Queer Up North

Article published: Wednesday, October 1st 2008

After battling against funding withdrawal from the Arts Council, Europes most successful celebration of queer arts and culture will go ahead as planned, showcasing over 40 events in just three weeks, 9th 25th May.

The programme includes 9 UK premiÃƒÆ’Ã‚Â¨res and promises an eclectic, global mix of arts and culture, satisfying both acquired tastes and mass appeal.

The opening night saw international icon Sandra Bernhard take to the stage for the only UK performance of her new, reworked version of Without You Im Nothing. The weekend continued with Queering The Pitch, a queer, three stage new music festival and after-party. With events covering books, comedy, cabaret,
exhibitions and film, the festival takes over Manchesters artistic venues, celebrating queer culture in all its diversity.

High quality, boundary pushing work is a staple of the festival, as evidenced by theatre productions Lili Handel and Tough Time, Nice Time. Events will also tackle head-on the issues raised by the Arts Council experience through its Is Queer Culture Obsolete? debate, which, together with Queer Question Time and Identity Crisis?, sets to fearlessly confront queer myths and constructs. The festival closes with the Stephen Petronio Company showcasing an extraordinary programme of dance, beautifully set to contemporary music.

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