Newsletter: August with Queer Theatre

After the glorious whirlwind of our OutCast Summer Showcase, we’re letting our hair down a little this August.

Our acting classes are returning to exploring, learning and playing without the pressure of preparing for a showcase, so if you’ve been thinking about joining us, this is a particularly good time.

We’re also welcoming Cheryl Fergison to The Show People Podcast LIVE, heading to Hampstead Heath for a picnic and optional swim, and reading The Funeral Director with its brilliant playwright, Iman Qureshi.

Here’s what’s coming up.

Cheryl Fergison on The Show People Podcast LIVE
Wednesday 12th August

Best known to millions as Heather Trott in EastEnders, Cheryl created one of the soap’s most loved characters. But there’s much more to her story than “Hev and Shirl”.

Across more than four decades, Cheryl has worked in television, film, theatre and radio. Her credits include Doctor Who, Bad Girls, Little Britain, The IT Crowd, Big School, Hard Cell, Dodger, ’Allo ’Allo! and work with the Royal Shakespeare Company.

In 2025, Cheryl published her autobiography, Behind the Scenes. That same year, shortly after turning 60, she suffered a stroke. She joins Andrew for an honest conversation about fame, survival, class, motherhood, health, reinvention and the determination to keep going.

Cheryl will also be selling and signing copies of her book after the recording.

There are only 100 tickets, and all profits support Queer Theatre’s work nurturing queer talent and telling LGBTQIA+ stories.

Doors: 7pm | Show: 7:30pm | Venue: The Two Brewers, Clapham
Tickets: £15 General | £30 Premium | £100 VIP table for two

Queer Theatre Summer Picnic
Hampstead Heath | Saturday 15th August

We’re getting out of the rehearsal room and heading to Hampstead Heath for a big Queer Theatre summer picnic!

Join our acting students, artists, friends and wider community for food, games, music, conversation, fresh air and, if you fancy it, an optional swim.

We’ll meet outside Hampstead Heath Overground Station from 12pm, then walk to Parliament Hill together. Your £10 contribution will help us buy picnic food, snacks and soft drinks for the group.

You’re welcome to bring your own food and drink too. If our star bakers and master chefs fancy bringing something homemade to share, we will be delighted, but there’s absolutely no pressure. Your presence is enough.

Later, some of us may visit one of the Heath’s swimming ponds or Parliament Hill Lido. Swimming is optional, not included in the ticket and should only be attempted by confident swimmers. Others can remain resolutely dry, enjoy the Heath and perhaps join us for a drink at a nearby pub afterwards.

Meet: From 12pm at Hampstead Heath Overground Station | Picnic: From 1pm
Tickets: £10 Contribution for Food.

Members, friends and newcomers are all very welcome!

Queer Play Reading Club:
The Funeral Director with Iman Qureshi | Tuesday 18th August

This month, we’re reading The Funeral Director by Iman Qureshi, and Iman will be joining us in person.

“I just thought it would be a secret I’d have to die with. And now, I think it’ll be what kills me.”

Ayesha and Zeyd share a marriage, a Muslim funeral business and plans for their future. Then Tom arrives to arrange his boyfriend’s funeral, and a decision shaped by faith and community forces Ayesha to confront a secret she has hidden even from herself.

The Funeral Director is a powerful and heartfelt play about sexuality, gender and religion in modern Britain. It won the 2018 Papatango New Writing Prize and premiered at Southwark Playhouse.

Iman’s other work includes The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs, Speed, His and Hers and Side Effects.

We’ll begin by sharing a little new queer writing from anyone who wants to bring something along. We’ll then read the play together around the table, followed by a relaxed Q&A with Iman and Andrew Keates.

Thanks to our partnership with Nick Hern Books, everyone gets a copy of the play to read and take home.

It isn’t a performance and you don’t need to be an actor. It’s a relaxed evening for actors, writers, directors, theatre-lovers and anyone who fancies spending time with a great queer play and lovely people.

Tea, coffee and snacks: From 6:30pm | New Writing and Table Read: 7pm
Drinks and Q&A: Until late | Venue: The Railway, Clapham

Acting Classes for LGBTQIA+ People | Every Monday

We’re still buzzing from our fifth OutCast Showcase of Queer Actors & Writing. Everyone worked incredibly hard, and we couldn’t be prouder of what they put on that stage.

Now the showcase is over, our Monday classes can change gear and is the perfect time to welcome back old faces and new friends.

There’s no pressure to get particular pieces ready for a performance. Instead, we can spend time learning different acting techniques, exploring performance styles, working with queer scenes and scripts, improvising, devising new material and playing together.

That makes August one of the best times to join us.

Whether you’re a professional actor, returning after time away, trying acting for the first time or simply looking for a creative LGBTQIA+ community, you’ll be welcomed into the room.

You don’t need to prepare anything or prove anything. Just come along and see what we’re about.

Every Monday, including Bank Holidays | Doors: 6:30pm
Class: 7pm to approximately 9:30pm | Venue: The Two Brewers, Clapham
Drinks, socialising and cabaret afterwards until late.

Help us tell queer stories and nurture theatre-makers.

If you can make a difference by making a donation, or you can think of any other ways of helping us, please CLICK HERE to visit our support page.

Our Patrons: Sir Stephen Fry | Martin Sherman | Pearl Mackie | Annette Badland | Adèle Anderson