'Come As You Are Festival' in Poole

Camden People’s Theatre take over the venue with a host of performances and workshops from gender-anarchists with more questions than answers.

In the last few years, progressive thinking about gender has gone mainstream, and understanding has developed of gender as infinite variety. More and more individuals are reclaiming the right to define their genders, their bodies and their selves.

‘Come As You Are’ is a pop-up festival headlined by the award-winning show ‘Bullish’ by Milk Presents. It will celebrate and interrogate all the world’s issues regarding female, male, between and beyond.

Opening the festival on 29 November, a ‘Scratch Night’ will feature three 20-minute performances of explosive new work from local trans, non-binary and gender queer artists. Expect brand new works in progress, never-before-seen ideas and some of the freshest work from the most innovative and exciting local theatre-makers, based around the themes of ‘Come As You Are’.

Headlining on all three days of the festival, Milk Presents, the makers of smash hit ‘Joan’ (Off West End, Fringe First and Stage Award winner) present ‘Bullish’. Pitting ancient mythology against modern gender navigation, ‘Bullish’ furiously disrupts traverses and rewrites the rulebook. Stepping into the ring with a gender fierce ensemble of hopers and renegades, it is a story about packing, passing, and gambling your way out of the labyrinth. This new mythical play with songs negotiates ancient and new territories in trans-masculine gender and identity. Each performance will be captioned by the Difference Engine, which sends captions to audience member’s mobile phones or tablets.

On 30 November Non-Binary Electro Hour brings together noise about queer life, and desire for queer/trans bodies, with a brief punk history of drag outside the boxes – from queer stars of stage and screen to the gender-bending icons of today. This modern-day revue is a take on what it’s like to be in-between categories.

As part of the ‘Come As You Are Festival’, Lighthouse and Camden People’s Theatre partner with local trans and LGBTQIA+ organisations to curate a panel discussion on 1 December exploring experiences and issues that are pertinent to the local trans, non-binary and gender queer community in Dorset.

The festival culminates in a double-bill of works in the Sherling Studio on 1 December. I’m Bitter About Glitter is a collaboration between mother and child. Liz Clarke has worked with her nine-year-old son Felix to create a story full of grit and sparkle; a gentle exploration of how gender affects the choices we’re given and the roles we can play.

Deuce, the second half of the double-bill explores the 30th anniversary of the introduction of Section 28, the infamous legislation that banned local authorities from ‘promoting’ homosexuality and had a profoundly damaging effect on the ability to be visible as a lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender or queer (LGBTQ) person without fear of, or actual, reprisal.