Stonewall 50th Anniversary Production of RIOT ACT Announced At Arcola Theatre
Riot Act is a hard-hitting, hilarious and heart-warming exploration of the history of the LGBTQ rights movement.
Created from playwright and performer Alexis Gregory's interviews with Michael-Anthony Nozzi, one of the only remaining Stonewall survivors; Lavinia Co-op, a 1970s London radical-drag artist; and Paul Burston, a prominent 1990s AIDS activist, this solo verbatim piece is a breathtaking journey through six decades of queer history.
Arriving at Arcola Theatre after a sold-out West End performance and a summer 2018 run in the Kings Head Queer Season, and ahead of a UK Tour, Riot Act honours the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots - with the 30 June performance marking the actual anniversary weekend. It's going to be a riot!
Riot Act, written and performed by Alexis Gregory, directed by Rikki Beadle MBE, will play Arcola Theatre on Sunday June 16, Sunday June 23 and Sunday June 30.
Arcola Associate Director Jack Gamble said: "In our main-stage programme and with our community Queer Collective, Arcola has a deep commitment to staging the lives and histories of LGBT+ people. We're very proud to be co-producing Riot Act ahead of a UK Tour. It's an exceptional piece of theatre, which - on the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots - is also a vital reminder that the civil rights of LGBT+ eople were hard-won, and must be defended."
'You know what's strange, I felt safer on the night of the riots, on the sidewalk in front of Stonewall, than I did in my own home town'
'I'm a drag queen. I want to live. I want to survive. As an older person, I'm 65 now, I couldn't give a f*cking shit'
'In London, the idea of 'safe sex' was; don't sleep with Americans. James was older; a mature student. He was 22 years old when he died'
Hard-hitting, provocative, tender, truthful, funny, political and personal, these are stories of queerness, sexuality, activism, addiction, family, childhood, love, sex, drag, community, togetherness, conflict, identity, youth, ageing, loss, fierce queens and a Hollywood diva.
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