A night of new work from queer artists in Manchester.

Join us at the John Thaw Studio Theatre on July 22nd for an evening of queer theatre in development.

Featuring short pieces and extracts from exciting works-in-progress, this night of queer performance offers audiences a chance to encounter new work at a vital stage in its journey.

The programme includes:

A Comedy Set
by Ariel Hebditch | 10’

Castrato
by Rosa Gatley | Directed by Ellie Harrington | 35’

Albert is 12, and a chorister at the prestigious Saint Pauline’s Cathedral. The choir is his whole life, with the coveted ‘Once In Royal David’s City’ solo glimmering on the horizon. But he’s hiding a secret. His voice is starting to break, the highest notes quickly slipping out of his range, and if anyone finds out, he’ll be forced to leave the choir forever.

‘Castrato’ is about masculinity, the oftentimes horror of puberty, and the crushing inevitability of growing up when all you want is to remain the same.

Doing What A Lemon Pip Does
by Lucy Whelan | Directed by Maisie Holland | 35’

“Then someone reported my tomatoes. So I went to war.”

Jenny is a classic 2020s twenty-something, with no clear direction or purpose. She loves her girlfriend, Jo, and tolerates her mother, Dot, but she’s not too sure about her job, her passions, or much else. At least she wasn’t before someone reported her to her building conglomerate for illegally growing tomatoes on the roof of her rental property.

What follows is a mad mission to turn the rooftops of Manchester into a wild space. But tomatoes were one thing; a city-wide rooftop garden is another altogether, and Jenny soon finds that rewilding even her own building is enough of a challenge to throw her life and relationships into turmoil.

Donor
by Ellie Harrington | Directed by Maisie Holland | 10’

Best friends Miriam and Blake are the unlikeliest of friends to sleep together. Yet one night while Miriam’s wife Christie tunes into Bake Off downstairs, Miriam and Blake embark on a night of very little passion upstairs. ‘Donor’ takes a tender look at queer parenting in the modern age.

Quimera
by Federico García Lorca | Directed by Clodagh Chapman | 8’

“I will be in the mountains for a long time.”

A man disappears into the mountains. His children wish into the void. His wife says goodbye. One of Lorca’s experimental short plays, ‘Quimera’ digs into questions of absence, duality and lives lived in-between.

Take Off Tiffany
by Terri Jade Donovan | 8’

Tiffany is having a very important phone call, in fact, this might be it, her big break in Corporate Manchester, if she gets this call just right, so why can’t she find the right fucking pair of tights! This is a physical comedy sketch that explores the silliness and stupidity of what professionalism actually means, and a personal vendetta against tights.

Funny, moving and thought-provoking, these works explore identity, belonging, change, resistance and the spaces we create for ourselves and one another. Together, they offer a snapshot of exciting new queer theatre in development and the artists helping to shape its future.

Age restriction: 12+

Content warnings: Strong language, themes of family conflict, serious injury, references to homophobia, fascism, death, and gender dysphoria.