David Hoyle

David Hoyle (born 19 September 1962) is an English performance artist, avant-garde cabaret artist, singer, actor, comedian and film director. His performances combine disparate elements, from satirical comedy to painting, surrealism and striptease, much of which is aggressive comedy in nature. Hoyle's work has often focused on themes in the LGBTQ community, attacking what he sees as dominant trends in "bourgeois Britain and the materialistic-hedonistic gay scene". According to The Guardian his performances have led him to become "something of a legend" on the London cabaret circuit. The stress led him to suffer a mental breakdown when he was fourteen, although the doctors who treated him "pathologised my natural behaviour and tried to give me tablets for it", something which he thought caused him even greater suffering. Hoyle gained some relief from the persecution he faced however by visiting the comedians and performers that used to appear at Blackpool every summer, such as Ken Dodd and Dorothy Squires, and he particularly adored the circus, later relating that "I thought its performers were the most glamorous people. Beyond beautiful." It was around the same time that he began performing in the Belle Vue, a pub in Blackpool, where he did comedy routines whilst in the character of Paul Munnery-Vain (the name being a pun on pulmonary vein), the illegitimate offspring of the Duke of Edinburgh and Dorothy Squires. He found that many of the punters enjoyed his performances, although was unnerved that some of them made sexual advances toward him. and was also involved in the early days of the superclub Manumission, when it started as a club night in Manchester. He came to the notice of a London audience via his weekly performances at Duckie, from 1995 onwards. Soon after, Louise Gray published the first national press interview with Hoyle ('David versus Goliath', 29 November 1996). He also performed at the Queer Up North festival and the Leeds conceptual art club 'Freakshow'. Other elements of his performance included pole dancing, mural painting and even striptease. whilst that same year, he also appeared as a cameo in Todd Haynes's film Velvet Goldmine playing Freddi, a member of Brian Slade's entourage.

Hoyle appeared regularly as The Divine David in the BBC's sketch show Comedy Nation (1998) and achieved national prominence with his 1998 arts TV show The Divine David Presents on Channel 4, also under his stage persona. This was followed a year later by the series The Divine David Heals.

In 2000, Hoyle publicly killed off the Divine David in a show entitled The Divine David on Ice which was held at Streatham Ice Rink in London; at the end of the show, the character died to the soundtrack David Bowie's "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide". Commenting on the reason for killing off The Divine David, Hoyle would relate that:

In a way the Divine David became the patron saint of decadence and nihilism and all the rest of it, and it's hard for that not to affect your own actions... As much as I used to say, "Oh yes, you have to be very sure of your identity to be doing all this business," I don't think I actually was. If you're used to creating aliases and camouflage and all that sort of palaver, eventually you have to peel it all away and work out who you are. Hoyle gained most of his satisfaction from helping out his neighbours at their local housing association-backed communal garden, finding that being amongst plants aided his mental recovery. In doing so he hoped that he could get his audience thinking about intellectual topics, stating that "All I can provide with Magazine is a microcosm of a macrocosm... But at the Royal Vauxhall Tavern the truth will be revealed and it will be a shared experience and there will be a mass lifting of consciousness. That's all I can say."

In October–November 2009, Hoyle presented a piece of performance art at London's Chelsea Theatre as a part of their SACRED season. Entitled Theatre of Therapy and directed by Nathan Evans, it involved Hoyle interviewing audience members whilst sitting on a couch that once belonged to pioneering psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) when the latter had lived in Hampstead, North London. Describing the use of such an artefact, Hoyle told a journalist that "The couch will be electrically charged with the vibration of Freud's voice. I plan to have a relationship with it."

