Glitter, smoke, mirrors, punks, pole-dancing and multitudinous costume-changes

“Polari is a gay-themed salon of interest to anyone remotely interested in culture, whatever their sexual bent. Paul Burston’s achievement in consistently bringing together writers and performers who will stimulate and inspire is remarkable” - Patrick Gale

“Polari brings together the best of new and established LGBT writers and puts them right where they should be – at the heart of the capital's arts scene, on the swanky South Bank. Always fun, always thought-provoking: a guaranteed good night out” - Sarah Waters

Today will mark a milestone for that most "intelligent" of gay evenings - it is the FIFTH anniversary of Polari ("London's peerless gay literary salon") tonight!

I have been attending for four of those years. However, even before I ventured to my first, I had in fact experienced some of the thrill of Polari-type evenings - having already attended during 2008 an LGBT History Month event called "Between the Covers", a retro-electro-dance night called Electrosexual, and one of the sadly-missed House of Homosexual Culture events "The Lavender Library" (ironically, given Polari's current residence, at the Southbank), all hosted or co-hosted by Mr Paul Burston.

And I am so glad we did venture to what was to become my regular monthly dose of literary stimulation back in September 2008 - for among the wonders on that particular Polari evening were my first encounter with the magnificent Sebastian Horsley (RIP), and the unprecedented sight of a room so full of the "gay glitterati" (Bette Bourne et al) that even Marc Almond struggled to get in and soon left...

Here, (at a later Polari) is the marvellous pairing of Mr Horsley and our favourite diarist Mr Clayton Littlewood:

Sebastian Horsley & Clayton Littlewood at Polari in Soho

Over the years, I have seen some sights, I can tell you! Stiletto-wearing men, Fenella Fielding, riot grrls, rock chicks, various shades of trans, performance poets, nudity, Celine's Music Hall turns, Molly Parkin, glitter, smoke, mirrors, punks, pole-dancing and multitudinous costume-changes. Who could forget the tribute by Paul and Rupert Smith to Miss Grace Jones?



Or getting the chance to wear Judy Garland's hat?!



Or indeed (one of) Mr B's striptease(s) while introducing Dan Mathews of PETA to the stage?

Paul the Stripper

Here's some Homovision TV footage from 2009, of Paul talking about Polari:

HOMOVISION - Paul Burston talks about Polari

And finally, saving the best till last, here's little ol' moi (among others) being interviewed by Beige magazine - giving a very camp analysis of what Polari means to me...

[2019 UPDATE: much like the magazine itself, this has now gone from the interwebs. I have a DVD version of this somewhere; if ever I find it, I'll post it]

Five glorious years - long may it reign! [Click on the "Polari" tag at the foot of this blog, and check out all fifty of my reviews.]

Tonight's Polari not only features the announcement of the winner of the Polari First Book Prize 2012, but also readings from Susie Boyt, Neil Alexander, Jeff Kristian and Cherry Smyth. I can't wait (bruised leg or no bruised leg)!

Dandy in the Underworld

RIP Sebastian Horsley (8th August 1962 – 17th June 2010)

Blog will eat itself

At Polari last night the bloggers came together to celebrate the art of blogging with readings by bloggers, and performances by bloggers... It's like being a Mason ..



What another fabulous night it turned out to be!

Skiving off the opportunity to reveal himself to his adoring public with the feeble excuse of being 10,000 miles away in Sydney, London Preppy sent a (rather pretty) substitute in his friend Mean (sic). The reading almost didn't take place at all as the original substitute reader didn't show up, and the extracts to be read out were only on email. Freedom - typical gay bar - had run out of printer toner, and there was a mad scramble to try and find an internet cafe in Soho to print it out... But, with his choice of a typically cynical blog about gay gym bunnies, we were enthralled.

Celine treated us to another of her bawdy classics, unsurprisingly featuring a whore from Soho, and then the main act took the stage.



Our real star was the ever-lovely Clayton Littlewood, reading (and performing) extracts from his blockbuster Dirty White Boy - Tales of Soho (which began as a blog). Brilliant as always, Clay embellished his reading with a full re-enactment of a couple of scenes:

- Arch decadent dandy Sebastian Horsley was played with spooky realism by - Sebastian Horsley!

Sebastian Horsley & Clayton Littlewood at Polari in Soho

- And the fans' favourite character Leslie was portrayed with effortless campery by none other than the lovely Dexter Clark - Celebrity Hairdresser - minus the wig(!).

Clayton Littlewood & Roger Lloyd-Thompson at Polari, Soho

Brilliantly entertaining stuff! With the house as packed as it was last night, I hope Clayton shifted a few copies of the book.

Yet the biggest laugh of the night was still to come, and it was one that very few people could have been prepared for...



Yes, indeed! As a precursor to the rest of the jollities that DJ Paul Burston had lined up for us, both he and the effervescent Rupert Smith donned skirts and flashed their scanties at the begging masses - complete with "Grace" and "Jones" emblazoned across the important bits! I bet the lady herself would have been proud.

We ended the evening pissed on expensive gin and heady with a range of music from Cole Porter to the 10 minute Macarthur Park Suite by Donna Summer...

A genius night, and I look forward to more divine decadence in January!

Polari

The key is to dress in such a style that you would attract attention at a Liberace concert

We had the most fabulous night at Polari last night! The Trash Palace was rammed to the gunnels with a real cross-section of gayers - from the grande dame Bette Bourne and queen diva Marc Almond, to a smattering of studenty types in Doc Martins, and some shouty lesbians.



All were gathered to listen to the "art freak" (© News of the Screws) Sebastian Horsley - in turn insulting, challenging and entertaining the audience with passages from his book Dandy In The Underworld. And what a captivating man Sebastian turned out to be, practically salivating while revealing the prurient details of his obsessive dandyism, drug addiction and hyper-sexual life.

In his own words:

"So what is dandyism? Dandyism is a form of self-worship which dispenses with the need to find happiness from others - especially women. And yet the estrangement of the thorough going dandy is not from women, but from life. It is taking up a posture of ironic detachment from the world and living it out in scrupulous detail.

"Dandyism is social, human and intellectual. It is not a suit of clothes walking about by itself. Clothes are merely a part - they may even be the least important part of the personality of the dandy. Dandyism isn't image encrusted with flourishes. It's a way of stripping yourself down to your true self. You can only judge the style by the content and you can only reach the content through the style.

"Being a dandy is a condition rather than a profession. It is a defiance against suffering and a celebration of life. It is not fashion; it is not wealth; it is not learning; it is not beauty. It is a shield and a sword and a crown - all pulled out of the dressing up box in the attic of the imagination. Dandyism is a lie which reveals the truth, and the truth is that we are what we pretend to be."

Dandy in the Underworld on Amazon

I loved it! And once the superb reading was over, we made every effort to recreate a microcosm of that truth, as Paul Burston and Dom Agius once more provided their twisted, eclectic, decadent brand of disco for the rest of the evening.

Dandies - us?



As a "Polari virgin" I am hooked. I can't wait for the next one, at which we not only have two Duffys for the price of one (Maureen and Stella) doing the readings from their works, but also the lovely Celine (who provided the brilliant Music Hall opening numbers for Marc Almond at Wiltons earlier this year)!

Polari