OUT IN THE CITY: SCENE GUIDE DECEMBER 2011
WC1. 020 7383 3084. New, intimate basement bar/lounge, beneath Snappy Snaps on Marchmont Street - between Russell Square and King’s Cross tubes. Open 4-11pm Mon-Sat (2- 10.30pm Sunday). www.
newbloomsburyset.co.uk.
PROFILE, 84-84 Wardour Street, W1. 020 734 3444. Piccadilly Circus tube. Upstairs bar above Lo- Profile, owned and run by the team behind Gaydar. Stylish gay bar/diner, open for food and drink from early morning through till 11pm – when the action moves downstairs. www.
profilesoho.com
THE QUEBEC, 12 Old Quebec Street, WC1. 020- 7629 6159. Marble Arch tube. Long-running and huge pub, on two floors, attracting an older crowd. Open till 3am at weekends. Off the beaten Soho track but worth checking out.
www.thequebec.co.uk
THE QUEEN’S HEAD, 25 Tryon Street, SW3. 020- 7589 0262. Sloane Square tube. Popular, very long- running, cosy gay pub – a Chelsea institution.
RETRO BAR, 2 George Court, WC2. 020 7321 2811. Charing Cross tube. Mon-Fri noon-11. Sat 5pm- 11pm, Sun 5pm-11pm. A traditional boozer for the gay scene’s indie, alternative and student- types – Tuesday’s pop quiz is an institution.
RUPERT STREET, 50 Rupert Street, W1. 020 7292 7141. Piccadilly Circus tube. 12-11pm, Sun 10.30pm. Large, designer- style bar, popular with professional gay boyz and post-work drinkers.
SHADOW LOUNGE, 5 Brewer Street, W1. 020- 7287 7988. Piccadilly tube. Exclusive, gorgeous, late-night bar and club for A-list gays and celeb- spotters. Open from late
each evening.
www.theshadowlounge. com
THE STAR AT NIGHT, 22 Great Chapel Street, W1. Tottenham Court Road tube. Relaxed, mixed gay/ lesbian bar – in traditional, bistro-type surroundings. Great food menu and cocktails. Open 6-11.30pm Tue-Sat. www.
thestaratnight.com
SWEATBOX, 1-2 Ramillies Street, Soho, W1. 020- 3214 6014. Exclusively gay gym (ground floor) and sauna (basement levels), with occasional late-night parties. Friendly and fun. Open Sun-Thurs noon- 2am, and till 7am Friday and Saturday. www.
sweatboxsoho.com.
VAULT 139, 139 Whitfield Street, W1. 020-7388 5500. Central, daytime and evening intimate cruise club, for a men-only crowd. Open 1pm-1am seven days a week. www.
vault139.com
VILLAGE, 81 Wardour Street, W1. 020 7434 2124. Piccadilly Circus tube. 12- 1am, Sun 11.30pm. Late night door charge. Soho’s original gay café bar, spread over four floors, and now with basement dancefloor and discos. Popular with a youngish crowd of boys and girls.
THE YARD, 57 Rupert Street, W1. 020 7437 2652. Piccadilly Circus tube. Mon-Thur 4pm-11pm, Fri & Sat 1pm-11pm, Sun 1pm-10.30pm. Busy gay bar with hugely popular courtyard area, outdoor balcony and cosy loft bar.
S A UNA S
CHARIOTS WATERLOO, 101 Lower Marsh, Waterloo, SE1. 020 7401 8484. Waterloo tube. Well-presented, popular sauna, open 24/7. www.
gaysauna.co.uk
PLEASUREDROME, 124
Cornwall Road, Waterloo, SE1. Waterloo tube. Big venue with lots of different areas – open 24 hours, 365 days of year. www.
pleasuredrome.com
SAUNABAR PORTSEA, 2 Portsea Place, Marble Arch, W2. 020 7402 3385. Marble Arch tube. Small and friendly gay sauna with masseurs. www.
gaysaunabar.com
SAUNABAR COVENT GARDEN, 29 Endell Street, Covent Garden, WC2. 020 7836 2236. Covent Garden tube. Basement sauna with pool, sauna and rest rooms. Check website for discount entry.
