Festivals / Bristol Pride
What’s on at Bristol Pride 2018
While Bristol Pride has gone above and beyond in their mission to include and inspire, there are lots of other independent nights, performances and events happening across the city to mark the occasion.
Here’s a list of everything you can do this Pride:
Thorny
Time to board the boat for a party that puts binaries in the bin. The three big acts to watch for are FAKA, MUN SING and MX WORLD. The pair that makeup FAKA express their experience as black queer bodies, while MX World use traditional songwriting, sampling, and audio-processing to piece together a ‘unique ethereal sonic atmosphere’. Local DJ duo Queens Of The Neighbourhood will be accompanying the show with a selection of floor-fillers.
is needed now More than ever
Organisers are committed to booking taxis home for QTIPOC guests and ask for a small donation towards this. Organisers have also reserved free tickets for those on a low income. Just email info@wearethorny.com if you’d like one.
Thekla on Saturday, June 29 from 9pm to 3am. Tickets are on sale from £12.
Game Jam
Game Jam is a weekend of relaxed fun for people to make games and new friends
Bristol Pride is hosting its first ever Game Jam. For those who identify as LGBT+, it will be a chance to find others that enjoy spending a few hours being creative. Whether it is digital or board games that take your interest, it’s about spending a weekend creating something in comfortable surroundings. All are welcome regardless of skill level. Meals will be provided throughout the day. Booking is essential.
Broad Quay House on Friday, June 29 to Sunday, July 1. Tickets are on sale for £1.
Alyssa’s Search for a Star
Alyssa is on the hunt for Bristol’s next drag semi-star
Bristol-based Italian drag queen extraordinaire is hosting her very own drag competition. For one night only, the panel of industry experts will dispense critiques, suggestions, and praise to 10 competitors. Alyssa – who also hosts Category Is – says she was inspired to create the night after lots of local aspiring artists reached out to her for advice. It’s a great opportunity to watch aspiring queens and support the local drag scene. All proceeds go to Brigstowe – a local HIV support charity.
Old Market Assembly on Sunday, July 1 from 7pm. Tickets can be bought on the door for £3.
Poetry Night
Anna Freeman is a multi-time winner of Poetry Slam and will impress audiences with a rhythmic turn of phrase
For a cerebral night out, why not watch some stunning LGBT+ poets at the White Bear. Headlined by Anna Freeman, this acclaimed novelist, poetry slam winner and Bath Spa lecturer is a phenomenally witty and insightful writer who promises an engaging and accessible performance.
The Room Above on Sunday, July 1 from 7.30pm. Tickets are available on the door for £5.
Pride Talks
Join a panel of experts and find out why LGBT+ behaviours are natural, why intersectional groups are important for LGBT+ people and much, much more. ‘What is Natural? LGBTQIA in the Animal Kingdom’ is led by science presenter and TEDx speaker Antonia Forster.
Bristol Students Union on Monday, July 2 from 6.30 pm. Tickets are free and can be booked here.
Queervision: Best of British Screening
Take part in the vote for Bristol’s selection for Iris Prize’s Best of British competition which focuses on recognising excellence in LGBT+ storytelling on film. Aspiring filmmakers from Bristol have submitted short films and you have a chance to vote for this year’s entry from Bristol.
Watershed on Wednesday, July 4 from 6.30pm. Tickets are on sale for £10/£8/£5 (for aged 24 or under).
Brizzle Boiz
Oliver Assets will oversee proceedings at the highly-acclaimed Bristol drag king night.
Hosted by Oliver Assets and Roddy Jodphurs, Brizzle Boiz is a stunning drag king night that aims to be as entertaining as it is boundary-pushing. From Southend, Joey Bambino is an award-winning king who mixes camp and quirky humour, while Bae Sharam (which translates to “you should be ashamed yourself”) will welcome all reprobates to the #MosqueOfBae. Plus, open mic slots will give local aspiring kings the chance to test the water.
Smoke & Mirrors on Thursday, July 5 from 8pm. Tickets are on sale for £7.50 and remaining tickets will be sold for £9 on the door.
