Gay & Lesbian

Don’t look now, but the bearded, bespectacled man quietly sipping tea in Konditor & Cook is actually leading a double life. By day he’s Tim Redfern, artist and co-founder of the Pride Legacy Project, currently responsible for a season of queer cultural events at the highly respectable National Portrait Gallery. By night he’s Timberlina, door whore and drag diva, six feet seven inches of (very) alternative glamour, complete with full beard.

Described as ‘somewhere between Kenny Everett and Brian Cant’, it’s a look that certainly commands attention, as motorists driving past the Royal Vauxhall Tavern on a Thursday evening can surely testify. Cabaret club VauxhallVille is where this lady of the night currently plies her trade. The vision of Timberlina working the door in a flamenco frock must rate as one of the unlikeliest sights ever witnessed by commuters crossing Vauxhall Bridge. Feature continues

Surprisingly, the 33-year-old Redfern reveals that he was a bit of a late developer. He spent the first 27 years of his life ‘consumed with self-loathing’ and only ventured onto the gay scene six years ago. Still, he’s more than made up for lost time. With a background in art and digital media, and a firm belief in the need for gay cultural tradition, he’s on a mission to raise awareness of queer issues within the arts establishment.

‘People think of the theatre as very gay mafia-led,’ he explains. ‘And of course everyone knows the arts are supposed to be very gay friendly. And there’s some truth in that. But there’s also a lot of institutionalised homophobia, and we still see the marginalisation of some sections within the community.’ Together with business partner Justin Varney (whom he met in an internet chatroom), Redfern launched the Pride Legacy Project, a research and development initiative dedicated to promoting a greater understanding of queer cultural heritage. And as arts venues go, they don’t come much more established than the National Portrait Gallery.

‘The NPG was actually one of the first institutions to get in touch with us,’ says Redfern. He’s proud of the season, and justly so. Built around major exhibitions by gay artists David Hockney, Simeon Solomon and the Pet Shop Boys, events include study days, film screenings, interviews, guided tours and talks by the likes of Edmund White, Neil Tennant, Philip Hoare and Michael Bracewell.