Salford Academic’s Work to be Featured in 40th Anniversary of the UK’s first National Pride

Stephen Hornby, a Fellow in Drama & Theatre Practice, is working with Inkbrew Productions to create an immersive performance recreating Pride 81.

It will feature 10 monologues written by Stephen, Abi Hynes, and Peter Scott-Presland (an original Pride 81 marcher), that form the heart of the piece. The audience will be participants in the march, co-creating the piece with actors playing activists from 1981, who tell their stories as they march.

Stephen, who is an award-winning playwright, and the National Playwright in Residence to LGBT History Month said: “The Pride march of 1981 was full of extraordinary characters from Huddersfield and from across the country.

“It’s a treasure trove for playwrights and Abi and I can’t wait to get started. We hope some local writers will be joining us to rediscover what marching in the UK’s first national Pride felt like.”

The Gemini Club was opened in 1976 in Huddersfield and became a popular nightclub for gay and bisexual men. The West Yorkshire Police Force regularly raided the club, and in a show of solidarity, the organisers of Pride moved it from London creating the UK’s first National Pride.

The celebrations will also feature a photographic exhibition, with 20 portraits of people who marched in 1981 and people who are part of the LGBTQ+ community in Huddersfield today.

The yearlong multi-media celebration will take place from now until July 2022. If you would like to enjoy the celebrations, follow #Pride1981 on social media to find out more.