Royal Vauxhall Tavern

Indestructible Victorian pub with a singular gay history — including drag performances since the middle of the last century — and a relentless party spirit, known to its own as the RVT and now registered with the local council (Lambeth) as an Asset of Community Value. Themed nights showcase comedy, drag, burlesque and alternative cabaret (though no longer home to Saturday-regular Duckie [now nearby at the Eagle]. From late Sunday afternoons expect stimulated shirtless men keeping Saturday night alive in tea-dance style with entertainment originally overseen by the Dame Edna Experience (now with occsional appearances). Regular Tuesday tenant Bar Wotever provides an "open stage for up and coming queer talents to show off". Saturday nights in 2024 = Rogue ("pop and dance bangers across the decades"). Check the website for more...much more. Among the pub's other claims to fame is the joint visit in 1988 by singer Freddie Mercury (a former Coleherne regular), comic star and broadcaster Kenny Everett and, incognito as a man, Diana, Princess of Wales. On 30 September 2014, following the sale of the venue, the RVT announced plans for a "full refurbishment both internal and external". The Vauxhall Tavern promises to remain gay despite wariness in light of Vauxhall's ongoing slick and massive redevelopment. A one-minute walk from Vauxhall tube station, if that.