Bloolips - Revision history

LGBT-HP: Add Unreferenced notice – no inline citations; "Diva Dan died of AIDS in 1988" claim needs a published source; Mel Gussow/NYT quote needs attribution

2026-07-20T12:07:38Z

Add Unreferenced notice – no inline citations; "Diva Dan died of AIDS in 1988" claim needs a published source; Mel Gussow/NYT quote needs attribution

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			{{Unreferenced\|date=July 2026}}
	'''Bloolips''' was a radical gay drag theatre company founded in London in 1977 by actor and activist '''[[Bette Bourne]]''' (born Peter Bourne, 1939–2024) together with performer '''Lavinia Co-op'''. Operating for over two decades, the company combined political satire, musical comedy, tap dancing and outrageous costume in productions that challenged gender, sexuality and establishment power. They performed extensively across the UK and internationally, and became one of the most celebrated gay performance troupes of the 1970s–90s.		'''Bloolips''' was a radical gay drag theatre company founded in London in 1977 by actor and activist '''[[Bette Bourne]]''' (born Peter Bourne, 1939–2024) together with performer '''Lavinia Co-op'''. Operating for over two decades, the company combined political satire, musical comedy, tap dancing and outrageous costume in productions that challenged gender, sexuality and establishment power. They performed extensively across the UK and internationally, and became one of the most celebrated gay performance troupes of the 1970s–90s.

LGBT-HP: Remove redundant LGBT history category

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Remove redundant LGBT history category

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	[[Category:LGBT theatre]]		[[Category:LGBT theatre]]
	[[Category:Theatre companies]]		[[Category:Theatre companies]]
	~~[[Category:LGBT history]]~~
	~~[[Category:LGBT organisations in London]]~~
	[[Category:1977 establishments]]		[[Category:1977 establishments]]

LGBT-HP: /* Origins */

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Origins

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	==Origins==		==Origins==

	Bette Bourne founded Bloolips after performing with the New York-based radical drag collective Hot Peaches in 1976 — a company that included activist [[Marsha P. Johnson]]. Returning to London, Bourne co-founded Bloolips with Lavinia Co-op in 1977 as a reaction against theatrical elitism and as an expression of gay liberation politics. The company operated as a financial cooperative rather than a conventional producing company, with all members sharing in the economics of the work.		Bette Bourne founded Bloolips after performing with the New York-based radical drag collective Hot Peaches in 1976 — a company that included activist Marsha P. Johnson. Returning to London, Bourne co-founded Bloolips with Lavinia Co-op in 1977 as a reaction against theatrical elitism and as an expression of gay liberation politics. The company operated as a financial cooperative rather than a conventional producing company, with all members sharing in the economics of the work.

	The name reflected the company's playful anarchy. Members performed under camp stage names: alongside Bourne and Lavinia Co-op, the company over its lifetime included '''Precious Pearl''', '''Diva Dan''', '''Gretel Feather''', '''Dizzy Danny''' and '''Naughty Nickers'''. Bourne's own role within the company was sometimes billed as '''Bossy Bette'''.		The name reflected the company's playful anarchy. Members performed under camp stage names: alongside Bourne and Lavinia Co-op, the company over its lifetime included '''Precious Pearl''', '''Diva Dan''', '''Gretel Feather''', '''Dizzy Danny''' and '''Naughty Nickers'''. Bourne's own role within the company was sometimes billed as '''Bossy Bette'''.

LGBT-HP: Remove circular LGBT History UK link from See also

2026-07-20T07:59:11Z

Remove circular LGBT History UK link from See also

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	*[[Bette Bourne]]		*[[Bette Bourne]]
	*[[Drill Hall Theatre]]		*[[Drill Hall Theatre]]
	*[[LGBT History UK]]
	*[[Gay Liberation Front]]		*[[Gay Liberation Front]]

LGBT-HP: New article: Bloolips radical drag theatre company, Bette Bourne, Drill Hall connection

2026-07-20T07:55:32Z

New article: Bloolips radical drag theatre company, Bette Bourne, Drill Hall connection

New page

'''Bloolips''' was a radical gay drag theatre company founded in London in 1977 by actor and activist '''[[Bette Bourne]]''' (born Peter Bourne, 1939–2024) together with performer '''Lavinia Co-op'''. Operating for over two decades, the company combined political satire, musical comedy, tap dancing and outrageous costume in productions that challenged gender, sexuality and establishment power. They performed extensively across the UK and internationally, and became one of the most celebrated gay performance troupes of the 1970s–90s.

==Origins==

Bette Bourne founded Bloolips after performing with the New York-based radical drag collective Hot Peaches in 1976 — a company that included activist [[Marsha P. Johnson]]. Returning to London, Bourne co-founded Bloolips with Lavinia Co-op in 1977 as a reaction against theatrical elitism and as an expression of gay liberation politics. The company operated as a financial cooperative rather than a conventional producing company, with all members sharing in the economics of the work.

