David Hoyle

Paris Ass Book Fair and Goswell Road present the iconic David Hoyle in a very special performance. Expect polemic, pathos, provocative politicking, and high comedy.

Hoyle came to prominence in the 1990s as The Divine David, a kind of anti-drag queen whose lacerating social commentary – targeting both bourgeois Britain and the materialistic-hedonistic gay scene, which he called “the biggest suicide cult in history” – was offset by breathtaking instances of self-recrimination and even self-harm. Following a couple of outré late-night Channel 4 TV shows and a part in the movie Velvet Goldmine, directed by Todd Haynes, Hoyle killed off The Divine David, during a spectacular show at the Streatham International Ice Arena in 2000 and retreated to Manchester for “a period of reflection”.

He returned to television screens in 2005 in Chris Morris’ Nathan Barley, then began performing live again, under his own name. Hoyle’s biting satire, bravura costumes, wicked comic timing, and compelling charisma remain intact.

As well as the Royal Vauxhall Tavern (RVT), with which he is most closely associated, he’s performed at the Soho Theatre, Chelsea Theatre, Battersea Arts Centre, National Portrait Gallery, Tate Britain, Victoria & Albert Museum, The Centre Pompidou and recently presented his first solo painting show in Paris at Goswell Road.

Goswell Road will publish a second edition of their Hoyle monograph That’s Me! for the fair, and present an exclusive t-shirt designed by Hoyle for the occasion.

“He is raw, sometimes a bit frightening, but also thrilling in his look-no-hands recklessness.”
— The Guardian

“There is nothing quite like it: bold and unique, electrifying and disarmingly humane.”
— Time Out

“David Hoyle is no drag.”
— The Times