The Black Cap To Reopen In Camden After Decade-Long Community Campaign

The Black Cap, one of London’s best-known LGBTQ+ cabaret venues, will reopen on March 21 with a ticketed event marking the return of the historic Camden pub after more than a decade.

The venue on Camden High Street has been closed since 2015. Its reopening follows a long campaign by LGBTQ+ activists, local residents, and Camden Council to protect the site and preserve its cultural heritage.

Now operated by LT Management, the venue has undergone a £2 million refurbishment and will relaunch as a performance space dedicated to drag, cabaret, and live entertainment.

A lineup of drag performers scheduled to appear in the coming months includes Aidan Sandler, Anita Fag, Me The Drag Queen, Baga Chipz, Sophia Stardust, and Tiana Biscuit.

Often described as the “Palladium of Drag,” The Black Cap was a major center of queer performance in London for decades. During the 1950s and 1960s, when LGBTQ+ life in Britain faced widespread discrimination, the venue served as a gathering place where members of the community could meet and perform openly.

The pub hosted influential drag performers including Mrs Shufflewick, Regina Fong, and Lily Savage, the stage persona of the late Paul O’Grady. Artefacts from O’Grady’s career have been loaned to the venue by his widower and will be displayed inside the building alongside the original Black Cap sign.

The building itself dates back more than 250 years. One story suggests the name refers to a local witch named Jenny Bingham, while another theory connects it to the black cap historically worn by British judges when delivering a death sentence.

Jean-Charles Sibille of LT Management said the restoration aimed to preserve the venue’s historic character while preparing it for modern audiences.

“There has been huge interest in the reopening of The Black Cap,” Sibille said. “We have been very mindful of the venue’s history and have worked hard to preserve its character while giving it a new lease of life.”

The renovation includes new sound and lighting systems inspired by nightclub venues in Ibiza and exterior lighting designed to restore the building’s prominence along Camden High Street. The reopening is expected to create 36 jobs.

The venue will be managed by Rafa Motycki, a member of the LGBTQ+ community and former performer with longstanding ties to Camden’s music and nightlife scene.

Drag performer and campaigner Alex Green said the reopening marks the culmination of more than a decade of advocacy.

“We are so happy that The Black Cap has been saved and sympathetically restored to celebrate its LGBTQ+ and drag performance history,” Green said. “It has taken more than a decade of campaigning, and I’m hugely proud of the campaign team, Camden Council and the new investors for doing the right thing.”