Bright Light Bright Light will headline the second ever Pride in Trafford celebrations in May 2020 as the five day festival celebrates LGBTQ+ life across Greater Manchester.
Bright Light Bright Light has recently supported Cher on tour and now the South Wales born, New York based artist will return to Manchester for the performances as he continues to tour the world using his platform to raise awareness and money for LGBTQ+ charities.
Pride in Trafford will also host the northern premiere of New York’s legendary Romy & Michele’s Saturday Afternoon Tea Dance. The event will come to Waterside for the first time on Saturday 16 May.
[adrotate banner=”3″]
Pride in Trafford will feature a five day programme celebrating and exploring identity and LGBTQ+ life across the region. The programme launches on 13 May with a Rainbow Flag Raising, where Mayor of Trafford Cllr Robert Chilton, Leader, Cllr Andrew Western and CEO Sara Todd will be joined by local children from Wellfield School at Sale Town Hall.
That evening two brand new visual arts exhibitions open at Waterside. HERE presented by Rainbow Noir – a volunteer led group for LGBTQ+ people of colour; and Behind the Eyes a new digital work from emerging queer poet, Louis Glazzard exploring our relationship with technology and social media through the queer gaze. Both events are free and drop in.
Concluding a jam-packed opening day are two cultural highlights for lovers of theatre and tv; Queer Culture Chat podcast recording with Art with Heart, who will be discussing queer culture as part of their podcast series; followed by Quick Duck Theatre ’s Yours, Sincerely by Will Jackson (Emerging Writer at The Bush Theatre) based on real life correspondences. Storytelling and lipsync cabaret collide in this coming-of-age comedy about the complications of 21st-century communication.
Lipsynching is also key to *gender not included, a one person cabaret performance on Friday 15 May by artist Melody Sproates exploring gender identity and the non-binary experience told entirely through lipsync. Using a collage of sound clips ranging from The Prodigy to Piers Morgan, the show answers timely questions such as: ‘What does non-binary even mean?’ and ‘Are you a boy or a girl?’
With a focus on celebrating LGBTQ+ families, Pride in Trafford 2020 hosts two fantastic Drag Queen Story Time Sessions at Urmston and Altrincham Libraries during the festival. Presented by the fabulous members of ‘Family Gorgeous’- (Drag SOS) Manchester’s iconic Drag collective – families can settle in for comfy readings of children’s stories using outlandish and hilarious storytelling skills! Family Gorgeous Story Time allows children to imagine the world where people can present as they wish and where dress up is real. Pop N Olly fans also have a chance to come along and meet writer Olly Pike as he reads some of his well-loved stories with an LGBTQIA+ theme for children. This event is free but booking is essential.
Dance is at the heart of Saturday’s Pride in Trafford line up. In addition to Bright Light Bright Light DJing at the Romy and Michele Saturday Afternoon Tea Dance; Hawk Dance Theatre present A Moment – a ten minute male dance duet exploring a meeting between two strangers. This Manchester based dance company will perform the work three times throughout the day, at different places around Sale on Saturday 16 May. And if you would prefer to participate rather than observe, the Vogue Dance Class presented by House of Ghetto offers the opportunity to learn how to strike a pose with Manchester’s Infamous Mother of House of Ghetto, Darren Pritchard. This afternoon workshop on Saturday 16 May will also teach about the history of vogue culture, the context of the art form and the fundamentals of Vogue Femme.
Cabaret collective, The Cocoa Butter Club return a riotous event last year offering their alternative to Eurovision on Saturday night celebrating and offering a platform to marginalized voices to showcase dancers, performers, poets, burlesque artists and musicians of colour.
When does Pride in Trafford run?
Pride in Trafford runs from 13 to 17 May 2020.
