Queer and Non-Binary Artists Take Center Stage at Liverpool’s Unity Theatre This Autumn

Liverpool’s Unity Theatre will celebrate queer and non-binary creativity this autumn with a season of performances that shine a light on identity, community, and solidarity — including the highly anticipated return of Homotopia Festival, which launches its 2025 edition at Unity on November 1.

Since the 1930s, Unity has served as a home for socially engaged and politically bold theatre, emerging from the historic Unity Theatre Movement that gave voice to working-class audiences across Britain. Today, it remains the only surviving member of that movement — a cultural hub that supports Merseyside-based creatives and champions underrepresented voices across theatre, music, film, and visual art.

“This autumn’s programme embodies Unity’s founding mission: to platform the stories and artists too often left out of the mainstream,” the theatre’s team said. “From intimate solo shows to radical festival events, our stage belongs to everyone.”

Autumn 2025 Programme Highlights

Liverpool Irish Festival presents QUEER ARRIVALS

Friday 17 October – 7:30 p.m. | £15–£7
Singer-songwriter Gráinne Hunt shares a deeply personal, music-filled journey of arriving into queerness later in life. Through original songs and storytelling, Hunt explores transformation, love, and belonging. Joined by trans masc & non-binary artist HUSK, whose “Electrofolk” fuses Irish tradition with modern synth-driven beats.

Homotopia Festival Launch Party

Saturday 1 November – 6:00 p.m. | Pay What You Feel
Homotopia 2025 opens with an immersive evening of cabaret, drag, live music, and visual art inside Unity’s transformed theatre space. The event celebrates this year’s festival theme, UPRISING: Right Here, Right Now, inviting audiences to gather in joy and resistance.

Homotopia presents MR BLACKPOOL’S SEASIDE SPECTACULAR

Friday 14 November – 7:30 p.m. | £15–£7
Performance artist Harry Clayton-Wright leads an end-of-the-pier show at the end of the world, created with Oliver Gregory (aka Miss Titty Kaka) and dance duo Aysh and Sam De Belle. The piece reimagines seaside cabaret through climate crisis and camp satire.

Homotopia presents AN EVENING WITH DROSS

Saturday 15 November – 7:30 p.m. | £15–£7
A radical act of queer dreaming blending film, lip-sync, physical theatre, and ritual performance. Dross becomes both oracle and storyteller, guiding audiences through histories of grief, joy, and transformation.

Homotopia × Unity Scratch Night

Wednesday 26 November – 7:30 p.m. | £7
A showcase of bold new queer work-in-progress from local artists. Expect excerpts, readings, and experiments — all daring, playful, and unapologetically queer.

Merseyside King Collective presents MERRY MANARCHY

Wednesday 17 & Thursday 18 December – 8:00 p.m. | £15–£7
The beloved drag-king ensemble returns for a raucous holiday comedy. Lost presents, lost pants, and a fabulously chaotic search for the true meaning of Christmas — complete with power ballads, party hats, and plenty of chest hair.

About Unity Theatre