Queervision: The Miseducation of Cameron Post
Chloë Grace Moretz, Jennifer Ehle, Marin Ireland and Sasha Lane star in this film about gay conversion therapy
Queervision (Bristol Pride’s very own LGBT+ film festival) kicks off with a special preview screening of The Miseducation of Cameron Post. Cameron strikes up a friendship with two young people after her parents try to discipline and ‘de-gay’ her. This group of outcasts shares a serious and poignant story that cuts to the heart of the current debate on conversion therapy.
Watershed on Friday, July 6 from 8.40 pm. Tickets are on sale for £10/£8/£5 (for aged 24 or under).
Circus Night
Circomedia present breath-taking display of dexterity and strength that celebrates LGBT+ identity
A celebration of LGBT+ Circus with Circomedia – a first for Bristol Pride. This fundraising evening will showcase incredible circus artists from around the globe. The acts range from the highly skilled traditional style acrobatics to modern theatre.
Circomedia St Paul’s Church on Thursday, July 5 from 7.30pm. Tickets are on sale for £10/£8.
Dog Show
Will it be puppy love?
It’s not Crufts – it’s way more fun. The ever-popular dog show is bigger and furrier than ever. The categories this year include Waggiest Tail, Most Well-Groomed, Best Pup (owner or dog), Most Like Owner, Prettiest Eyes, and Dog We’d Most Like to Take Home. Take part in this light-hearted community event that celebrates man’s best friend.
Castle Park on Saturday, July 7 from midday. Tickets are available at the event for £2.
Pride: A screening
Pride was released in 2016 and tells an inspiring story inspired by real events. Spurred on by the Miners’ Strike, a small gay and lesbian rights group in London decide to fundraise to support the workers and their families, but donating the cash proves harder than they imagine when the communities learn of their identities. Eventually – by mistake – a village in South Wales welcomes them along to their social club, setting in motion a chain of events that will bind the marginalized groups forever.
The Arts House Café on Monday, July 9 from 6pm. Free entry but donations welcomed.
Pink Orchids, The HIV Monologues
A meeting with an Irish nurse who treated HIV in the 1980s changes Alex’s view, but can he fix things with Nick?
This production was nominated for best ensemble in the Off-West End Awards where Gay Times gave it a five-star review, saying: “Another triumph from the team that has so successfully put the spirit of community into modern theatre.” This powerful and poignant piece tells the story of Alex who knows nothing about HIV. Nick is his Tinder date who has just been diagnosed positive and is struggling with but things go well until Nick discloses his diagnosis and Alex reacts badly.
Wardrobe Theatre on Tuesday, July 10 from 7.15pm. Tickets are on sale for £10.
Murder, He Didn’t Write
Can you spot the killer amongst all this drag?
The Bristol theatre troupe Degrees of Error is presenting a special edition of their Edinburgh Fringe sell-out show, Murder, She Didn’t Write. This talented improv cast is performing a drag-version of their murder mystery farce. Hailed by the Ed Fringe Review as ‘one of the funniest evenings you’ll have in some time’, their shows are incredibly popular and are always a sell-out, so be sure to get your tickets quickly and will you guess whodunnit in time?
Wardrobe Theatre, Tuesday, July 10 from 9pm. Tickets are on sale for £10.
Category is: Once Upon a Pride
Alyssa is, once again, at the helm of the huge drag success story that is Category Is
Category is… is holding a show with a fairytale theme. The show is hosted by Bristol’s very own Alyssa Van Delle – the Italian Mafia’s answer to Davina McCall. The show will be headlined by Sherry Vine, a regular fixture on the New York drag circuit, and will also include Manchester queens Anna Phylactic, Donna Trump, Baga Chipz, Coco Deville, and dancers Mirko de Paolis and Mirko Mangano from Italy.
Old Market Assembly on Saturday, July 7 from 10pm-1am. Tickets are on sale for £10 /£15/£20.
