Interview: Lara A King, singer, songwriter & stand up comedian

**Funny Women Winner 2011** | **L-Talent Finalist 2011**

Lara A King's website

Planet London caught up with Lara in the Mint VIP area overlooking the exhibitor hall and main stage shortly before she performed to the Big Gay Lifestyle Show visitors.

Cool and collected as ever, Lara talked to Planet London about L-Talent, performing and what she likes about living the gay lifestyle.

We congratulated Lara on her excellent performance in the L-Talent finals earlier this year. She commented that there had been a really high level of talent and it was great to have a platform to promote lesbian talent and that in particular, the Brighton heat had been a great night with a good atmosphere and an appreciative audience - some 400 lesbians.

Lara, performing in the Funny Women slot, said it was really exciting to have the opportunity to perform as a funny, gay woman.

She thinks that events like the Big Gay Lifestyle Show are important as they are a chance to spend the day hanging out with lots of gay people. When we asked Lara what her favourite aspect of the gay lifestyle was, she quickly responded 'shagging women'. Enough said!

There are busy times ahead for Lara following her performance at the Big Gay Lifestyle Show, she is being whisked away to Brighton to headline at the Pavillion Theatre; there will be more Funny Women gigs and she is writing music in preparation for a tour in early 2012. Keep an eye on our events calendar for the London gigs, and on Lara's website for all her gigs.

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Read our overall review of the Big Gay Lifestyle Show here.

Review by Katie and Naomi

Interview: Rosie Wilby, comedian, musician, writer and broadcaster

Rosie Wilby's website

Planet London managed to grab 5 minutes with Rosie before she compered the Funny Women slot at the Big Gay Lifestyle Show. Rosie has been involved with Funny Women since she made the final of their competition in 2006.

Rosie also hosts Femmes by the Thames, a diverse cabaret night held every 2-3 months on a Wednesday night at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern. The night showcases female music/comedy/character/poetry performances and has been running at the RVT since February 2010. The night is a spin off from Rosie's cabaret night 'Femmes on the Thames' that used to be held monthly on the Battersea Barge. "The RVT doesn't bob up and down quite so much" Rosie remarked.

Rosie told us she thinks LGBT events such as Pride are an important feature of the gay scene, but they need to be clear on what their message is and who they are for. She said the gay lifestyle is very social and also political but otherwise is pretty much the same as everyone elses.

Additionally, Rosie also presents a radio show called 'Out in South London', Tuesday nights at 6.30pm on Resonance104.4fm. The radio show has become a big success, and it started out as a monthly show on South City Radio, a community radio station based in Peckham, but when that lost its funding for adult programming Rosie moved the show to Resonance FM as it had developed a good following, where it is now a weekly fixture. The show has attracted some high profile guests including Stella Duffy and Sarah Waters and features only LGBT guests and music by LGBT artists, receiving excellent reviews in The Guardian, Time Out and South London press.

But that is not all Rosie is up to at the moment, she will be touring with a 90s nostalgia-based comedy show 'Rosie's Pop Diary' (which she has already taken to the Edinburgh Festival Fringe earlier in 2011) which looks back on stories and memories, fan letters and reviews of Rosie's time in a 90s brit pop band. Look out for her London tour dates on Planet London's events calendar, and find out more about everything Rosie is up to on her website. 

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Read our overall review of the Big Gay Lifestyle Show here.

To listen to previous episodes of the radio show, visit the Out in South London website.

Review by Katie and Naomi

Coming soon: Big Gay Lifestyle Show

Date: Saturday 22 October
Location: The Grand Connaught Rooms, 61-65 Great Queen Street, London WC2B 5DA
Time: 11am - 1.30am
Entry: free until 3pm (thanks to last minute sponsorship by G3 and Out in the UK)*/ £20 incl evening access

* you need to register on the website in advance to get the free entry

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This Saturday 22 October is the much anticipated Big Gay Lifestyle Show in the Grand Connaught Rooms, Covent Garden.

