October is here, bringing the dark nights and a chill in the air, but it’s not all doom and gloom as we have an abundance of queer happenings to get stuck into.
As new and returning students flock back to the Steel City, we have Sheffield University’s LGBT+ committee welcome week with the return of the Tuesday social [Tue 1 Oct], coffee social [Fri 4 Oct] and the launch of their new brunch club [Sat 5 Oct]. Combining intrepid journalism with personal experience, Amelia Abraham discusses her book, Queer Intentions [Sat 12 Oct] exploring the joys and pains of being LGBTQ+ at a time when queer culture has seemingly never been so mainstream at Off the Shelf. Matthew Todd talks about his book Pride [Wed 9 Oct] marking the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall Riots when police raided a New York gay bar – a key moment in the beginning of the fight for LGBTQ rights.
If you want to get more involved in the pride movement, Pride in Sheffield also hold their elections this month [Tue 1 Oct] at Hallam University for their 2020 committee. This is a full committee election, so all roles are up for grabs.
Over at the Town Hall, we have SAYiT’s 20th Anniversary Celebration [Thu 24 Oct] marking two decades of working with LGBT+ young people in the city. Hear from the charity’s founders and leaders as well as leaders in the council, NHS and LGBT+ community on the fight for equality and a not to miss special performance by the new SAYiT Choir with Sheffield’s very own Out Aloud.
On the big screen this month we have a preview screening of Judy at the Curzon Cinema [Tue 1 Oct] with Renée Zellwegger starring as legendary gay icon, Judy Garland singing some of Garland’s best loved tunes. Over at the Showroom we have underground queer rock musical Hedwig & the Angry Inch and Make a Scene Live Event [Sat 5 Oct] hosted by queer trans icon Grace Oni Smith.
Following the success of her first studio album, Queer as Folk, self-described socialist, feminist, lesbian, left wing protest singer, Grace Petrie heads to the Leadmill [Sat 12 Oct] on her headline tour with her unique takes on life, love and politics that have won over audiences everywhere, across the alternative, folk, political and comedy scenes. Bringing the laughs, Eddie Izzard takes to the stage at City Hall [Sun 27 Oct] with his new stand up show, Wunderbar, expanding on his own unique, totally surreal view of life, love, history and his ‘theory of the universe’.
October also means the witching season is upon us and we have the queerest selection of Halloween offerings.
Last, but definitely not least, Plenty Fuss return to Hatch [Thu 31 Oct] for a very special Halloween edition of their night that puts women, non-binary and queer musicians at the forefront with a screening of SIKSA, an avant-garde/ queer musical about the current situation for women in Poland, the rise of right-wing politics and the heroine’s experience of adolescence in the midst of this, followed by a live performance by Eilis Frawley, playing as part of her European tour to coincide with the release of her debut album ‘Impossible Truths.’
That’s your lot for this month, for full up-to date listings of all the LGBT+ events in the city head to facebook.com/sheffieldlgbtevents.
