An emergency rally will be held outside one of London’s most loved drag and cabaret venues in a last-ditch attempt to stop the venue from being sold.
Organisers at the Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club (BGWMC) have been told they have to vacate the venue by Monday.
Actors and performers’ union Equity has warned that “the potential loss of yet another London venue for queer nightlife is devastating and represents a significant loss of work for performers in the drag and cabaret sector.”
🚨 Emergency Rally - Save Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club! 🚨
— Equity (@EquityUK) July 24, 2024
Monday 29 July - Midday, Outside BGWMC
Stand up for small venues. 🎶
Stand up for LGBTQ+ spaces. 🏳️🌈🏳️⚧️
Defend jobs in our community. ✊
Please share. RSVP 👇https://t.co/f2tFZQxLJe pic.twitter.com/DbW43xVHxB
A petition page set up by the union to try and save the club said: “We understand that the current programming team, who have established BGWMC as an icon of significant importance to the community over the past 20 years, have been given two months’ notice to shut down and vacate the venue by Monday 29th July.
It added: “Not only is the BGWMC venue an asset of tremendous value to the community, but the programme of events is also a vital and consistent source of income for so many professionals.”
The club hosts a huge range of drag shows and cabaret nights and was recently used to film scenes from the Netflix hit Baby Reindeer.
Liam Gallagher performed a secret set at the venue in 2017 and the site was also used as a runway as part of London Fashion Week in 2019.
The petition to save the venue had been signed by nearly 8,000 people on Wednesday afternoon, calling on the club’s committee to pause any plans to sell the venue.
Equity also announced on Wednesday that an “emergency rally” will be held at the venue at noon on Monday in a last minute attempt to save the club.
Currently a send-off party is due to take place at the venue on Friday night, according to its website.
The “Molotov Send-off” event promises to bid “a fond, riotous and righteously furious farewell to the legendary Bethnal Green Working Men’s Club”.
It added: We'll drink wine, we'll share stories and we'll watch some damn good shows! And.... After the shows ends.... WE DANCE LIKE THERE'S NO TOMORROW.”
