1623 Theatre Company’s ‘Queer Folio’ will be performed today at a Sheffield theatre.
The performance will celebrate LGBTQ+ creativity in Shakespeare’s 37 plays at nine venues across the country.
The event at Theatre Deli will consist of three acts which ‘re-queer’ some of Shakespeare’s stories and characters ‘straightened out’ over the centuries.
The acts will consist of ‘Ford and Page’ from The Merry Wives of Windsor, ‘Main Character Energy’ from The Tempest and ‘Mercutio,’ inspired by Romeo and Juliet.
Jamie Brown, writer and curator of ‘Queer Folio,’ hopes that their 10 scratch events will pave the way for fully fledged productions in the future.
He said: “From 1623’s point of view, it just takes belief from people and the community.
“From the moment of coming up with the idea of creating an alternative Folio to celebrate LGBTQ+ artists and the 400th anniversary of the first Folio being published, it takes the belief of the Arts Council to fund it, It takes the belief of all of the venues to support it including Theatre Deli Sheffield.
Jamie said that it’s a really exciting time and that it says something about the society we live in today.
“I think it’s really ambitious. We’re just planting the seeds and hopefully those seeds will take root and start to flourish,” he added.
Queer Folio consists of 30 lead artists with 80 plus LGBTQ+ performers from all across the UK.
The scratch event means that following the play the audience will be able to have a Q&A with those involved to discuss how it made them feel and how it can progress.
This then gives the writer and artists the opportunity to develop their work.
Daljinder Singh, Executive Producer of Theatre Deli Sheffield, has helped coordinate the production of the performance.
She said: “It’s really us supporting what we consider to be important and unique voices that give audiences something new to learn about.”
Daljinder said that it is extremely important that venues continue to support artists because it is such a difficult time for theatres and arts funding.
“People are really excited and they’re really curious to come along. They want to know more. For a scratch event, it sits really nicely amongst the people in Sheffield,” she added.
Visit 1623 Theatre Company for more information: https://www.1623theatre.co.uk/queer-folio-2023