Newsletter: May with Queer Theatre
Let the sunshine in with Queer Theatre this May.
If you have been meaning to join us, come back to us, or if you’ve been looking to find a queer creative community, this is the best month to do it.
From our weekly Acting Classes for LGBTQIA+ People, to our first Luvvie: Gods & Monsters Party, The Show People Podcast LIVE with West End legend, Kerry Ellis, to an epic Surrey Hills Walk & Talk, to this month’s Queer Play Reading Club with special guest Coral Wylie and a masterclass looking at Shakespeare through a queer lens with Alasdair Buchan.
Come and find your people and join other LGBTQIA+ people who want to connect, grow, challenge yourself and perform.
Acting Classes for LGBTQIA+ People
Every Monday: Two Brewers, Clapham
From 6:30pm
Every Monday night, including Bank Holidays, our Acting Classes for LGBTQIA+ People continue at The Two Brewers, Clapham.
Led by award-winning theatre director Andrew Keates, these classes are open to queer performers of all abilities, from complete beginners to experienced actors looking for a supportive LGBTQIA+ space to keep practising, playing and growing.
Each week, we explore acting techniques, performance styles, improvisation, queer material, devising, text work and ensemble practice, all in a room built around kindness, confidence and community.
Doors open from 6:30pm for complimentary tea, coffee and biscuits. Class starts at 7pm and usually finishes around 9:30/10pm, with the option to stay afterwards for drinks, cabaret and socialising in the main bar until late.
If you are looking to build confidence, make friends, reconnect with your craft, or simply find a regular queer creative room where you are welcome, now is the time to join us.
Luvvie: Gods & Monsters Party
The Party For Queer People & Our Allies In The Performing Arts
Friday 8th May: Two Brewers, Clapham
Doors 7pm | Show 8pm | DJ until 4am
On Friday 8th May, we launch Luvvie: Gods & Monsters Party, our brand night for queer people in the performing arts and our allies.
Luvvie is a space for LGBTQIA+ actors, writers, directors, producers, cabaret artists, backstage workers, students, graduates, West End performers, grassroots theatre-makers and anyone else connected to the performing arts, and our friends, to come together outside auditions, rehearsal rooms and industry pressure and get to know each other.
Expect cabaret, comedy, drag, West End performers, VIP guests, industry prizes, divine chaos and a DJ until 4am.
Already announced to perform are NYC legends Justin Elizabeth Sayre and Fempath, with Queer Theatre favourite Josh Sanchez & Matthew Goodill announced today too, with lots more still to be revealed.
There will also be an industry raffle and auction, with prizes including a year of Spotlight membership for a year, a cinematic showreel scene from The Showreel Company, A Kindle Fire HD tablet, a signed copy of Odyssey from our patron Sir Stephen Fry, tickets to The Traitors: The Live Experience, a VIP table for two to see Kerry Ellis on The Show People Podcast LIVE, a signed autobiography from Cheryl Fergison, free Queer Theatre classes and more to be announced as well.
Optional dress code: Gods & Monsters. Serve face. Serve myth. Serve monster.
All profits support Queer Theatre’s work nurturing queer talent and telling LGBTQIA+ stories in London.
Kerry Ellis: The Show People Podcast LIVE
Wednesday 13th May: Two Brewers, Clapham
From 7pm
On Wednesday 13th May, The Show People Podcast with Andrew Keates continues its live monthly residency at The Two Brewers with a very special guest: Kerry Ellis.
Widely recognised for Wicked, We Will Rock You and her status as one of the great leading ladies of British musical theatre, Kerry has built a remarkable career across the West End, Broadway, concert stages, recording studios and beyond.
She made history as the first British actress to play Elphaba in Wicked in the West End, later reprising the role on Broadway, and her many other credits include We Will Rock You, Cats, Oliver!, My Fair Lady, Miss Saigon, Les Misérables, Anything Goes, 101 Dalmatians and If/Then.
Spend the evening with an artist who has already defied gravity.
