Pride month, which takes over the calendars every June, is officially in full swing. Originally held to mark the one-year anniversary of the Stonewall riots in New York – a landmark moment in LGBTQ+ history when protesters fought back following a brutal crackdown on the gay venue Stonewall Inn – the first Gay Pride march, Christopher Street Liberation Day, first took place in 1970. Pride has since grown into a global movement focused on celebrating the LGBTQ+ community and drawing attention to ongoing inequality and discrimination.
Pride in London traditionally covers Soho and surrounding areas around the anniversary of the Stonewall riots; It will be held on June 29 this year. Attracting around 1.5 million visitors each year, it’s one of the loudest and proudest around, with scores of floats lining the streets of central London.
There are countless other events to check out in the lead-up to the capital’s biggest party. Here’s our pick of some of the best cultural offerings.
Nesting Lesbian
Don’t miss the last few days of this Deptford exhibition, a solo exhibition by theater designer and artist Daisy Blower. “Nesting Dyke imagines and plays with strange possibilities: What will we build from scratch?” Blower asks in a statement explaining the meaning behind the tiny houses in the show, which take the form of tiny, domesticated nests. A subversive alternative to the dollhouses of childhood, these “rushed, fragile structures” were “made from the whims and fancies of the moment.”
Salon Gallery, until June 8
GRILLS
Attention gay history buffs, this new play at Camden Community Theater delves into the secret story of the Camden Lesbian Center and Black Lesbian Caucus, founded in 1984 to challenge the homophobia, racism and sexism faced by black lesbians. A long-forgotten piece of LGBTQ+ history (largely thanks to the archives being stored 400 miles away in Glasgow) and shuttered amid a wave of queer venue closures in the ’90s, its story is now being told by self-described “queer nerds”. Vall, Bee, Jaz and Mo.
Camden Community Theatre, June 4-22
Pride of Writing
Now in its fifth year, Pride in Writing is set to take over Waterstones’ massive Piccadilly flagship for a special event focusing on established and emerging LGBTQ+ writers. Grace Curtis, Flora Dunster & Theo Gordon and Will Tosh appear on a panel dedicated to new queer literary talent, while writers Briony Cameron, Jiaming Tang, Samuel Burr and Phoebe Stuckes appear in Queering the Ages. According to Hachette Pride, there will be everything from space westerns to William Shakespeare to post-socialist China.
Waterstones Piccadilly, 5 June
Bishopsgate Institute Archive Tour
A permanent fixture on Liverpool Street, the Bishopsgate Institute has meticulously preserved queer history for the last 125 years – and wonderful, highly knowledgeable staff kindly open its doors for archive tours all year round. Still, if you’ve never visited before, Pride feels like an opportune time to change that.
Bishopsgate Institute, 6 June
Trips
The Kings Head Theater in North Islington shines a light on the best queer theater all year round, so naturally Pride month is well covered too. As well as LGBTQ+ comedy night Wendy’s House, a “sexy harp concert”, a dramatized drag history and the spirit of two wildly different queer musicals (one reflecting gay men’s experiences in post-War Germany, the other following an aspiring diva) Matthew Baldwin and Thomas Hescott’s new play, Outings, offers a collection of coming-out stories on stage.
Kings Head Theatre, 7, 9, 14, 21 and 28 June
Pride of the Royal Opera House
Throughout June, the Royal Opera House celebrates the LGBTQ+ creators who helped shape the institution of ballet and opera with special guided tours throughout the month, promising to shine a light on “everything from pioneering composers and choreographers to gender-equal performances throughout our history.”
Royal Opera House, 8-27 June
Desire, Love, Identity: Exploring LGBTQ Histories
Treasure hunting anyone? Drawing on its extensive existing collections, the British Museum has put together two distinct routes that highlight a variety of artefacts and objects that share an interesting connection to different aspects of LGBTQ+ history. Among the selections you’ll find ancient Greek poems about Sappho and lesbian desire, a closer look at the story of Lady Eleanor Butler and Sarah Ponsonby (two 18th-century women who fled to North Wales to live their dreams together), and once again . -Forbidden Roman wine glass decorated with scenes of male lovers.
British Museum, 9-29 June
Pride Panel: Trans Pride and Dyke March to Talk
For the first time in a decade, the Dyke March – a loud, proud celebration of queer women and trans and/or non-binary people – is returning to the capital, with their march in central London taking place on 22 June as a grassroots alternative. Pride London. The following day, this fascinating briefing with the organizers of Trans Pride will see organizers Stav B, Shiv and Miggy reflecting on the importance of Pride as a whole.
Queer Britain, 23 June
LGBTQIA+ Tours at Tate
Drawing on their massive collections of classic pieces, Tate Modern and Tate Britain are running special LGBTQ+ tours all summer long, helping visitors learn more about art “through the lens of gender identity and sexuality.” In other words, it’s the perfect Pride event for gallery enthusiasts looking for a new perspective on art history.
Tate Modern or Tate Britain during the Summer
So Desi So Weird
London Indian Film Festival short film bonanza Too Desi Too Queer showcases vital new work exploring the stories and experiences of South Asian LGBTQ+ communities across the subcontinent and diaspora. This year it brings a selection of short films and documentaries to Rich Mix in east London.
Rich Mixture, June 27
Classic Pride
As part of the Barbican’s Pride programme, conductor Oliver Zeffman once again presides over the orchestral celebration. Now expanded to a 5-day celebration, highlights of the event include the world premiere of a new work by Fleabag composer Isobel Waller-Bridge and the smash-hit new addition Classical Drag. The second, at HERE Outernet, will see a host of musically talented drag performers (including Drag Race alum Monét X Change and London drag king favorite Beau Jangles) perform Philip Glass tribute Violin For Your Life.
Barbican, 3-7 July
London Dyke Market
This community-led exhibition of “the UK’s best lesbian artists, writers and creators” will replace Kennington’s reliable and fabulous art gallery, Space Station Sixty-Five, next month; It’s the perfect place to get kitted out with new clothes for London Trans Pride, Brighton Pride or indeed this year’s Christmas presents, if you’re that well organised.
Space Station Sixty-Five, July 6
Pride Guided Tour
Besides being written by one of the world’s best-known playwrights, Shakespeare’s plays are always quite strange. From the gender-fluid plots of Twelfth Night and As You Like It to the homoerotic subtexts of Mercutio pulling out his “gun,” LGBTQ+ undertones run throughout the canon. The Globe delves further into these queer readings of his classic works with its summer-long series of Guided Pride Tours, exploring what life was like for LGBTQ+ people who attended the historic theater in the Bard’s time.
Shakespeare’s Globe, Until October 23