Launch Event for the Celebrating our Stories project’s Hear Us Out Festival

Brian Butler looks at a new project in Brighton and surrounding area that records the personal stories of older LGBTQ+ people , eventually becoming a series of innovative  performances.

A great new project Celebrating Our Stories , funded by the Arts Council, gets its first airing in Brighton this month.

As an older man it’s clear to me that the stories we have to tell about the struggles and triumphs of out community in the past are important to share with a younger generation. So that’s why this initiative hosted by New Writing South is so vital.

For some time the project has been collecting the stories of older lgbtq+ people in the South East . At its launch the project will be sharing and performing some of the stories, and letting people know how they can get involved in the project. 

Over the last year they have been recording the stories of older LGBTQ+ people across the South East of England. In 2020, they  will be working with a community collective of LGBTQ+ writers and performers to turn the stories collected into a series of performances. These will be presented as a new festival of verbatim theatre called Hear Us Out . 

At this celebratory launch of the festival New Writing South will be sharing and performing some of the stories collected.  You can also learn how you can get involved in the project whether you’re an individual or part of an organisation.  Join them to raise a glass to the older members of the LGBTQ+ community. Refreshments will be provided.

New Writing South are holding a Launch Event for the Celebrating our Stories project’s Hear Us Out Festival in Brighton on Thursday 16th January 6pm – 8pm at 68 Middle Street and in Hastings on Thursday 23rd January 6pm – 8pm at White Rock Theatre

It’s free to attend but you must book a ticket via new writing south.com/events