
For over ten years, the South London Action Girls Society (S.L.A.G.S.) has been hosted on Sunday afternoons by Jonathan Hellyer's Dame Edna Experience.[10]
Intermittently artist David Hoyle hosts an avant garde cabaret show, where sometimes controversial themes are explored.
The RVT won the Fringe Report best venue in 2010. [11]