In collaboration with CREATURE (Centre for Creative Arts, Cultures and Engagement at London Metropolitan University), StoneCrabs Theatre is hosting a celebratory evening on Wednesday, March 2 in London to launch their long-awaited book Out On An Island – The Isle of Wight’s Hidden LGBTQ+ History, published by Medina Books.
The event will have an introduction by Clare Summerskill, followed by a short address by Franko Figueiredo and Caroline Diamond of Out On An Island (OOAI). A brief preview of The Fastest Woman On Water – a new play in development from StoneCrabs Theatre – will also be part of the programme. The play explores the life and adventures of Joe Carstairs, an enigmatic lesbian who raced boats in the Solent and had a boatyard in East Cowes.
Out On An Island – The Isle of Wight’s Hidden LGBTQ+ History is one of the results of the OOAI project. Since 2019, OOAI has been delving into the hidden history of the Isle of Wight’s LGBTQ+ community. Developed by StoneCrabs Theatre, and funded by the National Lottery Heritage Fund and Arts Council England through the Government’s Culture Recovery Fund, the project’s team of dedicated volunteers has uncovered a rich history which has been largely erased or ignored. Alongside the publication of a book, this research has culminated in an exhibition that is in residence at Carisbrooke Castle Museum until August 2022.
Human rights activist Peter Tatchell said: “Out On An Island is a brilliant oral history of LGBTQ+ communities and culture on the Isle of Wight: the persecutions, campaigns, defiance, solidarity and triumphs. Inspiring!”
StoneCrabs’ Artistic Director Franko Figueiredo explains: “The book features excerpts from 18 interviews with LGBTQ+ people, carried out over two years. The interviewees shared honest, intimate accounts of what it’s like to be ‘out’ on the Isle of Wight, an island with a long and abiding conservative history. Some settled happily; others were born there but couldn’t wait to escape.”
Project Manager Caroline Diamond added: “Russell T Davies chose the Isle of Wight as an old fashioned, isolated destination for his hit Channel 4 programme It’s A Sin, which looked at the impact of AIDS on the LGBTQ+ community in the late 1980s. This book features the island’s own HIV campaign with its Captain Condom mascot and the introduction of the Isle of Wight Gay Men’s Health Project.”
Essays, poems and images contributed by local people and volunteers build a picture of the social and political life of LGBTQ+ people on the island. This includes research into the treatment of the LGBTQ+ community in the local media, as well as the reactions to the launch of the first ever Isle of Wight Pride in 2017. It is a candid, emotional record of human behaviour and the hurdles that can be faced in seeking to be your authentic self.
Along with Peter Tatchell, Out On An Island has endorsements from author Patrick Gale and Stonewall co-founder and politician Lord Michael Cashman. Cashman says of the book: “A wonderful rich history of an island I knew as I child but never knew as an adult gay man.
“This wonderful and intriguing history is brought together by the personal testimonies and experiences of LGBTQ+ people who lived on the Isle of Wight and delves courageously into the past one hundred years. In so doing it builds bridges and looks forward with optimism and joy.”
The launch event of Out On An Island – The Isle of Wight’s Hidden LGBTQ+ History takes place at London Metropolitcan University, 166-220 Holloway Road, London, N7 8DB on Wednesday, March 2 from 6.30pm. For tickets, CLICK HERE
Out On An Island – The Isle of Wight’s Hidden LGBTQ+ History is available for pre-order here
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