Queervision: Best of Flare
The Flare film festival is the BFI’s LGBT+ festival and the biggest of its kind in the world. Bristol Pride chooses a selection to show at Queervision. There are seven films in the programme that vary from between seven and 25 minutes long. One to look out for is The Rabbi, which tells the story of a much-loved Rabbi whose certainty is shaken when his favourite student shares a secret. Skai Blue picks up the story of a young gay African man who flees to Belgium in a tale of asylum, loneliness, and hope. There are some laughs too in the shape of a short-form comedy about a boy convinced his new pet is gay.
Watershed on Wednesday, July 11 from 6.30pm. Tickets on sale for £10/£8/£4.
Running away from Cinderella
Tom Marshman is well-known for his carefully considered and compassionate pieces
Artist Tom Marshman has been working with Freedom Youth and Creative Youth Network to add a new twist to Bristol Museum & Art Gallery exhibitions. Tom and the young people have reimagined artefacts to be objects from the classic Grimm’s fairy stories but all of the stories have been given an LGBT+ twist.
Bristol Museum & Art Gallery on Saturday, July 12 at 12pm, 2pm and 4pm. Tickets are free and can be booked here.
Pride Comedy Night
Elf Lyons appeared on a list compiled by British Vogue
This troupe has got the quirky jokes and off-beat sensibilities to offer a thought-provoking night. Always a highlight, this year it features Jayde Adams (a dancing, piano-playing rapper), BBC New Comedy Award-shortlisted Sophie Ducker, Chortle Student Comedy Award-finalist Joshua Jones, and Elf Lyons who last year appeared on British Vogue’s 20 names of now.
Arnolfini on Thursday, July 12 from 7pm. Tickets are on sale for £10/£12.
UK Black Pride + KIKI
Lady Phyll is a hugely respected member of the LGBT+ PoC community for her tireless campaigning
Pride is doing more than ever to ensure that all members of the community feel represented. This year UK Black Pride and KIKI will co-host an event that welcomes Phyll Opoku-Gyimah (known as Lady Phyll) who is an executive director of Black Pride, member of the TUC Congress race relations committee and is a trustee of Stonewall. It’s fair to say she is a legendary icon and a powerful ambassador. The meeting will be a chance to meet other LGBT+ PoC before Pride.
Unconfirmed location on Friday, July 13. The event is free.
Coochie Crunch presents: Belle, Book, and Candle
Dis Charge hosts a night of outstanding queer burlesque
Coochie Crunch is a legendary burlesque night in Bristol, and their alternative, self-empowering nights are an important celebration of modern queer identity. This night has a bewitching theme – it’ll blend burlesque with a celebration of spirituality and witchcraft and includes performers from the UK and US. One of its stars is a practicing witch from New Orleans! There’s an onstage ritual to banish Donald Trump, tarot reading, dance, and lip syncing.
Its creative director, drag queen Dis Charge, describes witchcraft as powerful imaginary for the queer scene. “Witches have been hunted unfairly throughout history,” Dis Charge says, “and it was a convenient excuse used by the majority to persecute people who exhibit difference – the parallels between that and the queer community are obvious”.
Smoke & Mirrors on Friday, July 13 from 8pm. Tickets are on sale from £12.50.
ESDR presents Shangela
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bet_XjPHp3Y/?hl=en&taken-by=itsshangela
Eat Sleep Drag Repeat (ESDR) has booked Shangela! She may have missed out on a place in RuPaul’s Drag Race Hall of Fame, but the three-time competitor has shown she has more charisma, uniqueness, nerve, and talent than can be neatly summed up in a few sentences. Endlessly hilarious, incredibly charismatic, and a born performer from her tips to her toes, you can be assured of a halleloo-dicrously good time. She’ll be supported by Alfie Ordinary and DJ Emily Meow.
SWX on Friday, July 13 from 6pm. Tickets are on sale for £20.
Hallelujah, Alexandra Burke is coming
Pride Day has got a huge mix of events on offer. It all kicks off at 11 am with the parade that starts at Castle Park and leads through the centre of the city to the harbourside.
The main stage will host Alexandra Burke, Avec Sans and Republica, amongst many others.
The cabaret stage will host a dizzying parade of drag queens including (and in no particular order) Baga Chipz, Mary Mac, Son of a Tutu, Virgin Xtravaganzah, Ruby Rawbone, Mary Golds and Donna La Mode.
