I was invited by some pals to attend a performance of Magazine at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern on Monday night.

It’s the first time I’d been, but the pair that had suggested I attend told me they’d be a couple of times before and much enjoyed the cabaret performance by David Hoyle.

According to his page on the Duckie website David Hoyle is "a huge phenomenon on the gay London underground scene drawing large audiences and critical acclaim."

http://www.yourlocalguardian.co.uk/_images/misc/Danblog/Hoyle.jpg

Well there was quite a large audience when I attended. It made buying a beer difficult and me a little bit panicky when I realised I had to get to the toilet real quick. I made it in time, thank goodness.

From what I can garner every week David Hoyle discusses a different subject in three parts.

The subject I attended was immigration, it had been preceded by celebrity, cookery, crime and punishment and will be followed by dogging, media studies, HIV and AIDS, The Women’s Issue and Antiques Roadshow of all things.

The first of the three parts is an introduction, the second an interview with a "real live human being", and lastly an experimental performance including the throwing of shapes, painting live murals and the flashing of flesh, and at least at last Monday night’s episode the groping of at least one member of the audience.

I really enjoyed his lampooning gay culture for its sad young man tradition. Hoyle has in the past described the gay community as the "biggest suicide cult in history". I smirked as he attacked Stonewall for its astonishing tendency to merely want to emulate straight culture - Hoyle merely made its members aware of where the door was.

What I wasn’t so keen on was the second part where he interviewed an immigrant from Uganda who suffered imprisonment in his home country for his political views and claims he was imprisoned in Britain for claiming asylum.

He alleged he was raped and humiliated by the Home Office’s security officers after being mistreated and abused in Uganda - surely not quite the dictionary definition of the word asylum.

I was quite keen to hear his story - but it seems at least part of show is for Hoyle to constantly interrupt. Sometimes these interruptions could be funny - but I found it a little difficult to laugh while someone was sat on stage talking about his rape.

But still Hoyle probably achieved his aim, I found sympathy with his suggestion that there is (or probably more correctly should be) no such thing as countries, and everyone should be free to travel wherever they choose.

I’m not really sure why some people feel they deserve to live in their country of origin because they were born there and others should be restricted because they were not.

No one came and told me that I live in a rich country because I deserve it. It’s not something I earned. I’m not better than anyone who wants to live here. I’m just luckier.

I also liked Hoyle’s finished art piece - even if it did look a little like Sue Pollard - and the whiff of burnt Gay Times as I left the bar.