Now we walk down Church Street, past the entrance to Pavilion Gardens, and cross the road towards St James Street. With the wonderful Royal Pavilion on our right, we face into a short slim road: Princes Street. If there is one venue in Brighton that has continuously attracted a queer crowd, over many decades, that would be The Marlborough at 4 Princes Street (now The Actors). The theatre above has a long history of staging entertainment for a select crowd. The pub has been many things over the years – a sanctuary in 1974-75 when it provided rooms for the Sussex Gay Liberation Front and Brighton Campaign for Homosexual Equality to meet in. It was a men’s bar for a brief period 1993-94, and a women’s bar for much longer. In modern times it’s the trans-friendly pub of the area and was the base for organising the UK’s first Trans Pride in 2013.

The voices you are hearing are of:
Tarik Elmoutawakil - former manager of the Marlborough Pub and Theatre
Billie Gold

Sound editing:
Olive Mondegreen
Alex Fincher

Recommended Age: 16+
Content Warning: Mention of sex, adult language, adult themes, mention of substance use and violence.