Drag performance, Scarlett Spritzes + Sylvia Scarlett (18)

Join us on Friday 27 February as we continue our celebration of LGBT+ History Month 2026 with a special screening of the notorious Sylvia Scarlett, starring Katharine Hepburn (in drag) in a role that nearly ended her career, and caused her to be branded "box office poison".

To get into the nostalgic, scandalous spirit of George Cukor's cult queer classic, members are invited to sip on a complimentary 'Scarlett Spritz' during the cocktail hour prior to the screening, while the sultry sounds of classic 1920s & '30s Jazz fill our Atrium Bar.

We will then head into the screen to be serenaded by drag artist Medusa Has Been, a chanteuse, danceuse and occasional pranceuse, who (bedecked in vintage glamour) will stamp their tiny feet and vocal stylings all over your heart. The performance will be followed by a brief introduction by programmer Kit Byford, who will explain a bit more about the film's context and controversial reception at the time.

Tickets are restricted to 2 per member, meaning you can bring a guest along for the occasion, and are available for £18.50 each. They include a complimentary (alcoholic or non-alcoholic) Spritz, as well as an unallocated seat for the drag performance and screening.

Event timings:

19:30  Cocktail hour in the Atrium Bar

20:30  Screen doors open

20:40  Drag performance by Medusa Has Been

20:55  Introduction by Kit Byford

21:00  Screening of Sylvia Scarlett

22:45  Expected finish

About Medusa Has Been:

Medusa Has Been is the newest oldest showgirl in town, starting their Oldboylesque Cabaret career at 60 and ageing disgracefully into a creature of the night, a creature of delight, of fright, might, even fancy flight! Nostalgic, classy and a little bit sassy, Medusa Has Been is the Werthers Original of drag - a vintage sweetie!

Instagram

About the film:

Released just as the Hayes Code began to prohibit 'sexual perversion' on screen, Sylvia Scarlett caused such upset with audiences that it nearly derailed Katharine Hepburn's rising star (firmly re-instated five years later, with her comeback performance in Cukor's The Philadelphia Story). The film has since been reclaimed and celebrated as a bold portrayal of gender nonconformity, made by cast and crew who were (as we now know) at the heart of Hollywood's covert LGBTQ+ community.

In the wake of her mother's death, Sylvia (Katharine Hepburn) and her father Henry hatch a plan to escape his gambling debts in France, smuggling lace to be sold on the black market in England. To keep herself safe on their journey Sylvia disguises herself as a boy, 'Sylvester'. Along the way they have a run-in with Jimmy Monkley (Cary Grant), a fellow con artist, and the three embark on a series of capers and close scrapes with the authorities.