In 2009, Hoyle publicly proclaimed that he was intending to stand for election as a member of parliament in the Vauxhall constituency in south London. Standing as a representative of the Avant-Garde Alliance Party, he proclaimed that, should he come into power, he would advocate killing local priests and other authority figures to bring about "a new way, a new way of being, a new way of living, a new way of responding. No longer are we going to look to others to tell us how to be." These "pseudo-faux-adult parental figures", Hoyle claimed, "have had a jolly good run for their money and it's now time for them to fuck off". He further went on to advocate polygamy and encouraged more sex (including "inter-species love [and] inter-generational sex"), believing that it would cut crime rates. Furthermore, he argued for an overhaul of the workplace system, encouraging people to adopt a "spiritual dimension" to their jobs, and called for the abolition of the arms trade, with weapons factories being converted into social housing. Meanwhile, in December of that year he filmed a special Christmas message for the socially liberal newspaper The Guardian.

In August 2011, Hoyle produced his first musical show, Unplugged, at London's Soho Theatre, during which he sang a medley of songs, some of which were covers and others which were his own creation. Directed by regular Hoyle collaborator Nathan Evans, the music was directed by Michael Roulston, and included a series of songs that had a "personal connection" to him; covers of Nine Inch Nails's "Hurt", New Order's "True Faith", Joseph McCarthy's "You Made Me Love You (I Didn't Want to Do It)", Stephen Sondheim's "Losing My Mind" and Tony Christie's "How Can I Entertain?", as well as a new song, "A Return to Trauma". Journalist Paul Vale of The Stage noted that it was "something of a departure" from Hoyle's earlier work, and that he was "almost sanitised" in his behaviour, providing "a healthy dialogue with his audience", discussing his "progressive views on education and a tongue-in-cheek dissection of avant-garde performance art, but mostly the chit-chat is either friendly or amiably abusive." Whilst noting that "Hoyle's anecdotes and wit were in full flow from the start", the reporter Jamie Fisher of the Pink Paper was more critical, noting that many would be "put off by his reliance on lavatorial humour and random avant-garde style", believing that he was destined to appeal "to a cult audience only".

In December 2012 Hoyle returned to the Soho Theatre with a stage show collection of songs written with Richard Thomas, covering a variety of topics raging from 'Gays in the Military' to the scandals of the BBC over the ages. Merrie Hell covers the dark side of the Christmas holidays set against melodies disjointed from the reality of subject covered within the show, with Thomas, who scored Jerry Springer: The Opera, helping bring levity alongside reflection and filthy humour.

2020s: Aviva Studios Residency and Mugler

In 2024, Hoyle had a retrospective residency at Aviva Studios at Factory International in Manchester.

In 2026, Hoyle appeared in a series of short videos explaining “How to wear Mugler” at the invitation of Miguel Castro Freitas, since 2025 the creative director of Mugler.

Personal life "I would ban capitalism – the cruellest, most insulting system any so-called civilisation could choose to impose upon itself. I would declare every sentient being legally equal, i.e. plankton is equal to someone educated at Eton. And every new born individual would be issued with a global share portfolio which they may then choose to re-invest in their own education."

Hoyle suffers from mental breakdowns, something which he blames on his abusive childhood. He often raises the issue of mental health in his performances, relating that, "It's one of the last great taboos. People who would rush to help someone with a broken leg run away when someone has a mental health problem." Hoyle is also a painter, often reflecting his own life in his work; one of his works was for instance titled, "Hi, I'm David and 48 and Returning to Psychiatric Help Which is in the Public Interest". His character, Doug Rocket in Nathan Barley mentions nervous breakdowns when talking about the fictional group The Veryphonicsmentions. Rocket says, "It induced the first of many nervous breakdowns, all of which I've chosen to ignore."

