Gosforth Civic Theatre are creating a programme of events this year to celebrate Pride in the North East. Collaborating with Curious Arts and Equal Arts to platform great work and voices from the LGBTQ+ artistic community in Gosforth and Newcastle.
The programme begins on Sunday 18th July with Handing on our Histories, a retro pride event with music, photography, and short films. It’s the culmination of six months work where Equal Arts have been creating a cross-generational project which has supported students to capture the oral history of those who made the first North East Pride events, fought against discriminatory laws like Section 28 and campaigned for LGBT rights during the 1970s and 80s.
On Tuesday 20 July, the first piece of theatre performance in the Theatre since March 2020 is Jenny by Tom Marshman. Part of Curious Arts, Jenny is a work-in-progress scratch performance which gathers together research from historians at Newcastle archives, and academics at the University of Bristol, to raise questions of how to create a fully formed picture of someone from the past. Particularly when LGBTQ+ and working class lives are largely documented through their often brutal encounters with the state.
The weeks ends with a Curious Arts Fundraiser on Friday 23 July. The evening is packed with LGBTQ+ talent and will be a fun-packed night of live music, drag, roller-skating, hula-hooping and dance, raising vital funds to support LGBTQIA+ artists and young people across the North East with all ticket sales going to Curious Arts to support the work they do.
Featuring performances by Martha Hill, Jesse Salaman & Toi Guy and Symoné, the event will be hosted by Drag royalty Choriza May with a guest appearance from Gladys Duffy.
Gosforth Civic Theatre is a community arts venue, ran by a disability arts charity, and they strive to be a place for everyone. They want to give people a voice and be somewhere they can feel safe coming together and being themselves. Openness and inclusivity are important to them.
For more information and to book tickets click here
Gemma's Journey 