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Home Interviews

Interview: Shuna Snow on The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs at Kiln Theatre

“It’s funny, it’s profoundly accessible and it takes some unexpected turns into realms of the human heart that you might not anticipate”

by Greg Stewart
June 3, 2025
Reading Time: 5 mins read
Shuna Snow image supplied by publicist

Shuna Snow image supplied by publicist

Shuna Snow returns to the stage as Connie in the highly anticipated revival of The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs at Kiln Theatre. This acclaimed musical comedy by Iman Qureshi explores themes of community, belonging, and self-expression through the lens of Britain’s only lesbian choir.

Following its sold-out Soho Theatre run, the production promises humour, warmth, and an authentic celebration of queer life, with a cast featuring both new faces and returning favourites. Snow, known for her extensive work in theatre, television, and film, shares insights into her experience and the show’s unique appeal.

The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs runs at Kiln Theatre from 13 June to 12 July 2025.

       

What can you tell us about the show?

It’s funny, it’s profoundly accessible and it takes some unexpected turns into realms of the human heart that you might not anticipate, given its main setting in a ramshackle community centre.

You’re reprising your role as Connie after the acclaimed Soho Theatre run; how has your relationship with the character evolved in this new production?

I’ve had more time to look into her relationships with the other characters, and I think she may well have been a Greenham Common protester. I’m trying to calculate more precisely about her past and what makes her who she is in this story, such as her utter determination.

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The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs is celebrated for its humour and authentic portrayal of community—what aspects of the story resonate most with you personally?

Those two things certainly. Also, how painful life is, how much humour and honesty help us, how very difficult it can be to be honest, and how complicated and fragile community is.

The show brings together a diverse and talented cast—what has it been like working with both new and returning company members?

I was a bit worried for my own part – that I would drag out some dusty old cardboard cut-out of my performance three years ago, and be rather wooden and stuck, but it was three years ago, after all – a lot has happened in that time. And, whilst it has been really lovely reconnecting with the ‘oldies’, it has been every bit as interesting and inspiring with the ‘newbies’ starting the whole story from scratch and bringing multitudes with them, as they have.

So much has changed, so much is new, which is absolutely vital; it is, in fact, an entirely fresh adventure, involving us discovering the play together, precisely as the cast we are today. We’re a tidy bunch!

As a performer with experience across stage, television, and film, how does working on a musical comedy like this compare to your previous roles?

Music is a thoroughgoing part of this play, whilst it certainly is a play and not a musical. It’s about a choir – an entirely amateur choir in the real world, warts and all. Nevertheless, an enormous amount of work has gone into the music for this show; not just for the actors, for which there has been a lot of music-learning to do, but in terms of composition and arrangement; to what extent we simply sing songs ( they’re not that simple to learn, by the way!) and to what extent the music plays a part, other than simply in the songs.

       

It is quite a tapestry. I’ve never been in a show quite like this in that respect. I’m not ‘a singer’, though I have had the experience of getting disgracefully hoarse during a punishing panto run. Frankly, if you’re not ‘a singer’, you have to throw yourself in and rely on the immense musical sensibility of the real musicians to guide you through. I speak only for myself – the cast have glorious voices. It is a double whammy, though – acting in the scenes, and then off you go into the harmonies! Most of my previous work has been in speaking roles. However, this show has taught me, and it’s certainly one of the great things about an ensemble piece which this most definitely is, how much you can find yourself stretched, quite beyond what you thought you could do – and managing, yes, to hold a harmony, to sing together, and hold your own as far as you can.

What would you say to anyone thinking of booking to see The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs?

There is everything for you here. Heck, come! And incidentally, (sometimes, I do gardening work to pay the bills) one of my garden clients, a widower aged 86, came to Soho to see the show in 2022. I saw him at the end as we took our bow – he was standing up, a white head of hair in the throng; “Yes!”, he was saying, “Yes!”.

Greg Stewart

Greg Stewart

Greg is an award-winning writer with a huge passion for theatre. He has appeared on stage, as well as having directed several plays in his native Scotland. Greg is the founder and editor of Theatre Weekly

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