The name reflected the company's playful anarchy. Members performed under camp stage names: alongside Bourne and Lavinia Co-op, the company over its lifetime included '''Precious Pearl''', '''Diva Dan''', '''Gretel Feather''', '''Dizzy Danny''' and '''Naughty Nickers'''. Bourne's own role within the company was sometimes billed as '''Bossy Bette'''.

==Style and performances==

Bloolips rejected the conventions of both mainstream theatre and female impersonation. Their costumes were built from salvaged materials — mop heads, charity shop finds, broken lampshades and plastic laundry baskets — creating a deliberately homemade aesthetic rooted in Pierrot and music hall traditions rather than glamour. The performances drew on tap dancing, close-harmony singing, and comedic precision: despite appearing deliberately chaotic on stage, scripts were tightly crafted by playwright Jon Taylor to maximise comic effect.

The company's politics were explicit. Bloolips "were hitting out at the far right, especially the religious right," using camp and drag as instruments of liberation rather than entertainment alone. Their influence ran from 1920s Hollywood and Broadway through to the radical gender politics of the Gay Liberation Front.

===Productions===

Bloolips created thirteen shows between 1978 and the mid-1990s:

*''Cheek!'' (1978)
*''The Ugly Duckling'' (1978–79)
*''Vamp and Camp'' (1979)
*''Lust in Space'' (1980–82)
*''Yum Yum'' (1983)
*''Odds 'n' Sods'' (1983–84)
*''Sticky Buns'' (1983–84)
*''Living Leg-Ends'' (1985)
*''Slung Back and Strapless'' (1986–87)
*''Teenage Trash'' (1987–88)
*''Gland Motel'' (1988–90)
*''Get Hur'' (1993)
*''The Island of Lost Shoes'' (1995)

==Venues==

Bloolips performed across London and on UK tour, with key venues including [[The Tabernacle]] in Notting Hill (where they staged their first show in August 1978), the [[Drill Hall Theatre]] in Bloomsbury, the Oval House Theatre in Kennington, [[Hackney Empire]], and Hampstead Town Hall. The [[Drill Hall Theatre]] became a particularly significant home for the company and for radical gay theatre more broadly during the 1980s.

Internationally, Bloolips toured to Amsterdam, The Hague, Berlin and, notably, New York (from 1980 onwards), where ''Lust in Space'' played at the Orpheum Theatre off-Broadway to sold-out houses. New York Times critic Mel Gussow noted that the company "tap-dance with clattering precision, harmonize on old sounding tunes and never forget the parodistic nature of their endeavour."

==The Drill Hall Arts Centre==

The [[Drill Hall Theatre]] at 16 Chenies Street, London WC1, was one of the most important venues in British LGBT theatrical history. Originally a Victorian military drill hall, it became an arts centre and developed a close relationship with gay and feminist theatre from the late 1970s onwards, eventually establishing itself as the leading LGBT-specialist performance venue in the country.

Bloolips were among the most prominent companies to perform there, and the Drill Hall under successive directors provided a home for work that could find no platform in mainstream subsidised theatre. The Arts Council withdrew funding in 2008, and in 2012 RADA (the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art) took over the building, which now operates as [[RADA Studios]].

==AIDS crisis and disbanding==

The AIDS crisis hit Bloolips directly. '''Diva Dan''' died of AIDS in 1988, and the epidemic profoundly marked the company's later work. The company continued into the mid-1990s before disbanding.

==Recognition==

Bloolips won an [[Obie Award]] in 1980 for the New York production of ''Lust in Space'', including recognition for outstanding costumes. A documentary film, ''Bloolips'' (1993), captured performances and cast interviews.

==Bette Bourne==

[[Bette Bourne]] went on to a distinguished subsequent career in theatre, winning Obie Awards in 1991 and 2001 and a Clarence Derwent Award in 2003 for ''The Vortex''. He was widely celebrated for his portrayal of [[Quentin Crisp]]. He died in Notting Hill on 23 August 2024, aged 84.

==Archive==

The Bloolips Archive is held at the [[Bishopsgate Institute]], London. The collection comprises three boxes of material including photographs, flyers, posters and press reviews, and a catalogue is freely downloadable from the Institute's website.

==See also==

*[[Bette Bourne]]
*[[Drill Hall Theatre]]
*[[LGBT History UK]]
*[[Gay Liberation Front]]

[[Category:LGBT theatre]]
[[Category:Theatre companies]]
[[Category:LGBT history]]
[[Category:LGBT organisations in London]]
[[Category:1977 establishments]]