Tickets are strictly limited to 100, with all profits supporting Queer Theatre’s work nurturing queer talent and telling LGBTQIA+ stories.
Walk & Talk: Holmwood & Leith Hill Circular, Surrey Hills Hike
Saturday 16th May: London Victoria → Holmwood & Leith Hill Circular, Surrey Hills Hi
From 10am
On Saturday 16th May, our Walk & Talk series heads to the Surrey Hills for the Holmwood & Leith Hill Circular. A remarkable day for our mental, physical, spiritual and social health.
This is a full, feel-good day out with queer community and allies, taking us from Holmwood Station into woodland, countryside, forest paths, quiet lanes and rolling hills, before climbing up to Leith Hill for one of the most rewarding viewpoints in the South East.
The route is 15.3km with 580m elevation gain, so this is a moderate to challenging hike and a proper full day out. We will walk at a supportive, chatty pace, with breaks, regrouping points and nobody left behind.
Please note: proper waterproof walking boots with grippy tread are required. No trainers. You will also need water, lunch, snacks, layers, waterproofs, a charged phone and any medication you may need.
We meet at 10am at London Victoria Station, outside the big Boots inside the station, before travelling together to Holmwood. After the hike, there will be the option to head to a nearby pub for food, drinks or soft drinks before returning to London.
Spaces are limited so the group stays social, manageable and properly looked after.
Queer Play Reading Club
with special guest, Coral Wylie
Lavender, Violet, Hyacinth, Yew.
Tuesday 19th May: The Railway Clapham
From 6:30pm
On Tuesday 19th May, our Queer Play Reading Club returns to The Railway, Clapham, with a table read of Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet, Yew by Coral Wylie.
Held in partnership with Nick Hern Books, the evening begins with the chance for LGBTQIA+ writers to hear brand-new scenes and monologues read aloud in a supportive, low-pressure room full of actors, writers and theatre-makers. We then move into a group reading of the full play, followed by a relaxed discussion and Q&A. And everyone gets to keep their copy of the published playtext.
This month, we are delighted that Coral Wylie will be joining us to discuss the play and answer your questions.
Funny, affecting and beautifully queer, Lavender, Hyacinth, Violet, Yew follows nineteen-year-old Pip, who is trying to find themselves through gardening, family history and the discovery of a mysterious old diary hidden in the pocket of a bold 1980s jacket.
The play was shortlisted for the Alfred Fagon Award in 2023 and premiered at the Bush Theatre in 2025. Coral Wylie is a writer, performer and environmental dramaturg whose work explores the overlaps between science, art and the natural world.
Tea, coffee and snacks are available from 6:30pm. The session starts at 7pm, with drinks and socialising afterwards until 11pm.
Shakespeare Through a Queer Lens
with special guest, Alasdair Buchan
Monday 25th May: Two Brewers, Clapham
From 6:30pm
On Monday 25th May, our regular Monday night acting class becomes a special Shakespeare Masterclass for LGBTQIA+ People, led by award-winning actor, director and teacher Alasdair Buchan.
Alasdair trained at Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and has worked extensively across theatre, screen, audio and directing, with credits including The Mousetrap in the West End, Horrible Histories: Barmy Britain, The Da Vinci Code, An Inspector Calls, Urinetown, The Pride, Richard III, Macbeth, A Midsummer Night’s Dream, Romeo & Juliet and many more.
During the session, Alasdair will introduce practical techniques for playing Shakespeare, including rhythm, breath, intention and clarity, as well as the tools actors use to make heightened language feel immediate, truthful and alive.
You will explore short scenes and speeches through a queer lens, asking what changes when we place LGBTQIA+ lived experience at the centre of these stories. Who has power? Who is forced into silence? Who gets to desire openly? And what happens when we reclaim the text for ourselves?
Whether you are Shakespeare-curious or already love the Bard, this session is about confidence, craft and connection in a supportive queer room where you can try things on your feet without judgement.
Please bring a Shakespeare sonnet, soliloquy or monologue.
Want to Support Queer Theatre?
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