Filmography and resume

Live shows + Title Year Held Notes The Divine David on Ice 2000 Streatham Ice Arena, London David Hoyle's SOS 2006–07 Royal Exchange Theatre, ManchesterSoho Theatre, London SOS 2007 Sydney Opera House, Studio, Sydney Magazine 2007 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London Six different shows, each one performed on a Thursday. Magazine Reprint 2007 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London A repeat of Magazine. Dave's Drop-In 2009 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London Six different shows, each one performed on a Thursday. David Hoyle's Aural Assault 24 September 2009 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London Four different shows, each one performed on a Thursday. David Hoyle's Licking Wounds 07, 14, 21, 28 January and 4 February 2010 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London Five different shows, each one performed on a Thursday. Slurry 01, 08, 15, 22, 29 September and 6 October 2010 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London Six different shows, each one performed on a Thursday. David Hoyle's Lives 06, 13, 20, 27 January and 03, 10 February 2011 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London David Hoyle's Lives 2 26 May and 02, 09, 16, 23, 30 June 2011 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London Unplugged 6–20 August 2011 Soho Theatre, London David Hoyle's Winter Warmer 17, 24 November and 01, 08, 15, 22 December 2011 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London Featuring two guest performers each week, including Al Pillay & Andi Fraggs. Pandrogyna 2012 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London Featuring two guest performers each week. The Ugly Spirit 2012 National Tour and culminating at Queen's Hall Southbank, London Produced by Fittings Multimedia Arts for Cultural Olympiad Lead Artist and performer Merrie Hell 2012 Soho Theatre, London Written with Richard Thomas. Guiding Light 2013 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London Featuring guest performers each week and an appearance from Pam. Heavenly Voices 2013 Royal Vauxhall Tavern, London Featuring a musical act each week. Gender Trouble with David Hoyle 2013 City of Women Festival, Ljubljana, Slovenia Featuring guests Lois Weaver, Mara Vujic, Lucy Hutson and Katy Baird.

Filmography + Title Year Role Notes Velvet Goldmine 1998 Freddi Feature film Uncle David 2010 Uncle David Directed and starring Hoyle. The Psychiatrist 2013 Dr Rosenburg Unreleased Set the Thames on Fire 2015 The Magician Dir Ben Charles Edwards "Spent the Day in Bed" music video 2017 Dancer Dir Sophie Muller

Television credits + Title Year Role Notes The Divine David Presents 1998 The Divine David Produced for Channel 4. The Divine David Heals 2000 The Divine David Produced for Channel 4. Nathan Barley 2005 Doug Rocket Produced for Channel 4.

Magazine: The Reprint (2007) – a DVD with some of these performances has been published by Duckie "David's Debatables" (2007 – ) monthly column for GT(Gay Times) Magazine since 2007 "This Is My Fucking Truth" – Performance at the Project Arts Centre, Dublin on 26 June 2009 as part of the Dublin LGBTQ Pride Festival 2009. Pride London 2009 – Appearance on the stage in Leicester Square, featuring a duet with Boy George, "Spoiling it for the Others" Gay Icons at the National Portrait Gallery – Promenade Performance with Escalator Finale 11 September 2009 David Hoyle's Aural Assault – Four Thursdays in September 2009. Rules and Regulations – an art Installation as Artist in Residence at Battersea Arts Centre, 25 and 26 Sep 2009 Nobody Got The Z-Man's Back – Spoken word piece on the life and career of former professional wrestler Tom Zenk, 25 January 2011, Northampton Derngate. Revelations (2012) – a DVD comprising the short films of David Hoyle and Nathan Evans published by Live Art Development Agency

Reviews and press

2007

Timeout London, Interview by Ben Walters: ’Magazine‘ star David Hoyle plans to raise our consciousness through dogging'

2008

Gavin Butt: ‘Hoyle’s Humility’, (interview with David Hoyle), in Dance Theatre Journal, Vol. 23, No. 1, 2008.

2009

The Skinny, Posted by Paul Mitchell: David Hoyle – Still Really Rather Divine

The Times, Interview by Nancy Durrant: Comedian David Hoyle is no drag

Gay Icons Performance at the National Portrait Gallery

The Independent, Interview by Nancy Groves: Observations: Freud family sofa's takes a starring role in Theatre of Therapy