On the fringe of Pride
Plus Loco Cabaret, queer history walks, Pride fringe events, and more
Saturday 16 August sees this year’s Medway Pride Festival. As part of this year’s coverage, we interviewed Hilary Cooke last weekend, and we’ll be talking to River Medway on Sunday for our big weekend interview. For today’s culture edition, we’re looking at a number of events taking place as part of the Medway Pride Fringe over the coming week.
On the fringe of Pride
Alongside the main Medway Pride event on 16 August, a series of events are happening as part of the Medway Pride Fringe. We’ve been finding out more about what’s going on…
We spoke with Jody Carrington, the owner of Poco Loco, which is not only a great place to eat, but also a significant venue for the Pride Fringe. “Pride Fringe started as a way to offer an alternative to the Medway Pride event.” Medway Pride started in the Intra area before it grew and moved to Rochester Castle. “We obviously took the opportunity to take it to a fantastic venue” and have a full parade through the High Street.”
Intra has a number of links to Pride, including The Ship Inn, one of, if not the oldest, LGBTQ+ venues in the country. There is also an LGBT+ sauna and Hilary Cooke’s Medway Gender Sexual Diversity Centre. “The LGBT links within the Intra area have been there for a long time.” For Jody, it is about highlighting those links. “Historical links, cultural links, and bringing people back after the main event,” as well as trying to do events for people that “don't want a great big party because that's not everybody's cup of tea.”
Pride Fringe is trying to be welcoming and inclusive to people who might be into arts and crafts, might be different ages, or might be families with children. “It was trying to cover all those bases and do a fringe event that meant that everybody within the community had something that might appeal to them.” A number of these events are on at Poco Loco, and it was important for Jodie to provide a space for a variety of events. “It's important because we do have a really diverse audience and customer base.”
Poco Loco was where the Loco Cabaret started and welcomed the first public performance by River Medway. “We've always been on that alternative drag and queer scene.” Whilst the Ship provides a more traditional gay pub environment, with drag acts that are more mainstream, Jody feels that Poco Loco offers a queer punk and alternative drag scene. “We're the alternative scene. We provide that, and we've got a lot of people that feel comfortable in our space, and we were trying to offer Pride for them.”
The events are free to attend, with support provided by local councillors, UKSPF funding, and general fundraising. “We've been successful in a few bids, not a lot of money, but it was enough to spread around to do a lot of these little fringe events.” Jody is keen to highlight that the fringe isn’t just about Poco Loco, with different events “showcasing all the great places in intra. What you need to do is just see what suits you because I think there's a lot to choose from.”
Pride Fringe is a great opportunity for people from a broad, diverse background across Medway to overcome recent divisions and come together in celebration. It comes at a time when Pride events are facing a number of challenges, including funding challenges across the country, with a number of Pride events being cancelled. “I'd like to see more unity. Let's see the community all coming together to make Fringe and Medway Pride bigger and better. Be really proud that Medway's got such a great Pride.”
Loco Cabaret offers twist on drag and burlesque
The Loco Cabaret is taking place as part of the Medway Pride Fringe. We spoke to burlesque act Olivia Nuclear Bomb about what people can expect…
Loco Cabaret is an alternative drag and burlesque show based at Poco Loco, in what might be the Chatham Intra area. Part of a collective six who have been working together for eight years, Olivia Nuclear Bomb (not her legal name) tells me, “The whole point of it was that we didn't see the broad horizon of burlesque and drag. It was always the kind of standard classic burlesque that did it from T-style or the drag as in Drag Race. There's so much more to it, and we created our show because we wanted to show people that.”
Burlesque, Olivia explains, is the art of the striptease. “It's a very old style of dance and tease coming back to the 1800s.” The burlesque that can be found at Poco Loco is slightly different “because we are not your typical stage glamour or glitzy.” There are no iconic martini glasses on stage. “We do have elements of that, we do have performers that perform that style of burlesque, but we also use fire. We've had candle wax before,” as well as including fire sticks.
Loco Cabaret also uses 80s go-go dancing, pouring beer on themselves, and fake blood, or as Olivia puts it, “a bit of everything.” It is a very diverse performance. That started with Olivia and her co-producer Luna Howl. “We used to volunteer, pick up clothes and stuff for a show called The Cabaret Club, which used to be at the old Roffen Club.” It was there that Olivia was given the opportunity to debut.
The producer at the time, Lisa, wanted to make something more of a “sleazy show,” because the other ones were more of a dinner and a show. She wanted to make something “a bit more underground, a bit more of a bar show.” When Lisa left the industry, she invited Olivia and Luna to take on the show. “We used to attend Poco Loco anyway. That was the venue we were aiming for. It then became the Loco Cabaret.”
