Venue hosting UK’s first LGBTQ+ comedy club targeted by homophobes

An advert for the UK’s first LGBTQ comedy club has been ripped down by vandals, in what the owners say is the latest example of high-profile homophobia in London.

The Queer Comedy Club is preparing to open its new permanent home at the Elephant Park development in the south-east of the capital.

But shortly after founders David Ian, Kate Dale and Jeremy Topp left the city on Monday to perform at the Edinburgh Fringe, the as-yet-unfinished site was targeted.

A section of vinyl promoting the new club was scratched away from one of the windows – and the only area affected was a small patch which featured the term ‘LGBTQ ’.

The crumpled material was then left in a heap on the ground.

For Kate, it’s another addition to the list of homophobic incidents that have unnerved London’s LGBTQ community in recent months.

She said: ‘There’s a Rainbow thing at Forest Gate that has been painted over three times. And it’s been treated as a hate crime by the Met.

‘So although it seems like low level in some ways – you know, it’s a poster – it’s so targeted and so specific that it’s more than that.’

In the past year, violent homophobic attacks have been reported in Clapham, Islington and Chadwell Heath, while another man was attacked with an umbrella in Soho last week.

David said: ‘You’re constantly having to assess your surroundings, and just be hyper vigilant and aware of where you are, even when you think that you’re somewhere, that’s OK.

‘For the most part, to be clear, particularly in London, we are OK, but that’s what makes it more shocking when something does happen.’

A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police confirmed the incident was reported on July 30 and an appointment has been arranged with representatives of the venue.

The Queer Comedy Club began life as a monthly night of stand-up, and quickly grew in popularity until its organisers were able to establish a permanent home in Archway, north London, last year.

In the last 12 months, more than 600 different comedians have performed on the QCC stage, including television stars Catherine Bohart, Kemah Bob and Gail Porter.

The club is currently on hiatus while the final touches are being added to the new venue at Elephant & Castle, which is set to open this winter.

David added: ‘Most of us know somebody who has been a victim of some sort of experience of homophobia, either verbally or violently.

‘We both know somebody who was stabbed just a few months ago, in Kennington Station.

‘It’s something that you’re aware of, but I would say that as a community, we’re very strong together, and we’re there to support each other, and it’s spaces like the ones that we’re creating that become really important.’

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