London LGBTQ+ theatre launches new season – here’s what’s on
Here’s what Queer Theatre has on this season. (Getty)
An award-winning London-based LGBTQ+ theatre has unveiled its new spring season of shows featuring emerging and acclaimed queer talent from across the UK.
Clapham theatre hall and production company, Queer Theatre, announced a slate of new events, shows, and workshops as part of its upcoming programme which aims to champion queer stories and culture.
Among the events on offer is the Queer Play Reading Club, a regular, relaxed public reading of queer plays that includes writing workshops and Q&A sessions with special guest writers.
The club’s itinerary includes projects written by an eclectic array of both upcoming and well-established LGBTQ+ playwrights, including Harry McDonald, Coral Wylie, Jake Brunger, and more.
Kicking off the season in April is a reading of McDonald’s Foam, a “violently political” drama which follows the true story of a neo-Nazi coming to terms with his sexuality against the backdrop of rising political tensions in the 70s and 80s.
For those who can’t wait that long to experience what LGBTQ+ theatre has to offer, the OutCast Spring Showcase will bring together a mix of emerging queer talent on 25 March to showcase never-before-seen writing and rediscoveries of timeless classics.
In May, Queer Theatre’s newly unveiled Luvvie: Gods and Monsters, named in honour of patron Sir Stephen Fry, will invite guests to join together in a Greek mythology-themed cabaret club night, which the venue says will create a “dynamic meeting point for LGBTQIA+ creatives and allies”.
Fry, 68, said he was “so proud” to be connected to Queer Theatre’s new programme, congratulating artistic director and Queer Theatre founder, Andrew Keates, for what he described as a “fantastic” new itinerary.
“There’s an amazing season coming up of new queer playwrights in all directions, providing exquisitely new voices in all kinds of theatres of queer life. It’s very exciting,” he said.
The Black Adder actor showed particular love for the cabaret night, saying it appealed to his love of Greek mythology, which he always found “so thrilling”.
“Maybe that’s what appealed to me about them when I was a child, and why I then later went on to write four books about Greek myths,” he said. “They always contained this sort of juice, this sexiness, this ambivalence, this freedom of thought and sexuality, which, frankly, when I was growing up was a rare thing.”
This season, Queer Theatre is even going beyond the confines of the stage with its Walk & Talk rural hike; an outdoor initiative designed to allow LGBTQ+ creatives to feel connected to nature through monthly hikes across the English coutnryside.
The first hike at Box Hill takes place on 25 April, followed by Leith Hill on 23 May and Arundel Park on 27 June.
Queer Theatre will also continue to host its weekly acting classes, which commence very Monday from 7pm, that act as a starting point for any aspiring performers to dip their toes in the world of theatre.
The venue’s full itinerary and further information on ticket prices and dates are currently available on its website, accessible in this link.
Share your story! Do you have an important, exciting or uplifting story to tell? Email us at [email protected]
