Arts & Culture
LGBT Festival returns to Salisbury with an incredible range of shows

SQUAWK (Salisbury Queer Arts Weekender), Salisbury Arts Centre’s LGTBQIA festival, returns for a second year from April 16 with an appearance by campaigner Peter Tatchell.

The festival opens with three performances of Penguins by Prime Theatre on Monday 16 April. Suitable for ages 3+, Penguins is based on the true story of two male chinstrap penguins at New York’s Central Zoo who together hatched and raised an abandoned chick.

On Tuesday April 17 Tom Freshwater of the National Trust will talk about the challenges of choosing to explore LGBTQ histories connected with its places in 2017. The discussion will touch on the experience of introducing a new way of ‘Challenging History’ to such a large and well-established institution.

[caption id=“attachment_35887” align=“aligncenter” width=“597”] Carol[/caption]

Folk singer, songwriter Grace Petrie performs at Salisbury Arts Centre on Wednesday 18 April as part of SQUAWK, delivering her unique take on life, love and politics.

On Thursday 19 April there will be a screening of God’s Own Country, the film they’re calling British Brokeback Mountain. Set in the heart of rural Yorkshire, it follows farm labourer Johnny and Romanian migrant Gheorghe as an intense relationship forms between them.

On Friday 20 April is Too Pretty to Punch, a one-person celebration of international trans visibility and self-acceptance. The event is a mix of clown, mime, music, spoken word and video projection.

On Saturday 21 April the festival explores queer cinema since 1990 in films such as Boys Don’t Cry, Brokeback Mountain and Carol. On the same day there is a free Live Lunch with Ellie Showering followed by a free SQUAWK symposium chaired by Emily Souter Johnson of The Bike Shed Theatre in Exeter and a talk in the evening by Peter Tatchell.

[caption id=“attachment_35888” align=“alignleft” width=“170”] Peter Tatchell[/caption]

Peter Tatchell has been campaigning since 1967 on issues of human rights, democracy, civil liberties, LGBT equality and global justice. His human rights inspirations include Mahatma Gandhi, Sylvia Pankhurst and Martin Luther King. The talk will be followed by a Q&A.

For further information, including the full festival programme, visit www.salisburyartscentre.co.uk

  • LGBT Festival returns to Salisbury with an incredible range of shows
  • LGBT Festival returns to Salisbury with an incredible range of shows