The dance stage (sponsored by Queenshilling) really hasn’t missed a step with their lineup. The dancers will perform African, Irish, street, Brazilian, salsa, cabaret and even Zumba.
Lloyds Amphitheatre and Millennium Square on Saturday, July 14. Day wristbands cost £5. Day+Night wristbands are £15.
Pride Screening: Talking LGBT+ Bristol
Bristol24/7′s film about love, loss and struggle documents decades of LGBT+ history and identity in the city. The film gives a platform to the LGBT+ community in Bristol and aims to increase visibility and will eventually become a learning resource in schools. Screenings commence at 2pm and 5pm.
B. Please! Pride Day Party
B. Please! has organised a free Pride day party at The Christmas Steps. It will involve queer art, vogue, drag, a BBQ, and music. The full line-up includes artists such as em williams, ZenZero, Butch Queen, and Amour Ami, with special performances from dance group Kiki House of LaVolta, and drag queen Duchess Dominique Fleek and Carmen Monoxide.
Christmas Steps on Saturday, July 14 from midday-10 pm. Free, but donations are welcome.
The biggest Pride afterparty has a truly stunning array of talents booked. The dress code for Tempest is otherworld, underwater, glittering goddess, myths, and legends, so whether you plan to turn up like Poseidon or just very wet – submerge yourself in the feel-good atmosphere in the biggest afterparty in the city.
The line-up features Savage Disco, Don’t Tell Your Mother, and KIKI. Savage Disco is helmed by London-based famed LGBT+ party makers Sink The Pink, who promise some frolickingly good dance tunes. They’ll be joined by Horse Meat Disco and The 2 Bears.
Don’t Tell Your Mother know how to dish out indie, RnB and pop at their monthly nights at The Phoenix.
KIKI started last year and aim to create new spaces for LGBT+ People of Colour. They’ll be adding a brilliant RnB, soul, dancehall and bangra to this heady mix.
02 Academy on Saturday, July 14. Tickets on sale for £12+bf in advance, more on the door. £15 Pride Day+Night wristbands include entry.
Hush: Pride afterparty
Hush are hosting another of their legendary parties for LBT+ women
Hush join forces with Bristol Pride to create a colourful afterparty for all you brilliant LBTQ+ girls, gals, non-binary pals & beautiful creatures. Famed for hosting the biggest queer girl nights outside London, Hush promises playful pop dancefloor indie, electro & RNB tunes from the best Gal DJs in the city. Featuring DJ Miau (Hush) & SPICYIVY (Paradisco) more acts TBC. Tickets sell out each year, so advance booking is recommended. Everyone welcome and the team are hoping to raise funds for Pride 2019.
Basement 45 on Saturday, July 13 from 9pm. Tickets are on sale for £8 or free entry with Pride Day & Night wristband (£15).
PUNKA: Pride afterparty
PUNKA is a Bristol-based LGBTQI alternative nightclub, featuring all female-fronted music with lots of indie, punk, and rock. It is hosting one of the official afterparties for Bristol Pride. The event will include a night of live performances, drag, and indie/punk/rock music from PUNKA DJs. Entry will be free with an official Bristol Pride ‘Day+Night’ Supporter Wristband.
Old Market Assembly on Saturday, July 14 from 10pm-4am. Tickets can be bought on the door for £6.
EAT UP #4: The very unofficial pride afterparty
Dancing Queer will belly dance in protest at the mistreatment of LGBT+ people in Egypt
EAT UP #4, the self-described ‘very unofficial’ Pride afterparty, is hosting an alternative night of queer entertainment. It will feature live performances from punk band Molar and the Bristol-based band Slagheap, as well as local drag king Kurt Sovain, and Dancing Queer who will perform their belly dance protest. Dancing Queer aims to raise awareness of the treatment of LGBT+ people in Egypt – an endeavour which recently won them an award from the UN refugee agency.
The Exchange on Saturday, July 14 from 10pm-3am. Tickets can be bought on the door for £5.
Our top newsletters emailed directly to you
