Polari National Tour receives grant funding

London’s award-winning LGBT literary salon Polari has been awarded a grant from Grants for the Arts, supported by the Arts Council of England and the National Lottery.

The grant will fund a national tour in the Autumn, beginning in September and ending at the Southbank Centre in November, which marks the literary salon’s seventh birthday.

The tour will include Polari events at the Marlborough Theatre in Brighton, Homotopia in Liverpool, shOUT in Birmingham and the Manchester Literature Festival and will feature the best in established and emerging LGBT literary talent. It will also help to promote The Polari First Book Prize, which is now in its fourth year.

Paul Burston, founder and host of Polari said: “After several successful, sell-out years at the Southbank Centre, it’s been a dream of mine to take Polari on tour. I’m very grateful to the Arts Council of England and the National Lottery for making this possible.”

Full tour dates include:

– Marlborough Theatre, Brighton, 4 Prince’s St, Brighton, BN2 1R. 7.30pm. £8.50 (£6.50 conc). With Neil Bartlett, VG Lee, John McCullough, VA Fearon and Jill Gardiner.

To book tickets, CLICK HERE:

Or telephone: 0800 411 8881

– Soho Literary Festival at Soho Theatre, 21 Dean St, W1D 3NE. 8pm. £9. With Will Davis, VA Fearon, Justin David and VG Lee

To book tickets, CLICK HERE:

Or telephone: 020 7478 0100

– National Poetry Day, St Albans Library,  The Maltings, AL1 3JQ 7.15pm. £5 (£2.50 conc) includes wine and nibbles. With Sophia Blackwell, VG Lee, Nick Field and Barbara Brownskirt

To book tickets, CLICK HERE:

Or telephone: 0300 123 4049

– Manchester Literature Festival at Contact, Oxford Rd, M15 6JA, 7.30-9.30pm. £6 (£5 conc). With Jonathan Harvey, Neil Bartlett, VG Lee and Rosie Garland.

To book tickets, CLICK HERE:

Or telephone: 0161 274 0600

– Halloween Special – Three Minute Theatre, Manchester, Afflecks Arcade, 35-39 Oldham Street, M1 1JG, 7.30pm. £7 (£5 conc). With Jack Wolf, Tara Ali Din, Adam Lowe, VG Lee and Michael Atkins (finalist, Barbara Burford Prize 2014)

To book tickets, CLICK HERE:

Or telephone: 0161 834 4517

– Homotopia at Unity Theatre, Liverpool, 1 Hope Place, L1 9BG, 9pm. £7 (£5 conc). With Jonathan Harvey, VG Lee, Gerry Potter and Clare Campbell.

To book tickets, CLICK HERE:

Or telephone: 0844 873 2888

– Hexagon Theatre at Mac, Birmingham, Cannon Hill Park, B12 9QH, 7.30pm. £5 (£2.50 conc). With VG Lee, Keith Jarrett, Fanny Gapper, Clare Ashton and Kiki Archer

To book tickets, CLICK HERE:

Or telephone: 0121 446 3232

– Stevenage Central Library, Southgate, SG1 1HD, 7.15pm £5 (£2.50 conc) includes wine and nibbles. With Sophie Ward, Alexis Gregory, Sarah Westwood, VG Lee and Alex Hopkins.

To book tickets, CLICK HERE:

Or telephone: 0300 123 4049

– Lit & Phil, Newcastle, 23 Westgate Road, NE1 1SE,  7pm. Free. With Mari Hannah (winner of The Polari First Book Prize 2013), Sophia Blackwell, Debbie Taylor, Stephen Shieber and VG Lee

To book tickets, CLICK HERE:

Or telephone: 0191 232 0192

– Seventh Birthday and End of Tour – Southbank Centre, London, RFH, Belvedere Road, SE1 8XX, 7.45-10pm. £5 (£2.50 conc). With Neil Bartlett, Ben Ferguson, Alex Marwood, Sarah Bramley and Niven Govinden.

To book tickets, CLICK HERE:

Or telephone: 0844 847 9910