Celebrate 50 years of the Pride Festival with powerful and provocative productions to challenge your perceptions at Blackpool Grand Theatre…

Blackpool Grand Theatre celebrates 50 fabulous years of the Pride Festival this year with a line-up of dazzling and diverse shows that will always stand out from the crowd…

Leading the march is a daring duo of critically acclaimed shows that challenge the status quo, much as the first Pride Festival did in London in 1972. The thrilling and thought-provoking productions Riot Act on Sunday 16 July and The MP, Aunty Mandy and Me on Wednesday 28 and Thursday 29 September will also mark the official relaunch of the STUDIO at Blackpool Grand, which has previously staged many cutting-edge artists in its fittingly intimate performance space.

Riot Act is an inspiring and hilarious celebration of queer activism across the decades that pulls absolutely no punches. It’s a riot! This solo verbatim show is created entirely out of interviews with three key-players in the history of the LGBTQ+ rights movement – Michael Anthony Nozzi: a survivor of the Stonewall Riots, Lavina Co-op: an alternative ‘70s drag artist, and Paul Burston: ‘90s London AIDS activist. This acclaimed audience favourite is a rip-roaring, white-knuckle ride through six decades of queer history, taking the audience right up to the present day. Tender, truthful, funny, political and personal; these are stories of sexuality, activism, addiction, family, love, sex, drag, community, conflict, identity, youth, ageing, loss, fierce queens and a Hollywood diva. Written and performed by Alexis Gregory.

The MP, Aunty Mandy & Me explores consent, coercion and grooming within the gay male community with biting humor and contemporary social commentary. Meet Dom. He wants more than anything else to be an #instagay #influencer, but it’s tough when no-one likes your posts, you can’t find a bloke who shares your love of trains and you live with your MDMA popping, Simply Red loving mum in a small northern village five miles from the nearest gay. He’d love a fabulous life with the A-Gays in the city, but his social anxiety prevents this from being a reality. It’s all a bit of an effort. Then one day, a chance encounter with his local MP turns everything upside down. But in pursuit of the life he thinks he wants; just how much does Dom have to give up? These two STUDIO shows are not to be missed!

Looking for spectacular entertainment all year round? There’s so much to choose from at Blackpool Grand! Sing out with The Rise and Fall of Little Voice starring Shobna Gulati (Coronation St), Ian Kelsey (Emmerdale) and ‘girl of a thousand voices’ Christina Bianco, packed with humor, heart and countless powerhouse ballads from Judy Garland, Billie Holliday and many more; put on your red shoes and dance the blues with the spectacular Bowie Experience; roll up for the Forbidden Nights Sexy Circus as the talented cast of live male vocalists and world-renowned circus performers spin across the stage in this high-octane, adults only show; take a thrilling journey into the glamorous Parisian underworld with the ultimate Moulin Rouge and more tribute Come What May; dress up to the nines and do the Time Warp at Richard O’Brien’s raucous Rocky Horror Show and let your senses tingle at a glamorous An Evening of Burlesque with fun, feathers and fabulous costumes. Check out our website for full show listings and information.

This year’s Blackpool Pride Festival will take place on Saturday 11 June with the Parade starting at the Sandcastle/South Pier and then heading along the Promenade and finishing at North Pier. The main Pride Arena will be at Princess Parade behind the Metropole hotel with live entertainment from 11am with all participants encouraged to enjoy the music and dance and let the LGBTQ+ flag fly high! For further details please visit https://prideblackpool.co.uk/

Celebrate 50 years of Pride with us at Riot Act on Sunday 16 July and The MP, Aunty Mandy & Me on Wednesday 28 & Thursday 29 September in the STUDIO at Blackpool Grand Theatre and #Beproud to be you.