A prestigious Blue Plaque was unveiled in London on February 19 to commemorate the avant-garde film-maker, and LGBT+ activist Derek Jarman on the 25th anniversary of his death from HIV in 1994.
THE unveiling was performed by the actor and director Dexter Fletcher and took place at Butlers Wharf Building, 36 Shad Thames, SE1 2YE, where Derek once lived and worked.
Short speeches were given by David Olusoga from English Heritage, artist Peter Logan, composer and musician Simon Fisher-Turner and human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell.
Peter Tatchell
Speaking at the unveiling, Mr Tatchell said:“Derek was a personal friend and I worked with him for many years. He was a strong supporter of the LGBT+ direct action group OutRage! and was arrested in 1992 when we tried to march on Parliament to demand the repeal of anti-gay laws. As he often reminded people, he spent most of his life as a criminal under legislation that outlawed homosexuality. He gave me and other OutRage! members a cameo part in his film Edward II, to highlight the parallels between Edward’s violent demise and contemporary anti-LBGT violence.
“Derek was the first UK public figure to come out as HIV positive, at the AIDS & Human Rights conference that I organised to parallel the World Health Minister’s first summit on AIDS in 1988. He was a trailblazer in every aspect of his life and work – a fierce critic of everything conventional and orthodox. A true innovator.
“One of his favourite quips was from Dorothy Parker: ‘Heterosexuality is not normal. It’s just common.’ I was honoured to have Derek as a friend and comrade.”
Simon Fisher-Turner, David Olusoga, Peter Logan, Andrew Logan and Peter Tatchell
English Heritage Trustee and Blue Plaques panel member, David Olusoga, added:“Jarman was a major cultural figure of the last quarter of the twentieth century. He was a unique voice in cinema, an important campaigner for gay rights, a painter and a gardener. He brought a creative and disruptive energy to everything he did, at a time when it was urgently needed. We are delighted to honour him here on the South Bank, where he began to create his Super 8 universe.”
Exploring the diverse and supportive drag scene in Brighton, by Violet Valentine (Zoe Anslow-Gwilliam) @zoe_ag
BRIGHTON is generally known as being one of Britain’s quirkiest cities with eccentricities like independent queer events and independent fashion companies on every street. Brighton is a brilliant place to let your pride and freak flag fly. It’s the perfect example of colliding British subcultures from old school skate culture, the hippy movement, unavoidable modern lad culture, the prominent gay scene and the queer punk revolt.
Brighton’s unique and diverse styling remains a significant influence on the type of drag that comes out of Brighton. Brighton has everything: traditional drag queens, club kids and drag kings of all gender expressions. Exploring gender in drag is a pleasant experience in Brighton with AFAB, trans and non-binary performers being aplenty. Apart from snide remarks from some public, I’m supported by fellow performers around me that my drag is indeed very valid.
Brighton seems to produce some of the weirdest and notably, creepiest, drag on the UK scene. With performers such as Dick Day, the winner of London competition, Gold Rush, opting for an eclectic, bold style with the silliest of gags. He is a brilliant example of Brighton’s unapologetic comedic approach to performance, with no drops or splits necessary. He stated; “Within Brighton, there’s undoubtedly a more immense comedic value to performers’ viewpoints on performance.” Brighton is where he started his drag journey and he commented there is; “A very accepting and cohesive community.” Despite very few venues for the sheer amount of talent Brighton has to offer, he thinks; “On the most part we support each other and book a broad range of performers, some of the best the UK has to offer.”
Dick tends to base his looks on specific acts however comments he isn’t “a very femme presenting queen,” despite the fact he does pad and cinch he “still rocks a moustache and body hair, which is another thing we don’t consistently see on more ‘famous’ queens” a lot of the scene also “follows this mantra.”
Alike to others, I get my inspiration from everywhere; from the runway, current music and popular films to name a few. I draw my most recent inspiration from fantasy art and games such as League of Legends and Magic: The Gathering. But I’m obviously influenced by other drag artists that employ an alternative style, on Brighton drag scene, notably, Lydia L’Scabies for her combination of glamour and gore with use of prosthetics and pout, and Nosferatu for his brilliant concepts and the fact that he has big pointy ears too.
Brighton has allowed me to be more unapologetic with my drag style with reduced worry. I continue to be comfortable with exploring my style of cartoon-like and eccentric drag with prosthetics and a multitude of coloured face paints. Some of my recent styling and performances have been made easier to explore by the welcoming nature towards alternative drag.
I have the pleasure of being best friends with up and coming successes on the Brighton circuit: Electra, best described as a vintage c**k destroyer (an aesthetic), and Calypso, best described by the word ‘spoopy’ (sorry, Joshua). We often function as a dysfunctional group, which means stealing each other’s wigs and Kryolan sticks but more importantly our closeness has resulted in dramatic personal development within our drag over the past year helped by the fact we’ve all been doing drag for about two years. We learn from each other’s styles, such as trying different looks that encourage us out of our comfort zones, and in turn discover alternative assets to use in our drag whether it’s something as simple as a new colour combination or a new performance trick.
I chatted with Electra, Connor Harriott, about how her drag has developed because of Brighton. Connor spent his childhood in Newcastle, miles away from this seaside town, then moved down to Brighton to study Law. Electra was created in Newcastle but wasn’t truly actualised until Brighton. Connor commented that; “Coming from a smaller scene, I was given the foundations of drag but Brighton has developed me hugely as a queen and performer because it’s allowed me opportunities that more intimate scenes just don’t have.” He also stated the cabaret scene allows him to explore new performance areas. “The close group of friends I’ve made through drag have allowed me to improve and develop my drag character massively to what it is today.”
