Pride In Trafford Presents The Premiere of BI-TOPIA

In just over four weeks the annual Pride in Trafford Festival will open for its fifth fabulous year at Waterside in Sale. Running from Wednesday 17 - Saturday 20 May '23, this annual creative celebration of LGBTQ arts and artists, features the best in comedy, cabaret, theatre and movement. The four day event kicks off on 17 May with an official launch and flag raising ceremony on Waterside Plaza to mark The International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia.

Running across the duration of the Festival is the World Premiere of BI-TOPIA. Developed in partnership with Waterside & Creative Industries Trafford this brand new one person show offers a 'hilarious, honest and raw' exploration of an authentic Bisexual experience. Directed by the indomitable Rikki Beadle-Blair and created and performed by Sam Danson - in his first solo show - BI-TOPIA is a semi-autobiographical and candid show that challenges societal norms. It depicts a world in war-time ruins, an LGBTQ+ life scattered across the stage, bravely delving into the under-represented links between battling with poor mental health and dealing with one's sexuality.

When performer Sam Danson was growing up, his perceptions of manhood and the ideal male identity were influenced by the generations of men in his family who served in the military, and the war movies he was obsessed with. He wanted to be Ben Affleck in Pearl Harbour, Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan, and sometimes even Rambo, but that was only when you really p*ssed him off! Cut to years later, as a young adult still grappling with his male identity, Sam suffered a brutal homophobic attack which left him reeling with shock and shame and asking himself the burning question - how can you call yourself an honourable man when you have become a victim?

Taking inspiration from his own upbringing and these personal experiences and partly developed through a series of creative workshops with members of the LGBTQ+ community, veterans and those who are currently serving military who identify as LGBTQ+ - BI-TOPIA raises important and vital questions around sexuality, masculinity and male mental health. It sheds a very timely spotlight on the Bisexual experience and offers a platform to discuss maleness and societal perceptions of masculinity in a broader sense.

Sam Danson comments : "This show has been over 4 years in the making, I wanted to write something that challenges the audience whilst also being energetic and entertaining. BI-TOPIA shares not just my story, but the experience of so many other LGBTQ+ people who have struggled and experienced homophobia. This story isn't unique, it's relatable, and that's a huge problem in our society. I strongly believe in making work that confronts those issues, raises awareness for the communities left under-represented and destigmatizes the real experience for many LGBTQ+ people and I am super proud to be premiering it at Pride in Trafford at Waterside who have helped me to create and fund this vital work."

Accompanying this performance piece is an interactive visual installation also created by Danson, depicting the same world in ruins and asking the viewer to re-build from this destruction by contributing their experiences and vision for what their perfect inclusive world looks like; what would be missing? And what would be included?

This piece aims to explore what is not just a broken system for inclusivity, but one that never even worked to begin with. This, in the artist's opinion, has meant LGBTQ+ people have always had to battle for equality, acceptance and validity.

LGBTQ+ people are disproportionately affected by poor mental health, according to a research project conducted by Youth Chances:

· 52% of LGBTQ+ people reported self-harming, compared to 35% of heterosexual non-trans young people.

· 44% of the LGBTQ+ people reported suicidal thoughts, compared to 26% of heterosexual non-trans respondents.

· In a study by Stonewall, it was also found that 13% of LGBTQ+ people aged 18-24 attempted to take their own life in the past year

These issues are not talked about enough in our society, this installation is a small step to beginning the process to talk about this.

This year Pride in Trafford is delighted to have on board as a festival sponsor, Trafford-based law firm Slater Heelis. Their generous support of the Festival will allow us to enhance our engagement within the local community.

BI-TOPIA is part of Pride in Trafford 2023 - both of which run at Waterside from Wednesday 17 May until Saturday 20 May 2023. The installation will remain until the end of May.

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