The King’s Head Theatre has announced the full line-up for its 2019 Queer Season. Established in 2015, the Queer Season is a celebration of the most interesting and innovative LGBTQI+ theatre being created in the UK, and features revivals and transfers alongside world premieres of brand new work.
Southern Belles, a double-bill of rare one-act Tennessee Williams plays exploring queer lives is to headline the first half of the season. It features And Tell Sad Stories Of The Deaths Of Queens, never performed in Williams’ lifetime due to its openly gay characters and Something Unspoken, which depicts a unacknowledged lesbian relationship and will be directed by Jamie Armitage, Co-Director of the critically-acclaimed West End musical, SiX.
World’s End, staring Tom Milligan and Mirlind Began, and directed by Harry Mackrill, Associate Director to Marianne Elliot on the National Theatre’s revival of Angels in America, will follow in September. Set in 1998, this World Premiere by James Corley explores war, single parenthood and sexulaity in the late nineties.
Other highlights include V.E. by Felix O’Brien, a lesbian love story set at the height of the London Blitz in World War II; Mark Starling’s Target Man, which tackles homophobia in Premier League football and Fine and Dandy, a music hall farce based on the life of non-binary Jewish immigrant Ernest Faigele Fine and first performed at the King’s Head Theatre in 1999.
The King’s Head Theatre’s Artistic Director, Adam Spreadbury-Maher, says ‘Queer work is a vital aspect of our programme; we’re committed to being a space where queer lives are explored, and queer artists have a voice. With a range of pieces covering same-sex female relationships, bisexuality and gender-fluidity we’ve worked worked hard to make this our most inclusive season yet, headlined by two queer plays from one of the world’s most influential dramatists, Tennessee Williams.’
The King’s Head Theatre was established in 1970. Passionate about championing ethically produced fringe theatre, we are known for our challenging work and support of young artists. Last year 88,029 audience members saw a show of ours: 37,586 at our 110-seater home on Upper Street and 50,443 elsewhere. At our home in Islington we had 686 performances last year of 113 different shows. We are committed to fighting prejudice through the work we stage, the artists and staff we work with and by producing work for minority audience groups. We believe in fair pay for all on the fringe and create accessible routes for early career artists to stage their work; work we are passionate about. In 2017, we announced the theatre is on the move. Subject to a fundraising campaign, the King’s Head Theatre will move into a custom-built space in the heart of Islington Square, directly behind its current home securing the future of the venue for generations to come.
