AUGUST
thestage.co.uk/news
Protesters rally to save drag venue
GEORGIA LUCKHURST
EQUITY/JACK WITEK
More than 100 people rallied outside Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club this week to protest against the closure of an “iconic” east London drag and cabaret club.
The programming team at Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club, which has hosted drag and cabaret events for the past 20 years, was reportedly given two months’ notice to shut down and leave the venue by July 29. It is understood that the building is being put up for sale.
Equity, which is behind a petition to save it, is calling on the committee that owns and runs the building to halt the closure plans.
The union’s general secretary Paul W Fleming told attendees including drag artists and magicians at a rally on July 29 that the 21-year-old venue was the latest arts space “under attack” from cost cuts.
Fleming said: “Our members in every area of art, whether it be the English National Opera going in and out of schools in east London, and having that programme slashed and burned; whether it be theatre spaces that are closed because of a government austerity programme that’s
Protesters outside Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club gone on for more than 20 years in the arts; or whether it be independent queer spaces that allow our members to work and earn their living... Our members are under attack.”
He added: “Our members are not choosing a narrative of resilience, but a narrative of resistance.”
Labour member of the London Assembly Elly Baker meanwhile told the rally that continued losses to small venues would “hollow out the ecosystem of our nightlife and our arts system, and it will crumble”.
Some 11,700 people have now signed the petition decrying plans to close the doors on a space Equity said had provided steady work and income for many performers in the drag and cabaret sector. Equity also said it was currently in “constructive dialogue” with the owners to prevent the closure of live performance at the venue.
In an update on those talks, the union said: “We are seeking assurances that any sale will guarantee the continuation of BGWMC as an LGBTQ+ performance space. We are also seeking a guarantee that the community of performers and punters will be given the opportunity to fundraise and buy the venue in shared ownership. This would allow BGWMC to continue a more-than-100-year history as a member-owned club.
“We hope that the programming team can resist this eviction and give everyone more time to negotiate a good outcome. For Equity, it is crucial that any outcome will ensure that LGBTQ+ performance can resume at the club at the earliest opportunity. BGWMC is a vital source of work for Equity members and many people rely on this space to earn a living.”
Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club has been contacted for comment.
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