Alternative Pride Guide 2019
Pride and rainbows are everywhere in 2019! So we’ve picked out some of the more offbeat, community and inclusive events that champion LGBTQI+ people and their allies!
Penguin Pride | Thu 27 June | RVT | £11.25
Love LGBTQI+ lit? Head to this queer book salon with writer Crystal Ramussen (The Diary of a Drag Queen), comedian Jen Brister, performer Jack Rooke and many more.
We’re on the Telly! Television’s role in liberating LGBT lives | Fri 28 June | Cinema Museum, Elephant & Castle | £10
Popular television has an interesting history in representing people from the LGBTQI+ community. Find out more in this informative talk at the beautiful south London relic, the Cinema Museum.
Beyhive Double Bill: Waiting For B + Dreamgirls | Sat 30 June | Theatre Peckham | £7/5
The lovely folk at Fringe! Film Festival are getting together to stan a true queen, with special screenings of fan doc Waiting for B and the unforgettable Dreamgirls. You betta o-BEY this queen!
Pride Fashion Week by Positive Runway | Mon 1 July | Underbelly Festival, South Bank | From £17
A chic celebration of the LGBTQI+ community, Pride Fashion Week will showcase queer designers, bodies off all beautiful sizes, and queer style across the spectrum. In partnership with UK Black Pride, The Naz Project, Seventa Makeup Academy, and performers of colour showcase The Cocoa Butter Club, who will also bring their colorful cabaret show to the runway.
The Library of Performing Rights Open 2019 | Tue 2 July | Live Art Development Agency | Free
Find out about pioneering queer theatre punks Duckie in this engaging and informative talk from Dr Duckie himself, Ben Walters.
BUT I’M A CHEERLEADER | Tue 2 July | Prince Charles Cinema | £10
A teenage lesbian/gay conversion therapy teen romp, which launched the career of Orange is the New Black/Russian Doll idol Natasha Lyonne.
CLEMENTINE’S LIBERTY SPECIAL: A STAR-SPANGLED RAINBOW | Thu 4 July | Brasserie Zédel | £20
The Pride-Independence Day mash-up you’ve been waiting for! ‘Diva doll’ Clementine celebrates stars and rainbow stripes with a spectacular cabaret of musical numbers, fantastic films and stunning adult puppetry!
River Stage Festival Weekend: The Glory | 5 – 7 July | National Theatre, South Bank | Free
An unmissable, camptastic, FREE party on the South Bank courtesy of Jonny Woo and co.
Planes and Perverts: Pride and Protest Edition | Sat 6 July | The Garage | From £10
Like your Pride celebrations to be activist-led, radical, queer, dance parties? LOOK NO FURTHER! Lesbians and Gays Support the Migrants team up with African Rainbow Family, Micro Rainbow, The Outside Project, Queefy Cabaret and The People’s Film Club to “create a space for politically-minded queers and members of our community from marginalised backgrounds to party with meaning”!
QTIPOC Pride Party: Pxssy Palace x BBZ | Sat 6 July | Southbank Centre | Free
Get gorgeous riverside views at this free pride party presented by Pxssy Palace in collaboration with BBZ. Expect performances and electrifying music to keep you dancing from sunset into the early hours. Pxssy Palace is a collective of DJs, educators and performers that centres queer and trans people of colour. BBZ (Bold Brazen Zamis or Babes) is a club night and curatorial collective prioritising the experiences of queer women, trans and non-binary people of colour.
Sodom & Begorrah: Pride Sandwich | Sat 6 July | The Glory | £10
A supreme cabaret line-up including Xnthony, Mark T Cox, Cramps, and Tilly Fletcher celebrate Queer Pride, Irish Pride and European Pride (while it lasts).
Tickets also include entry to The Glory’s massive Pride party, which will keep you partying until 3AM!
UK Black Pride | Sun 7 July | Haggerston Park | Free
Join supremely talented musician MNEK, Aaron Carty’s Beyoncé Experience, Toya Delazey and N’Chyz for this grassroots celebration for LGBTQ people of African, Asian, Caribbean, Middle Eastern and Latin American descent and their allies. Plus some incredible hosts including Rikki Beadle-Blair and Travis Alabanza.
Friday Live Cabaret and DJ Nights including Duckie, Drag Syndrome, Gay Garage and more | Southbank Centre | 12 July-23 August | Free
So may free gay parties to attend on the South Bank this summer, but we can’t recommend enough the pure joy of DRAG SYNDROME (12 July), as well as a chance to bump and grind to GAY GARAGE (23 August) or see queer performance at its best with THE RAZE COLLECTIVE (19 July).
Jodie Foster: a butch/femme appreciation + zine-making day | Sun 14 July | Rio Cinema Dalston | £12.50
Comedian Lea deLaria once said that “If I was Hannibal Lecter, it wouldn’t be her liver I’d want to eat,”. We agree so let’s have a day celebrating Jodie Foster!
LoveBN1 Fest | Sun 4 August | Preston Park, Brighton | £34.95
A low key alt pride in Brighton, with top acts including Grace Jones, and a chilled-out, family-friendly vibe.
Did we miss a top alt pride event? Please do leave a comment below…
I am Joint Editor at To Do List. I like free, cheap & offbeat London, especially: cabaret, art, theatre, pop-ups, eating out, quirky films, museums, day trips, social enterprise & much more.
Walthamstow Pride!