Queer Rural Connections
Project Leads:
Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Media Law & Policy, Faculty of Law
Co-founder and Artistic Director, Turn of Phrase Theatre and Training Company
Partner Organisations:
The Museum of English Rural Life
Turn of Phrase Theatre and Training Company
About the project:
Rural Connections: Mediating Rural Queer Identity through Technology, Theatre and Film is a project spearheaded by Timothy Allsop and Dr Kira Allmann alongside the theatre and education company, Turn of Phrase. Through partnerships with the Museum of English Rural Life, The Museum of East Anglian Life, Pride in Suffolk’s Past, SupportU, and several other arts and heritage organizations, the project creates both a filmed documentary and live theatre piece exploring queer rural lives. One of the key objectives is to decentre urban perspectives and presentations of queer lives and identities.
Our research examines how rural LGBTQIA+ communities engage with technology and social media. We look at their impact on queer rural spaces, generational divides, social life, coming out experiences, and support service access. We explore how our partners engage with their archives to uncover queer rural histories and how to make these stories available to local communities.
The project collects oral testimony from rural queer people and engages them in the making process of both theatre and film. This is a participatory project and our methodology places the interviewees and communities at the heart of the storytelling process. The film and theatre piece will tour several heritage and arts venues, and will also be part of an Oxford panel day in the summer of 2021. There will be workshops, talk-backs and opportunities for audiences and participants to engage with queer archival material as part of the project.
Contacts:
