Paul Taylor-Mills and The Turbine Theatre will present Rally Fest – a celebration of LGBTQ+ voices and stories, opening at the Battersea based theatre from 6-13 June 2021.
The festival, which includes 12 shows, sets out to promote allyship within the creative industries and encourage artists to take up space with LGBTQ+ work. Rally Fest aims to promote ways in which recognising the craft of under-represented voices can make society a richer, more cohesive and dynamic place to live. The festival will feature both new work and re-energised classics that mark important moments of our history.
Paul Taylor-Mills, Artistic Director, The Turbine Theatre, said, “The opportunity to mount a festival of new work from under-represented voices has been an ambition of mine for some time. Over the last year we’ve had a huge amount of time to reflect about our practice, to think about the kind of work we want to create, encouraging artists to tell the stories of today. My hope is that #RallyFest provides us with a platform to do this, as well as allowing us to look back on some seminal moments in LBGTQ+ theatre.
During the curation of the festival, I’ve come across artists who I didn’t previously know existed, and have learned a huge amount about what is and isn’t out there for under-represented theatre-makers.
We hope the festival allows for conversation and for change. I believe so strongly in the power of theatre to unite people and to educate and to learn, including myself. I look forward to sharing our varied programme with our loyal audience and can’t wait to re-open our doors on 17 May.”
Full details and ticketing information can be found here
The Rally Fest Line up is:
Queens of MT
An Evening OF Show tunes with Drag Queens: Misty Van Cartier (Priscilla Queen Of The Dessert), River Medway, Samantha Stone and your Host; Tiana Biscuit (Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Bugsy Malone).
Wreckage
Sam’s life is completely devastated by the sudden, unexpected death of his fiancé Noel. Left alone with his fractured mind, Sam works tirelessly to keep Noel close to him as he wrestles with his guilt and anger at the world. But when Sam stumbles upon new scientific theories about consciousness and our very existence, he is convinced there is a way to really see Noel again.
Harlow Playhouse presents this reading of new work by emerging talent Tom Ratcliffe (VELVET, Circa) directed by Rikki Beadle-Blair. Wreckage is a touching and emotional two-hander about learning to live with a loss that can never be resolved.
Safe Sex
A collection containing the following three plays by Harvey Fierstein.
Manny and Jake – Two young men meet in a bar. Manny is literally praying for sex; Jake is only too eager to oblige. What the latter does not know is that Manny has AIDS.
Safe Sex – Two recently reconciled male lovers confront the challenge of their on-again, off-again relationship in the time of AIDS. Ghee, an aging, congenial gay man, may be using guidelines for safe sex as an excuse for his fading sex drive. This dismays Mead, a virile and no-nonsense blue-collar type. The emotional seesaw of their interactions creates the compelling dynamics of this fascinating short piece.
On Tidy Endings – A man has died of AIDS, leaving behind a son, a male lover, and an ex-wife. She still loves him and accepts the fact that he was gay, and that he died in the arms of his male lover, who selflessly cared for him right up until the end.
George Villiers, Duke of Buckingham, was a Seventeenth Century celebrity. He was beautiful, charismatic, and his lust for power led to him becoming the favourite of not one, but two, English kings.
Steenie is a sexy, comedic, historical romp, and tells the true story of Villiers’ rise and fall, and of his infamous love affair with King James I.
Blowing Whistles
Matthew Todd is the award winning author of the hit LGBT mental health book Straight Jacket, described by Elton John ‘as an essential read for every gay person on the planet’. His first play, Blowing Whistles, last seen in London in 2008, is a painfully honest and funny drama about the complications of aspects of modern gay life.
Obsession
Obsession is a 1920’s gothic-horror romance about a young, black, American paranormal debunker who travels to England to find his Sceptics Society’s long absent founder but instead discovers the woman he left behind, intent on reliving their relationship in ways that will challenge this sceptic to his core.
Boy Out The City
Boy Out The City is a brand new intimate autobiographical one man show written and performed by Declan Bennett (Once, Jesus Christ Superstar, Fatherland, Kiss of the Spiderwoman).
A story about moving in and moving out of the Big Smoke and the love loss and sexuality that showed up in the most unexpected places.
Work In Progress Showing: Oh We Do Like To Be
HighTide present a work in progress extract of a new play by commissioned writer Sonia Jalaly.
A stack of postcards, a trail of secrets and an innate curiosity leads Beth to Blackpool where the lights flash and the rain glistens.
Heterophobia
Gays are the majority. Straights are illegal – Thanks to a population explosion, the UK government began to actively encourage gay relationships. Decades later, being gay is the law, babies are born only by government sanctioned IVF and anyone found harbouring heterosexual tendencies is punished severely in a correctional facility.
Fister Act
Join me, Fatt Butcher, for the world premiere of my Fister Act, an autobiographical musical about my inability to get past the knuckles (inspired, I know).
Fister Act, is a life-affirming queer fantasy adventure through time, space, bodies, and brains. Join intergalactic sexpot and non-binary drag icon in the making, Fatt Butcher, as we journey beyond the knuckles, battle our demons, and free ourselves from shame with the help of an enchanted bottle of poppers and the disembodied voice of Liza Minelli.
Showtune Disco Bingo
WARNING: this is not your ordinary bingo, Fatt Butcher’s Disco Bingo is a FULL ON PRODUCTION BABES! And this time we are bringing you an all musical theatre special, so get your tits and teeth on and jazz hands at the ready.
A Brief History Of Drag
Join international multi award winning Cabaret star Velma Celli as she celebrates the most iconic drag moments of film, stage and popular culture, many of which helped cultivate and shape her into the living drag legend she is today!