www.thesaunabar.co.uk
SWEATBOX SOHO, Ramillies House, 1-2 Ramillies Street, Soho, W1. 020 3214 6014. Oxford Circus tube. Gay-owned and run gym and large basement sauna area.
www.sweatboxsoho.com
NOR TH L ONDON
THE BLACK CAP, 171 Camden High Street, NW1. 020 7485 0538. Camden Town tube. Shufflewick Bar: Mon-Thu Noon-1am, Fri-Sat 12noon-2am, Sun Noon-10.30pm. Club: Mon- Thu 10pm-2am, Fri-Sat 10pm-3am, Sun 10pm- 1am. Long-running, famed gay pub – probably the most famous cabaret pub in London. www.
theblackcap.com
CENTRAL STATION, 37 Wharfdale Road, N1. Tel: 020 7278 3294. Kings Cross tube. Big, late- opening gay bar on three floors, with ground floor cabaret and infamously cruisy cruise nights in basement. Upstairs B&B accommodation. www.
centralstation.co.uk
CLUB KALI, The Dome, 1 Dartmouth Park Hill, Tufnell Park, N19. World’s biggest lesbian and gay
A
D.E. Experience
ROYAL DECEMEBER The Royal Vauxhall Tavern offers a full roster of entertainment every month of the year, but it goes crazy in December, with the annual RVT Pantomime being just one of the delights on offer! The panto has become a must-see institution over recent years and always draws a big crowd. This year’s adult production will be ‘Robyn Hood’, and will star Jonny Woo, Holestar, Myra Dubois, Timberlina, Miss Annabel Sings and the voice of Scottee. You can catch an early preview on Wednesday 7 December, plus further shows on 28 December (doors 7pm), and then two performances each night on 29 and 30 December (show at 7.30pm and 10.30pm). Tickets cost £8.50 online or £9.99 on the door (limited early bird tickets online £6.50 for 28-30 December). Other festive events this month include ‘Baubles, Bangles and Biddie!’ on Wednesday 14 December, with James ‘Biddie’ Biddlecombe hosting a seasonal smörgåsbord of festive free-range frivolity, accompanied with musical backing by Chris Marshall. Doors are at 7pm, and entry costs £8.50. This will be followed on Wednesday 21 December by the return of the monthly, popular avant garde life drawing class with Dr Sketchy. Bizarre circus acts and hunks of man flesh provide the cabaret, while the audience is given paper and pencils to come up with the art! Tickets £10 in advance or £15 on the door. Continuing its Thursday night run, up to and including 22 December, is David Hoyle’s Winter Warmer. The cabaret legend will take to the stage each week for a topical chinwag and avant garde lecture, and he’ll be joined each week by some special guests. These will include Dublin-based ‘self-made man- made woman’ Veda, and author Jonathan Kemp (1 Dec), Al Pillay and poet Rachel Pantechnicon (8 Dec), Gerry Potter, Helen Noir and Darrell Berry (15 Dec), contemporary circus performer Chrisalys and “Professional dirtbag and slut” Ashley Ryder (22 Dec). Other attractions at the venue include Monday’s gay bingo session with Timberlina and Hey Baylen (excluding 26 December), and Tuesday’s Bar Wotever (excluding 27 December), a performance free-for-all and laidback midweek session for girls, boys, trans-folk and glorious wotevers. Fridays in December offer up new club night Rooster (2 Dec), with the ComeAndTurn DJ collective and performers Timberlina and JonJo. Premier pop party ‘Push The Button’ returns on Friday 9 December, followed by another special Bar Wotever party on Friday 23 December, with free admission all night. Weekend institutions include Duckie every Saturday (excluding 24 and 31 December), and the long-running S.L.A.G.S/CHILL-OUT every Sunday, with DJs Simon Le Vans, Andy Almighty and Sean Sirrs spinning the commercial house and big dance anthems. The D.E Experience offers up the 5.30pm cabaret. Bear in mind that the venue will be closed on Sunday 25 December, but there will be a special S.L.A.G/S/Chill-out on Boxing Day 26 December (2pm-2am), Tuesday 27 December (2pm-midnight), and another to see in the New Year on 31 December (the Chill-Out Pink Ball with D.E Experience on stage at 10pm). Doors for NYE will be 8pm till 5am, with early-bird tickets £15, then £20 (more on door).
WWW.OUTMAG.CO.UK 41
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