Raymond Revuebar

Raymond Revuebar in 1980
Facade of the Raymond Revuebar from Rupert Street, 2015.

The Raymond Revuebar (1958–2004) was a theatre and strip club at 11 Walker's Court (now the location of The Box Soho nightclub), in the centre of London's Soho district. For many years, it was the only venue in London that offered full-frontal, on-stage nudity of the sort commonly seen in other cities in Europe and North America.[1] Its huge brightly lit sign declaring it to be the "World Centre of Erotic Entertainment" made the Revuebar a local landmark.

In 1980, the Boulevard Theatre section of the venue was hired by comic actor Peter Richardson to stage his alternative comedy revue, The Comic Strip. This attracted a younger punk audience to the venue. In 1989, the Boulevard became Eddie Izzard's stand-up venue.

In the 1990s, the Revuebar struggled, with its dated image and competition from newer venues such as Spearmint Rhino and Stringfellow's. The name and leasehold was bought by Gérard Simi in 1997. The Revuebar closed on 10 June 2004 and became a gay bar and cabaret venue called Too2Much, designed by Anarchitect. In November 2006, it changed its name to Soho Revue Bar and was the home of club nights and special events. On 29 January 2009, the Soho Revue Bar closed, reopening in February 2011 as The Box Soho, billed as "A theatre of varieties", under the ownership of Simon Hammerstein.[2]

  1. ^ Philip Howard (14 February 2004). "Farewell Raymond's Revue Bar, stripped of the bare necessities". The Times. London. Retrieved 30 October 2010.
  2. ^ Rushe, Dominic; Kennedy, Maev (28 January 2011). "New York's most risque cabaret to open in London". The Guardian. Retrieved 2 April 2011.

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