From our recent conversations about progress and motivation, we have discovered some of our motivation is drawn from our support for each other. It is comforting to be able to express mutual support at shows and even perform all together on multiple line-ups such as the most recent final of Lip Sync for Your Life at Club Revenge. These shared experiences help us to critique and praise each other’s work to then develop new acts and looks.
Electra, Violet and Calypso
I knew that Calypso would want in on the discussion, so I asked about her development on the local scene. Calypso, Joshua Hughes-Davies, made his way down to Brighton from what I like to refer to as ‘The Shire’, Welwyn Garden City. Josh arrived in Brighton about a year ago with Calypso in tow. Calypso was never truly realised until she started performing in Brighton, namely at Sussex Drag Soc, where she is media and promotions manager.
Joshua explained;“I spent my entire A-Levels dreaming of Brighton and becoming part of its scene. I wanted the challenge of a saturated and diverse scene after having been exposed to drag through Live Action Role Play and things like Rocky Horror as a child.” He expresses a distinct impression that drag requires; “Creativity, a fiery devotion, passion and a sense of fun.”
He continued further;“Being accepted with open arms when you aren’t necessarily a mainstream kind of drag performer was unexpected and appreciated. You nonetheless have to work hard as there’s so much drag representation; you have to work just as hard to get recognised.”
We all agree that Brighton is a pleasant place to start out with drag and feel it sets an example for the UK in terms of offering opportunities for drag artists to perform or partake in events, with the willingness to help each other grow.
Local homeless charity Sussex Nightstop marks 10-year anniversary with new Sleep Safe campaign to help young people at risk of homelessness stay off the streets.
THE campaign will raise awareness of the many young people, often as young as 16 in Sussex at risk of homelessness.
With rates of homelessness on the increase, young people are particularly vulnerable to becoming homeless, especially when family breakdown is involved.
Research shows as many as one in five young people find themselves in the unpredictable and risky situation of sofa-surfing and of these, roughly half will have sofa-surfed for more than a month.
Government data for 2017 illustrates Brighton had the second highest level of recorded rough sleepers in the country after Westminster. At 178 individuals, this represents a 24% increase on the previous year. Six percent of these people were under 26 years old.
Sleeping rough and other temporary living arrangements have a considerable and chronic negative effect. More than half of young people involved in 2017 research by homelessness charity De Paul UK said that not having a stable place to live had damaged their mental or emotional health, and the majority said that their physical wellbeing had suffered. Nearly half said that temporary living had had a negative impact on their relationships and more than four in 10 said it had damaged their education or their ability to find or keep work.
Sussex Nightstop provides a safety net for these young people, preventing them from becoming homeless. The charity matches vulnerable young people (aged 16-25) with volunteer hosts who put them up in their spare room, on a night-by-night basis. This gives the young person a safe space to resolve their housing problems, so they don’t risk spiralling into long-term homelessness or the dangers of rough sleeping.
The Sleep Safe campaign is urging people to help alleviate this often-hidden problem of youth homelessness by supporting Sussex Nightstop’s work.
The Sleep Safe campaign will also raise £10,000 towards developing and delivering services to young people including the recruitment and training of more volunteer hosts.
Sussex Nightstop are calling on commercial organisations and the Sussex communities to get behind their fundraising campaign and help them in their ambition to have a safe bed available on every night of the week.
The work Sussex Nightstop does with vulnerable young people has already had very tangible results during their 10 years of operation:
Since the project began, they have received 750 referrals of young people and matched 3000 bed nights to 345 young people.
45% of young people accessing Nightstop are in work or learning.
90% of young people using the Sussex Nightstop service go on to secure safer, more suitable housing.
Sussex Nightstop Executive Director Alison Marino said:“I am delighted to be celebrating our 10 year anniversary. The achievements accomplished through the efforts of our local volunteers and the Sussex Nightstop team cannot be underestimated.
“However, there is more work for us to do. We see first-hand the increasing and deepening challenges that young people face with regard to securing a safe and stable place to live. We need to continue to be there for them. We have tasked ourselves in providing a service that supports a range of different needs and we want to develop our volunteer host pool, both in numbers and skills. All of this will enable us to reach more people and move towards our goal of offering a safe bed night every night.
“The Sleep Safe campaign– the messages it spreads and the funds it raises – will help us towards our goal. People have real concern for this issue and on behalf of Sussex Nightstop I offer encouragement and thanks for supporting our campaign.”
A young person who has used Sussex Nightstop’s service said:“Thanks to you guys I achieved the impossible, I’m now living in Central Brighton. You gave me the strength to fight. Thank you so much for giving me a unique look into your family and home.”
One of Sussex Nightstop’s volunteer hosts, Liz, added:“Most of us are concerned about the growing plight of young people who cannot rely on having somewhere to sleep every night. Being able to offer them a warm welcome, a hot meal, and a bed so that they feel safe is such a rewarding yet easy thing to do. As hosts we’ve seen ourselves the positive difference Sussex Nightstop makes to the young people who have stayed with us. We hope the Sleep Safe campaign will help Nightstop to continue to be there for young people when they need it most.”
People who want to support Sussex Nightstop’s work can do this by donating to the Sleep Safe campaign, by becoming a volunteer host, fundraising for them or by simply spreading the word about youth homelessness.
To help Sussex Nightstop raise £10,000 in their tenth-year click here:
Exploring the diverse and supportive drag scene in Brighton, by Violet Valentine (Zoe Anslow-Gwilliam) @zoe_ag
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