This film is part of Free
What's a Girl Like You ...
Scintillating look at the 1960s drag renaissance, with a visit to London's Royal Vauxhall Tavern.
Overview
Welcome to the 'Palladium of Drag' - south London's Royal Vauxhall Tavern. The first half of this scintillating London Weekend Television documentary celebrates the late-60s drag renaissance at one of Britain's oldest surviving gay venues - then home to a happily diverse throng of working-class regulars. Dynamic camerawork swoops along the bar-cum-stage as pints are nonchalantly pulled under the thrashing heels of anarchic queens Bow, The Polka Dots and Mr Cleo Rose. Despite the clunking insistence that "the one thing you don't have to be for drag is homosexual" this is a refreshingly non-judgemental and joyous insight into queer nightlife half a century ago.
The spotlight shifting to the drag circuit in northern England offers a fascinating contrast in tone. The audiences are still largely working class, but a harder-edged, freak-show vibe creeps in. The girls range from highly polished female impersonators (Bunny Lewis) and glorious grotesques (Al Nicholls) to innovative drag striptease (Terry Durham). Transgender singer Ava strikes a more melancholic note with her number "Strictly a he-male female", a sharp reminder that the outlook for trans women was far from rosy in 1969. Featuring candid interviews with all the performers, this is a valuable rediscovery, and a timely one: in 2015 the RVT became the first venue in Britain to be awarded Grade II-listed status for its importance to the LGBT community.
Related
Heaven (Gay Life) Heaven (Gay Life)
Factual TV 1980 25 mins
The LGBT current affairs series visits the new Heaven nightclub, contrasting it with other parts of London’s gay scene.
A Couple of Beauties A Couple of Beauties
Comedy 1972 29 mins
Innuendo-laden crime caper, a star vehicle for Manchester-based drag queen Bunny Lewis
Miss Norah Blaney Miss Norah Blaney
Musical 1932 9 mins
A risqué music hall ditty uncovers the pioneering gender-bending ways of 1930s young things
Gay Black Group Gay Black Group
Magazine and Review show 1983 25 mins Location: Bloomsbury
The Gay Black Group - reasserting culture and identity on two levels.
David Is Homosexual David Is Homosexual
Amateur film 1978 38 mins Location: Lewisham
A lonely gay man discovers friends, love and activism in this rediscovered educational film made by the Campaign for Homosexual Equality
What Am I? What Am I?
Current affairs 1980 26 mins Location: Hay-on-Wye/Y Gelli Gandryll
Transgender pioneer April Ashley appears in this moving look at the challenges faced by the trans community in 1980s Britain
Illegal Tender Illegal Tender
Animation & Artists Moving Image 1987 14 mins
Queer psychedelic portrait of a young man’s desires in an industrial wasteland
Facing the Sun Facing the Sun
Drama 1980 54 mins
Sao Paulo-set love triangle drama, featuring a rare TV depiction of bisexuality.
A Couple of Beauties A Couple of Beauties
Comedy 1972 29 mins
Innuendo-laden crime caper, a star vehicle for Manchester-based drag queen Bunny Lewis
Amelia and the Angel Amelia and the Angel
Amateur film 1958 26 mins Location: South Kensington
A young angel scours London for her wings in this tender short by the young Ken Russell. THIS IS A TEST: @£!£$£%^&*()
New Perspectives: La Haine New Perspectives: La Haine
Short documentary 2025 4 mins
Charlie Hammersley, a student from Northumbria University, explains how Mathieu Kassovitz's 1995 film holds up a mirror to society.
Dreamers Q&A Dreamers Q&A
Inside Film 2025 30 mins
The film-makers behind a haunting tale of love and community within a UK immigration detention centre visited the BFI Southbank to discuss their film.
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 50 mins
Paul Thomas Anderson and Leonardo DiCaprio in Conversation at BFI Southbank, discussing the making of One Battle After Another.
Laura Mulvey in Conversation Laura Mulvey in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 76 mins
Laura Mulvey in conversation, following her BFI Fellowship Award.
George Clooney in Conversation George Clooney in Conversation
Inside Film 2025 74 mins
George Clooney visited BFI Southbank to look back on his life and career.
Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025 Chloé Zhao Screen Talk | BFI London Film Festival 2025
Inside Film 2025 65 mins
The Oscar®- winning director of Nomadland discusses her unique approach to filmmaking and the inspiration behind the adaptation of Hamnet.