In “A funeral for Joiners Arms” Divine is staging an imaginary funeral -inspired by East end funeral traditions- for Joiners, a notorious pub and queer space that became a victim of gentrification.

“Dear All,

We have all gathered here today to celebrate the life of our beloved pub- the Joiners Arms, who suddenly passed away on the 15th of January 2015 under suspicious circumstances. This is a rather belated funeral, but only seems appropriate at a time when we witness the closure of multiple LGBTQ venues across the capital, one after the other... most recently the cabaret venue Madame Jojo’s in Soho and the Black cap in Camden. When Joiners arms first opened its doors on Hackney road back in 1997, London was a different place. Labour government has just got into power and LGBTQ rights were on the long run towards equality. But still, you got the sense that the nation was becoming more acceptive of queer people and their lifestyles. It is therefore astonishing to think that two decades later, queer culture is now part of the mainstream.

As writer Paul Flynn rightfully put it, Joiners was lawless, in a joyful, lunatic, sexy way. It was indeed anarchic and sinister, but also incredibly friendly! Joiners was welcoming to everybody. From the estate lad next door to well established figures like Wolfang Tillmans and Alexander McQueen. Everyone got along, a mix and match like nowhere else in the city...”

Extract from the funeral speech. 05/12/2018