14th October - 12th November

Welcome to Glasgay! 2006 - 

Glasgay! is 13 years old this year and the festival has matured into a significant annual event attracting visitors from all over the world. The Company is proud to announce an increase in its funding which will double the turnover to just under £200k. The Company has been awarded a new three year funding package from Glasgow City Council, increased funding from the Scottish Arts Council and substantial new support from Event Scotland and Glasgow City Marketing Bureau. This has allowed the Company to re-develop the creative role of its Producer, Steven Thomson, shifting the focus from a presentation festival to an arts production company. With the support of its principle funders this enhanced role has allowed the festival to commission a number of new and exciting works as well as continue to bring the best international work from around the world.

Highlights of this year’s programme, will be an exciting programme of high profile drama commissions the first of which is the 1st ever Scottish production of Alan Bennett’s classic monologues Talking Heads to be headed by a cast of top Scottish names in co-production with the Tron Theatre for its 25th Anniversary directed by Grant Smeaton. Commissioned for the Citizens’ Theatre is Laurance Rudic, one their most famous actors who returns from Cairo, Egypt, with a spellbinding performance Entitled And God Created… exploring his life, loves and journeys through a world of enchantment, pain, release and fulfilment. Commissioned for CCA is the founder of New York’s Drag King culture, Diane Torr who returns to the stage with homage to her late brother in Donald Does Dusty, a fascinating exploration of her teenage years and the impact on their lives of the iconic Dusty Springfield.

We will also re-stage in association with the Arches Theatre, Louise Welsh’s hit Play, Pie and a Pint Production The Importance of Being Alfred. Our international programme is headed by leading New York artist and cultural phenomenon Richard Move, two time winner of a Bessie, with his loving and often satiric tribute to the legendry grande dame and mother of the contemporary dance, Martha Graham. We are also joined by Split Britches’ Lois Weaver with trailer trash crash course on art, tupperware and new math conducted by her alter ego country and western singer turned lesbian performance artist, Tammy WhyNot. Joining our international visitors Neil Bartlett, groundbreaking performer, director and author for over twenty years, makes first visit to Scotland in nearly ten years, sampling his latest work.

We have also commissioned a number of interesting boutique performances at our new Studio premises adjacent to the Q! Gallery. The Studio is a new project space for Glasgow and in our “RUSH” season we have invited local artists, Ian Nulty, Martin O’Connor and Adrian Howells to create unique, up close and personal works exploring the human condition and contemporary society. Our visual art programme at the Q! Gallery features Graffiti Brasil, an exhibition of the burgeoning street art informed by Brazil’s huge landscape, where fanatical vandalism converges with jaw-droppingly elaborate murals. Following that in the Gallery and in all subway stations across the city we feature Hey, hetero! a public art project collaboration between artist Deborah Kelly and photographer Tina Fiveash both of Australia. This quirky poster series in the form of simulated mainstream 'advertisements', series returns the gaze at privileged heterosexuality society inviting us into public discourse. 

Our comedy programme is headed by Jason Wood of BBC1’s primetime show 29 Minutes of Fame in Anus Horribilis. We are also joined by Brighton’s up coming young comedienne Zoe Lyons and Stockport’s answer to Mrs Merton and Victoria Wood, Barbara Nice who joins us in her Guy Fawkes Sunday Sparkler.

Clubbers will be delighted with an energetic mix of dance nights from Utter Gutter; The Arches’ 15th Birthday Death Disco & Café Loco and Oompah Ceilidh meets Sheboom in the Big Noise Ceilidh where queer punk meets friendly neighbourhood dance with kilted men, cheerleaders and a marching band.

Glasgay also features a film programme of 17 movies at CCA and GFT. CCA will host an interesting TRAN?GEND3RD season exploring some of the most political and sexy work we've seen this year. This international programme criss-crosses the globe dealing with the harsh realities of living as transgendered. Glasgay! is a festival that continues to have strong cultural and social relevance. Whilst we in the UK enjoy the benefits of living in a society which recognises our equality and in particular our civil partnerships our compatriots across the world continue to fight for their rights and recognition. Glasgay is an important vehicle for reminding us that prejudice, isolation and intolerance still affects many aspects of our daily lives.