The letters LGBTQI+ were ripped out of the vinyl advertising for The Queer Comedy Club at Betty & Joans, a new gay bar set to open in Elephant and Castle this winter.
“We’re devastated and angry,” the club’s co-owner David Ian told QX. “There’s lots of signage in the development. This is the only one that’s been attacked, so it’s pretty clear that it was a targeted hate crime attacking the LGBTQ+ community.”
The attack came within 48 hours of Elephant Pride right next to the venue. “It shows why Pride is still needed and the importance of bars and clubs like QCC and Betty & Joans,” says Ian. “Despite the progress that has been made, small groups still don’t think we should exist or be visible. It’s easy to look at this and think, well, it’s just a poster, but it’s a reminder of how vigilant queer people have to be just to live our lives.”.
The Queer Comedy Club is the UK’s first LGBTQ+ comedy club. It was launched in 2022 to create a safe space where queer comedians and audiences can come together, share their experiences, and find humour in our lives. The club was set up by three queer comedians – David Ian, Jeremy Topp, and Kate Dale – who wanted to provide a platform for LGBTQI+ comedians based on their experiences in the stand-up circuit. “We wanted to create a club we could invite our friends to without worrying they were going to have to deal with a homophobic, transphobic or misogynistic joke,” says Ian. “This attack reinforces that need and it won’t stop us.”
The Queer Comedy Club is relocating from Archway to Elephant Park this winter as part of the new development. The club will be housed in a newly built LGBTQI+ bar named Betty & Joan’s, paying homage to comedy legends Betty White and Joan Rivers. “They were good friends who never opened a gay bar,” says Ian. “So we’re doing it for them.”
The club participates in the Edinburgh Fringe throughout August, featuring four daily shows. The lineup includes the Best of Queer Fringe, Gag Race comedy competition, and two new crowd work shows – Married at Fringe Sight and Queer Eye for the Silly Straight People.