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Duckie's Vauxhall Bacchanal

  • Nightlife, Cabaret and burlesque
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Time Out says

The Duckie gang have been larging it along the south bank for more than 16 years, generally at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern, mixing partying, performance and provocation to general queer delight. Now they've teamed up with the Southbank Centre's Festival of Neighbourhood to create this 12-hour spectacular exploring the history of Vauxhall's associations with 'nocturnal revelries and illicit pleasures' through a fantastic-sounding combination of talks, shows, workshops and clubs.

2pm-6pm 'Royal Vauxhall Pleasure Promenade' (Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, free) features Tim Spooner and pals werquing it 1729-style with a catwalk out of the past.

2pm-8pm 'The Triumph of Pain: The Duckie Drop-In' (Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, free) is the result of Duckie's arts workshops with local addicts' hostel Graham House. Over the past year, Mark Whitelaw, Robin Whitmore, Jonny Hey and Tim Brundsen have worked with the residents to develop performance, video and visual art that reflects on 'their lives, their feelings and their desire to change'.

2pm-3pm 'More Nightingales and Fewer Strumpets' (Level 5 Function Room, Royal Festival Hall, free but ticketed) sees Amy Lamé interview historian David Coke about the historical Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens.

3pm, 5pm, 7pm and 9pm 'Helpless' (The Darkroom, 15 mins long, free but ticketed) is a 'dirty little solo performance' by Neil Bartlett about 'losing yourself and staying safe'.

3.30pm-5pm 'Happy Birthday Royal Vauxhall Tavern' (Level 5 Function Room, Royal Festival Hall, free but ticketed) traces the 150-year history of the RVT itself, famous as a site of gay socialising and performance since the war if not earlier. Rupert Smith hosts a historical investigation with locals, experts and a toast or two.

5.30pm-7pm 'Readers Wifes on the Lash' (Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, £5) is a 'live Radio Duckie special' featuring the resident DJ duo playing tunes, being interviewed by Baylen Leonard and looking at how different substances have had different effects on different musical scenes.

7.30pm-9pm 'Vauxhall & I' (Level 5 Function Room, Royal Festival Hall, free but ticketed) examines the alphabet of drugs currently pervasive on Vauxhall's clubbing scene, asking about the impact of their use on today's LGBT population. With Matthew Todd from 'Attitude' magazine, the RVT's Jason Dickie, David Stuart of drugs agency Antidote and journalist Stewart Who?

9.30pm-11pm 'David Hoyle on Alcohol' (Purcell Room, Queen Elizabeth Hall, £8) is a 'forensic examination into the pleasures and perils of being on the piss' from the brilliant performer who's no stranger to overindulgence – even if these days he doesn't drink ('only white wine).

9pm-2am 'Duckie Summer Party' (Clore Ballroom, Royal Festival Hall, £10) wraps up the Vauxhall Bacchanal with a summertime knees-up from the regular gang plus music from the Caezars and the usual tipsy turns.

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Individual events vary from free to £10
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