This coming weekend would have seen Waterside and Trafford celebrate its second Pride in Trafford Festival: a five day event of live performances and exhibitions to explore and celebrate LGBTQ+ life and to provide a platform for queer artists in the region.
Unfortunately we’re all on lockdown so instead they’re celebrating the whole thing online with ‘Pride Inside‘ small-scale digital version for audiences to enjoy and experience in the safety and comfort of their own homes.
Taking place from Thursday 14th – Sunday 17th May, all events are FREE but there is the opportunity for audiences to contribute to Waterside’s Pay It Forward campaign, where any online donations made for select Pride Inside shows goes towards paying for future theatre tickets – once Waterside reopens – for NHS workers and their families.
From Thursday 14th May – a brand new digital art work from emerging queer poet, Louis Glazzard will be online in which Louis explores our relationship with technology and social media through the queer gaze in Behind The Eyes.
This micro commission is part of Waterside and Creative Industries Trafford’s Screenlight Programme and it inspects the relationship and attachments that are made online, as well as opening up to wider comments and questions about the consumers’ use of modern technology.
Participatory events for all the family are at the heart of this small scale celebration, kicking off on Friday 15th May with the Family Gorgeous Story Time sessions being streamed direct from Waterside’s social media channels at different times across the weekend.
A partnership with Z-Arts Manchester, readers young and old can tune in to and join fabulous members of the renowned Manchester Drag Queen collective ‘Family Gorgeous’ – as they read children’s stories using their mix of outlandish costumes and hilarious storytelling skills.
Also on Friday, the Bi-Monthly Queer Artist Talking Circle will take place in an online Zoom format – welcoming Manchester’s creative community who identify both as queer/LGBTQ+ and also as artists to come together to connect, share, talk, inspire and support one another. This session will include provocations from artists across the region focusing on how we can remove barriers and include queer female and non-binary identities on our stages.
On Saturday 16th May, join renowned DJ Bright Light Bright Light live from his New York home as he live streams Disco, pop, 12” mixes, movie soundtracks, hits, misses and hidden gems from all ages inspired by the music of one of his favourite films, Romy and Michele’s High School Reunion.
Expect France Joli, Janet, Madonna, Mariah, Erasure, Donna Summer, John Barry, Shirley Bassey, Scissor Sisters, MUNA, Kate Bush and more. Grab a Mimosa, some cake and enjoy dancing the afternoon away for this amazing Saturday afternoon at-home experience.
Also on Saturday afternoon, Manchester’s Infamous Mother of House of Ghetto; Darren Pritchard will lead a one-off Vogue Dance Class online. In this session participants have the opportunity to explore the moves of Vogue – spinning, dipping, and werqqqqing to achieve a short piece of choreography. As well as discovering Ballroom culture and voguing, Darren will also share the history and context of the art form, and the fundamentals of Vogue Femme.
This 60 minute event will have more of a focus for adults but on Sunday 17th May, Darren is running a shorter one-off high energy Family Vogue Class where kids young and old can learn to strike a pose and master the basics of voguing to impress all their friends once safely back in the playground!
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Pride Inside runs from Thursday 14th to Sunday 17th May 2020 coinciding with the world-wide IDAHOBIT (International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia) on Sunday 17th May and is a collaboration between the Mayor of Trafford, Waterside Arts and Creative Industries Trafford.
