Take the plunge

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10 April 2012

When an email lands in my inbox on a rainy Monday morning announcing Friday night poolside cocktails with glamorous entertainment in the shape of dancing girls, I almost weep with joy. I immediately forward it to my friends and propose a night out - this is one party the British weather can't spoil.

The (indoor) swimming pool is at the newly revamped Haymarket Hotel just off Trafalgar Square and the "dancing girls" are Globe Girls, a drag queen dance troupe who host regular cabaret nights all over town. What could be better on a dreary winter's evening?

The Haymarket Hotel is the newest venture from the team behind some of London's hippest hotels, including the Soho Hotel, the Covent Garden Hotel and the Charlotte Street Hotel. It was built in the 1820s by architect John Nash, who designed much of Regency London, but the interior has been brought bang up to date.

My friends Sarah, Jess, Naomi and I meet at 7pm in the smart hotel lobby. The working week is done and we're more than up for cocktail fun.

Unable to contain our excitement, we practically skip down to the basement pool bar and we're not disappointed - it's free to get in and the scene that hits us is super-cool. Stylish folk are sitting on posh garden furniture around a shimmering 18-metre turquoise pool.

To our left, the bar staff are dishing out cocktails, while Prince blares from the speakers thanks to a DJ in the corner. There's modern art on the walls and a chattery buzz. The slight smell of chlorine is a little incongruous, but we're prepared to overlook it - it just adds to the pool party ambience.

Feeling giddy, we head for the bar and order Globe Girls cocktails (vodka, pomegranate and elderflower), they're £10.50 each so we vow to "sip slowly".

Moments later Gloria Gaynor's I Will Survive blasts out and we shriek with laughter as three drag queen dancers emerge on the other side of the pool wearing zebra-striped leotards, pink legwarmers and blonde wigs. They are joined by two toned, male dancers wearing nothing but swimming trunks. We almost spill our cocktails.

All five jump into an energetic comedy dance routine: they ballroom dance, jump kick, spin on the floor and lift each other up with comedic timing and showmanship as the music medley mixes into Eighties tune On The Radio and then into Copacabana.

The dancers finally retreat backstage, the DJ takes over, our endorphins are whizzing and we realise we've already drunk all our cocktails. Oops, we'd better get some more.

A couple of twentysomething girls next to us tell us they heard about the night through a friend and didn't know what to expect, but they love it so much already they're frantically calling others to join them. It's only 7.30pm.

The barman tells us the dancing girls will be back on at intervals throughout the night, so we soak up the atmosphere as we wait for the next show - likening the surroundings to being on holiday.

We reflect that, thanks to Shoreditch House, swimming pools are becoming a must-have for bars. But this pool is only open to the public on Friday nights - the rest of the week it is hired out privately for parties and even used by hotel guests who fancy putting it to its original use and taking a dip.

Half an hour later, classical music reaches our ears and we turn to see three dancers pirouetting by the pool in tutus and ballet shoes. Two are playing for laughs, their ballet skills almost non-existent, while the other is clearly very good at ballet. The three lark around and show off their talents - or lack of them - as the crowd laps it all up with much hilarity.

Jess spies a towering drag queen gliding around the side of the pool, chatting to guests. We call her over and discover she/he is the Globe Girls' manager, Neil. He explains the Globe Girls are all professional dancers, working in top London musicals or at the ballet.

The group, formed five years ago after putting on a New Year's Eve show for fun, now perform at private parties and clubs all over London. They have also danced for Sir Elton John and Sharon Osbourne.

The Globe Girls emerge later to the Rocky theme tune in robes which they throw off to reveal pink swimming costumes. They slide into the pool and perform a hilarious synchronised swimming routine.

After this display we're desperate to get in the pool, but the bar staff make it clear that's not allowed.

At midnight, after more dances from the Globe Girls and more cocktails, we decide to leave. On our way out we reason that the drinks are expensive, but this is offset by the free entertainment.

In the lobby a young Canadian couple staying at the hotel ask if there's a party downstairs. We explain that there are drag queens dancing by a pool and a crowd of hipsters knocking back martinis. The man replies: "Wow, London rocks." It certainly does.

Globe Girls perform every Friday from 6pm-midnight until 7 March at Haymarket Hotel, 1 Suffolk Place, WC2 (globegirls.co.uk)

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