Organised by the Camden LGBT Forum as a free closing gala for Gay History Month, I was lucky to get tickets before the event was featured in the gay press - which was a good thing as the place was packed!
Our master of ceremonies was the fabulous Luke Meredith, trying his best to give the whole thing an authentic Music Hall feel - although I don't remember Leonard Sachs wearing fishnets and a leather thong on The Good Old Days!
Mr Meredith is superb - not only keeping the evening's entertainment together, but also treating us to a selection of his own songs (including a love song to a Dalek!), and getting the audience to take part in a good old fashioned sing-a-long.
One moody member of the audience complained about the inclusion of The Lambeth Walk "'cos we're North London, innit?" - but I rather think she may have been at the wrong event. And when Mr Meredith cleverly updated the genre with a sing-a-long of Can't Get You Out Of My Head and Parklife I think even the most hardened cynics joined in...
Surprise hit of the night was the very obscure Sjaak van der Bent, who describes himself as an "opera singer extraordinaire, self confessed failed heterosexual". He arrived on stage with a handbag and a fetching frock, and held the audience in raptures with his beautiful voice and off-the-wall repartee.
The (very attractive) Snakeboy treated us to a few bellydance numbers, and there was (unfortunately) some mime - least said soonest mended.
After the break, as well as more mime (someone should tell Divo and Sofia that middle aged women pretending to be black boys wasn't even funny when French & Saunders did it), we were entertained by the most authentic of music hall acts Hilda Eusebio aka "Jack the Drag King in Evolution", and of course our very own budding superstar of the queer cabaret circuit Michael Twaits was absolutely brilliant as always...
All this, and a free buffet afterwards! A really well thought out and impressive evening, in the true spirit of Variety - congratulations to Ingo and the whole Wotever World crew for putting it together, and it is great to see that The Drill Hall is still in business after the Arts Council cut its funding last year...
...and to give a taste of the evening, here's Mr Van der Bent him(her)self:
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