The rain-dampened crowd squeeze into the tiny Resistance Gallery, under the railway arches of Bethnal Green, and momentarily pause their excited chatter to turn their eyes stageward. Ducking under the ring, a woman dressed all in black with a bright pink Mohican clutches a microphone, and in an instant the crowd is spellbound as she dictates the rules of this self-professed “secret girl gang.”
“NO RACISM, NO sexism, no homophobia, no transphobia, no body shaming, no ableism, no anti-Semitism, no cat calling…” A quick glance at the surrounding throng and you might think you’ve stumbled into a metal night, but this diverse troop is gathered for something far more dramatic. This is a Pro-Wrestling: EVE event, an independent wrestling promotion founded by the mohicancrowned Emily Read and her husband Dann ten years ago. Regularly held from this intensely atmospheric East London venue, they’ve earned a dedicated fan base, who arrive ready to applaud, boo and sing their hearts out as their favourite baby faces and heels (that’s the good and bad guys to the uninitiated) storm the stage.
One of the star players of the night is a wrestler named Holidead. Wearing demonic face paint in which she could easily pass as the twelfth member of KISS, she writhes around, eyeing her opponent hungrily.
For Holidead, real name Camille Ligon, EVE is something of a sacred space. “I love that it’s just a come as you are kind of place, it welcomes all walks of life—and for someone like myself, that's paradise. I'm not the norm, and EVE isn't about anything cookie cutter. It’s a family environment for me, in the strangest way possible.”
Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av Reader's Digest UK.
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Denne historien er fra January 2020-utgaven av Reader's Digest UK.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.
May Fiction
An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month
Wine Not
In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food
Train Booking Hacks
With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again
My Britain: Cheltenham
A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here
Stand Tall, Ladies
Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?
