"I'm Such A Cliched Gay Of A Certain Age" - with Ty Jeffries
Lost Spaces: Memories from Gay Bars, Lesbian Clubs, and LGBTQ+ Parties - A podcast by lost queer spaces - Wednesdays
So, one of the things about drag that i'm really fascinated by is the decision-making process behind crafting a drag character... Because, to me, deciding on who your drag character is - what they like, how they talk, how they present to the world - is a big commitment... almost like a marriage maybe? And, by that I mean you are committing to another person (or, ok, character) that will forever be associated with you. Because of this you've kind of got to make sure you think it through.... But, then, I guess, you run the risk of OVERTHINKING it (my signature move!).... To find out a little more about this I sat down to pick the brains of Ty Jeffries, the man behind the drag character Miss Hope Springs (an old-school, glamourous chanteuse).... We got together to talk about Madame JoJos, a legendary nightclub in London's Soho that closed in 2014 after being open continuously since the 60s... So, of course we talk all about the gentrification of Soho, the evolution of drag, and... what it's like to be a horny teenager on the train... Oh, and I should also say that there is a mention of Polari in this conversation, which is a slang language used by predominately gay men in the UK up until about the 60s when it started to fall out of favour... Do you have any memories of Madame JoJo's, or clubbing from your own queer scene that you want to share? Well, if you have please get in touch - I want to create the biggest online record of people's memories and stories - go to www.lostspacespodcast.com and find the section 'Share a Lost Space' and tell me what you got up to! Bonus points for embarrassing photos! You can also find me on Facebook (www.facebook.com/lostspacespod), Instagram (www.instagram.com/lostspacespod) and Twitter (www.twitter.com/lostspacespod) Find out more about Ty by following him on Twitter (https://twitter.com/TyJeffriesPiano), visiting his website (https://www.tyjeffries.com/), or visiting Miss Hope Springs' website (https://www.misshopesprings.com/)