As Contact continues its 50th anniversary celebrations, it is delighted to announce the full line up for its 2023 Queer Contact festival – a celebration of the UK’s most extraordinary and most exciting LGBTQ+ talent. Queer Contact 2023 – which runs from February 4th -18th 2023 – is a bigger, brighter, bolder and more beautiful celebration of fierce and fabulous queer artists, with something for everybody.
Festival highlights include Drag Show UK’s talented queens Ginny Lemon and Sister Sister, an evening in conversation with Heartstopper and Cucumber actor and Contact alumni Fisayo Akinade,and the return of the annual and outrageous Vogue Ball as part of a jam packed programme of spoken word, lip synching, cabaret and comedy.
Kicking off this year’s Festival on Saturday 4th February is a night of high kicks, high camp and high energy as the much loved House of Suarez Vogue Ball makes a welcome return to Manchester. Taking place at Manchester Academy, this year’s ball travels back to the glorious decade of disco for a night of glitter and glam MCed by the hostess with the mostess, Rikki Beadle-Blair. Houses from all across the UK compete for the much coveted titles including best choreography and best design – awarded by an esteemed panel of judges – as they pose and perform in an unapologetic celebration of inclusivity, queerness and diversity.
Breakout stars of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Season 2 (and the two most despised queens), Ginny Lemon & Sister Sister make their debut at Queer Contact 2023 by trying to bring to the Manchester stage the most disappointing drag show you’ve ever seen as part of their, You Keep Me Hanging on Tour. Separately, they have both performed to sell-out audiences across the UK and made television appearances for BBC, ITV & Channel 4, including shows such as The X Factor, Joe Lycett’s Got Your Back, The Commonwealth Games & Celebrity Coach Trip. This marks their first joint stage show, which promises to be hilarious if average.
Heartstopper and Cucumber actor Fisayo Akinade explores the many different elements that have influenced his life and career in another Queer Contact Festival Highlight In Conversation with Contact Artistic Director and CEO Keisha Thompson. She will talk to him about the 50 things that shaped him – inspired by Contact’s celebration of its 50th-anniversary. Fisayo – who is a past member of Contact Young Company – has gone on to have a flourishing tv and theatre career, with roles on the small screen including Banana and Tofu, Atlanta, Fresh Meat, and A Midsummer Night’s Dream and many theatrical roles including The Crucible, Romeo and Juliet, The Antipodes, Antony and Cleopatra and Barber Shop Chronicles all at the National Theatre.
One of the break out comedy acts from the 2022 Edinburgh Fringe Festival, and the recipient of its inaugural David Johnson Emerging Talent Award for his performance as Milly-Liu comedy performer François Pandolfo makes his debut at this year’s Queer Contact with his “one-man-cat-drag-late-night comedy show.” Join Milly-Liu as she is ready to spill the beans on all your favourite celebrity pussies. She has worked with the best of them, and been to bed with the rest of them!
Two words you thought you may never see in the same sentence, Queer and Tardis, take their place on the Queer Contact programme for a night of Doctor Who inspired entertainment by Carrot and Friends. Jump aboard the queerest TARDIS in time and space for cosmic comedy. As the saying goes there ain’t no party like a Time Lord party. Travel through the vortex and experience dimension-defying drag, stratospheric stand-up, burlesque to make a Cyberman blush, and an oncoming storm of many other surprises! As always with the Doctor – expect the unexpected.
For lovers of Drag, Queer Contact 2023 is also delighted to bring the hilarious and iconic drag comedian, Lady Bushra to the stage. Hailed from the exotic land of Bradford, and shortlisted for the 2021 BBC New Comedy Awards, Lady Bushra is the brainchild of British Asian comedian Amir. His alter ego Lady Bushra is known for her stand-up comedy, ingenious lipsync performances and one-liners, often seen performing her soldout ‘Drag Comedy Cabaret’ across the nation. The character of Lady Bushra is that of a Bradford bad girl who turned out to be a breakout sensation during lockdown and is also known for her viral digital content. This clever mix of South Asian sensibilities blended with British humour has made Lady Bushra an instant hit, allowing Amir to take his act all over the UK as well as internationally.
Other cabaret and comedy highlights include a night with the Cocoa Butter Club – an award-winning performance company, showcasing and celebrating performers of colour. Expect a spirited soiree featuring burlesque, live music, drag, voguing, hula hooping and much much more. South Asian awesomeness is also celebrated with an evening in the company of The Bitter Peach’s Peach Chutney Crew – the UK’s only gender-diverse Pan-Asian cabaret collective, whose mission is to empower the queer Asian community by providing safe spaces, diversifying Asian representation, and educating non-Asians on racial issues. The “Infectiously entertaining”(The Stage) Luke Hereford (he/they) brings their autobiographical musical adventures to Queer Contact on their journey of queer self-discovery through the glamorous spirit of his Nan, all to the tune of Madonna, Kylie, Kate Bush and his favourite pop divas.
CEO and Artistic Director Keisha Thompson comments: “We’re so excited to be bringing the best in LGBTQ+ arts and culture together once again for Queer Contact 2023. Our flagship queer arts festival has been central to our mission and vision for over a decade and will continue to cement our spot on Manchester’s cultural map for many more decades to come. In 2023, as we celebrate our 50th birthday, Queer Contact is characterised by joy; from a Dr Who-themed cabaret to an evening with Heartstopper’s Fisayo Akinade, we’re here to platform a huge spectrum of queer lived experience; focusing on kindness, community and celebration.”
Queer Contact runs from February 4-18th. Tickets are now on sale. Full listings and how to book available via: https://contactmcr.com/news/
