Having recently undergone a £6.75million transformation of its iconic building on Oxford Road, Contact has expanded to create enhanced performance and event space to support queer communities from across the region.
Tickets are now on sale for the 9-day celebration which will take over all corners of the venue.
Queer Contact 2022
Queer Contact began over a decade ago and has since become the beating heart of Manchester’s queer arts scene. The annual Vogue Ball, a riotous head-to-head display of skills from Vogue houses across the North West, is recognised as a trailblazing event. In 2022, the festival will platform a broad range of life experience, forge alternative paths for celebrating queer identities and – for the first time – will create opportunities to engage in educational activities around queer life and health.
Queer Contact 2022 was built to meet the needs of the next generation of LGBTQ+ artists and audiences. Through in-depth consultation, Contact has aimed to ensure that the festival truly speaks to a young queer audience in the city.
By hosting workshops with individuals aged 13 – 30 Contact embedded a commitment to reflecting the experiences and interests of young people in the LGBTQ+ community. The workshops involved consultation on the outline, strategy and programme of this year’s Queer Contact.
The Festival Line-Up
The festival kicks off with drag king troupe Pecs: King of the North. Expect to be entertained with slick dance routines, sexy lip-syncs and raucous comedy. The regular Pecs team will be joined by guest Kings from Manchester’s scene in a night to celebrate queer community. Next up, The Enby Show, hosted by Carrot and featuring Divina de Campo, bringing together the best gender-benders and cis-tem offenders that the UK has to offer, in an all-star variety night popping with creme-de-la-thems. Contact Theatre is well known for its commitment to young and early-career artists, and Queer Contact’s line-up is no exception. Scratch will see tantalising glimpses of new work from a number of queer Manchester based creatives – including the two recipients of the GM LGBTQ+ Arts and Culture Network bursary: Jova and the Wave, Maz Hedgehog who share early material from their winning commissions. In addition, Plaster Cast Theatre, Sam Danson, Taylor le Fin (with TransCreative) and Chanje Kunda will also share early-stage material of new work exploring bisexual bliss, working class transmasculinity, LGBTQ+ mental health and queer desire.
Glamrou (the alter ego of Amrou Al-Kadhi) presents their debut solo show, exploring the tensions between the artist’s queerness and Iraqi/Islamic heritage. Glamrou takes us from the depths of hell to the zenith of Islamic paradise, saying the things that no one else dares to, and showing us what it means to live in a state of harmonious contradiction.
This is followed by a celebration of global vogue culture at the House of Suarez and Contact Vogue Ball at Manchester Academy 1. House of Suarez’s legendary annual Vogue Ball is returning to Manchester with a 2022 theme of Night at the Poseum, with performances inspired by treasures from around the globe currently on display in museums throughout the North West.
Book tickets to all of Queer Contact's 2022 events below.
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Queer Contact 2022 Dates: Friday 11th - 19th February Venue: Contact Theatre Line Up & Tickets