Billed as both Europe's biggest gay indoor lifestyle show, and the first of its kind in the UK, the event itself is more like a festival, in that there are in fact a number of events, activities and things to do and see.

Sponsored by Gaydar, supported by Google, and in partnership with Stonewall, this event certainly appears to be launching with a large range of big brands, and a few small ones too (the full list hasn't been released).

11am - 5.30pm

During the day you can pop along to visit the exhibitor stands and walk around the lifestyle village. While you're there you can visit the main stage and see acts including London Gay Men's Chorus, Julie Jepson (comedian) and Funny Women (hosted by Rosie Wilby).

6pm-7.10pm

Gay Bingo and cabaret in the Drawing Room and Edinburgh room keeps you all entertained whilst the grand hall is transformed ready for the evening's entertainment.

7.30pm-1am

The main stage kicks off with a bang, and more acts continue into the night including Pam Ann, Jill Jackson and Slum Civilians (hip hop dance troop).

11pm-7am

There is also now an official after party at Fire in Vauxhall, just flash your wristband from the event and they'll let you in for free!

Limited tickets only are available on the day for the evening section, and your free entry won't get you in, so it is best to get your ticket online in advance to ensure you aren't disappointed. You can buy tickets here.

On top of all that, you can get wine tasting between 12.30 and 2pm with Barefoot Wines, Stonewall are offering 100 free 'Some People Are Gay - Get Over It' t-shirts to the first people through the doors, and there is a chill out zone where you can get a chair massage - and so much more!

We can't wait, and no doubt we'll see many of you at this event at some point!

Review by Naomi, 18 October 2011

The lesbian scene - where has it gone?

Today's news of the closure of First Out at the end of the month started with a Tweet from the bar stating "Dear friends, the news is bad. First_Out Cafe will be closing its door on 29th October. Come and say goodbye. We are all very sad." Following this were several Tweets and Facebook status updates in shock and disbelief. (also reported by Pink News) It is a sad reminder of the state of the lesbian scene in London right now.

This year we have also seen the end of G Spot due to the loss of the venue and the closure of The Green in Islington, and in recent years of course the Glass Bar and Chocolate Lounge both lost their homes. Remember Rush in Soho, another victim? We should also not forget that for a time the Candy Bar was under threat until it was bought by the owner of Ku Bar.  Ghetto moved to the City in search of lower rents and suitable venues available at weekends, but with more and more events moving to City locations, what happens if these hire rates continue to increase too? Of course, the first venue to become a victim in the last 6-7 years was Vespa at Centre Point.

As a result of increased costs in leasing property, we are seeing a move towards venue owners becoming event organisers – forced to use non-scene, less well located venues – on the outskirts of town or in the City which is largely closed at the weekend. There have been some great events launched over the years, but even these, it seems, struggle to stand the test of time – with many events coming and going. 

This month alone both Other People's Property and DirtyConverse have announced that they are going on hiatus, and it appears that attendance at some club nights is also reduced. But on the flip side, new events such as Bijou (monthly at Tart Bar), Howlers and Halo (from Good Girlz Gone Bad at Hidden) have started up... the scene it seems is still carrying on as ever, evolving and changing to meet the needs of lesbians in London.

Alongside a demise of independent lesbian venues, this leaves a tiny selection of women-only or women-centred gay venues around, which are aimed at a small section of the hugely diverse lesbian, bisexual, queer women's community in London. If you want a safe space in which to go for a quiet drink and a bite to eat where do you go now?

Many people have their opinions on why venues close. "Lesbians don’t go out" is often cited as a primary cause. But there are other factors influencing things – the recession means perhaps people can't afford to go out as much; rental prices have sky rocketed in London, pricing small independent venues out of the market; lack of up to date information about what there is on offer for our communities in the Capital, perhaps – don’t forget we set up Planet London for precisely that reason.

We need to let the closure of First Out be a warning to support our scene, or we may see the further closure of more nights and venues. We need to realise that we may have to travel outside of zone 1 in order for these independent businesses to be able to operate and run.