Luna was performing drag in Norwich, where they were at uni. When he moved back to Kent, where he had known Olivia since their early teens, they were keen to work together. “It was something we had always wanted to do together.” For Olivia personally, “I was quite shy growing up and quite awkward. I was very insecure, of my body and how it looked and wanting to hide myself.” She found inspiration through music videos, “I remember watching specifically Green Day's video for Holiday, and these dancers in it, the dance in front of the car. I always wanted to be them.” When Olivia discovered burlesque, “I thought I can be these characters in these music videos and become someone else. I did it because I wanted to express a part of me that was probably hiding.”
As part of Medway Pride Fringe, Loco Cabaret provides a family-friendly show. “It's very different to our normal shows,” Olivia tells me. With herself and Sweet D, “who is a blessed dancer,” they have got a fun routine planned. Though she can’t reveal too much, it is “a medley of different songs. Every song represents us.”
They will also be presenting Still Life’s a Drag, providing the audience an opportunity to draw and ask questions of the performers. They will also be on the main stage on August 16 for the main Pride event. “It won't be all of us. It will be, Luna Howl, Ramona Weapons, our other drag queen, and Sweet D, and I believe we have two guest performers.”
“I think people should go and support local shows and see different styles of art for themselves. I think there's so much more to them than what you see on TV. There are so many different characters in our show. There's no set way of doing it. It's really fun. I think people need to go and watch it for themselves.”
After Pride, Loco Cabaret will return to Poco Loco for their Halloween show in October.
Rob Flood’s queer walk
As part of Medway Pride Fringe, on 13 and 14 August, from 6pm til 8pm, resident local history walker Rob Flood will be hosting two history walks. Ostensibly called Carry on the Kyber, which Rob will explain to anyone who comes on the walk.
These are history walks that look at the history of LGBT+ activity within the wider Medway towns, but Rob focuses on Rochester and Chatham. The walk starts at 6pm at The Terrace, which is just off Victoria Street at the bottom of Star Hill. The walk will start there, proceeding into Rochester High Street.
The walk then makes its way through Intra, into Chatham and then up Military Road, stopping by the Pentagon Shopping Centre. The walk looks in part at the story of prostitution and sex workers in the Medway Towns, why Medway ended up with such a large LGBT+ community.
Part of the walk looks at The Ship Inn and the idea that it might be the oldest LGBT+ venue in the country, with first-hand testimony of people going back to the early 1960s using the pub as a distinctly gay pub. It is a gay man’s story for the most part, as it is gay men that Rob has been able to talk to, with homosexuality having been illegal within living memory. If you are a historical lesbian, Rob would love to hear from you.
It’s a fun walk that Rob hopes you will find entertaining and free. You can book a spot, though those turning up on the night will be welcomed.
Pride fringe events
☕ Sat 9 Aug - LGBTeas // Simple social morning with a free cuppa for LGBT families to sit back and relax. Sun Pier House, Chatham. Free.
💬 Mon 11 Aug - Pride Question Time // ‘Where do we go?’ Discussion about the practical issues affecting non-binary, intersex and others following recent Supreme Court judgements. Rochester. Booking details here.
📽️ Mon 11 Aug - Pride // Film screening of historical comedy drama. Free. The Ship Inn, Rochester. Free.
✏️ Tue 12 Aug - Life Drawing’s a Drag // Drag life drawing with Loco Cabaret, with an opportunity to ask questions of the performers. Poco Loco, Chatham. Free.
🎶 Wed 13 Aug - Songs of Sin and Salvation // Gary B Lucas and Martin Adams give an intimate acoustic performance. The Ship Inn, Rochester. Free.
🏳️🌈 Thu 14 Aug - Pride Flags Workshop // Rubbish Idea’s eco artist Kieran Poole makes mosaics using littered lids. Pentagon Shopping Centre, Chatham. Free.
📖 Fri 15 Aug - Story Time with Mama G // Original stories and songs, picture books, and an uplifting event for the whole family. Sun Pier House, Chatham. Free.
⛓️ Fri 15 Aug - Medway’s Pride Punks // Hellhound Promotions presents live music from Bitches Ahoy, Luna Lacuna and Larry_73. Poco Loco, Chatham.
🥳 Sat 16 Aug - Medway Pride After Party in the Garden // Hosted by Sket from Loco Cabaret, with special guest River Medway. Bodega 51, Rochester. Free.
🥳 Sat 16 Aug - The Official Medway Pride After Party // With DJ Tommy C, Electric Blue and Melissa Totten as Madonna. The Ship Inn, Rochester. Free.
Footnotes
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'Poco Loco, in what might be the Chatham Intra area' LOL
It seems everyone wants to be in Chatham Intra these days. Sorry to disappoint, but Poco Loco isn't. It's about 200 yards too far east.