Acclaimed one woman in show in London run for LGBT history month - Rose Collis' Trouser Wearing Characters

For LGBT History Month, Rainbow Hamlets — with the support of LB Tower Hamlets — is proud to present the first London run of Trouser-Wearing Characters, written and performed by Rose Collis.

This original entertainment ­ — a unique mixture of music, history and comedy — is the first-ever original, one-woman cabaret-style musical show created and performed by a British author.

It combines stories, vignettes and songs (evergreens and originals) about some of her favourite, eclectic ‘trouser-wearing characters’, from Nancy Spain to Colonel Barker, Dougie Byng to the ‘f**king lady’ herself, Coral Browne — with cameo ‘appearances’ by the likes of Noel Coward, Marlene Dietrich and Vincent Price.

Since making its world premiere at the Brighton Fringe Festival 2012, the show has appeared at festivals and venues throughout the UK, from Manchester to Margate, Worthing to Wigtown. Early in 2013, it had a hugely successful five-week tour of New Zealand and Australia, appearing at Auckland Fringe, NZ, Wellington Fringe, Sydney Mardi Gras and Adelaide Fringe — the second biggest arts festival in the world.

Trouser-Wearing Characters is a one-woman show, with a cast of many characters — including Rose’s veteran banjolele,  ‘Bud’. ‘Most people won’t know that, before I became an author and journalist, I was a performer and songwriter in fringe theatre, from 1979 until 1985’, reveals Rose. "The show’s origins began with an appearance I made in May 2011 at Polari on the Southbank and, though it was a short set, the combination of comedy,  history and song was a hit with the audience — and it was one of the easiest and best ideas I’ve ever had to develop a full-length show."

"Trouser-Wearing Characters brings together everything I’ve done in my careers, from singing and writing original songs, to researching and relating stories of fascinating and quirky figures. I think the show has something for everyone, whether they enjoy showbiz-type anecdotes, real-life scandals or even just songs performed on a banjolele. So, I hope audiences will not only think, 'I really enjoyed that', but also 'I never knew that!'"

February 5 (preview night), 14, 15 & 16,

Gallery Cafe Stage, 21 Old Ford Road, London E2 9PL. Nearest tube: Bethnal Green.

Doors 7pm, show 7.30pm. Tickets: £6 (£5 concessions).

Book tickets at  http://rainbowhamlets.org.uk/cultural-programmes/events/

'Dyke the Halls' and pickled onions- controversy amongst the (un)festive

When: Sunday 15 December 7pm
Where: Hideaway 2 Empire Mews, Streatham, SW16 2ED
Tickets: £12.50 from event brite

When Rose Collis and VG Lee put their heads together one night, and came up with an alternative pre-Christmas show for those of us not completely taken up with Christmas festivities, they did not imagine the event would end up in a social media storm. 

The show - a blend of comedic and fun songs and sketches both fiction and non-fiction - is a celebration of all that is not festive, with a queer slant. Two established performers, coming together with an eclectic mix of performance, mince pies, canapes and wine. 

However, when Rose tried to publicise the Brighton peformance via a students' union facebook page, the word dyke was met with malcontent to say the least and Rose and VG were asked to remove either the flyer or the word dyke from it, claiming the group found the word 'dyke' offensive as a term for lesbians.

And the twittersphere has picked up this debate over calling the word dyke offensive, with coverage on sites such as GScene and the Huffington Post. All in agreement that the only controversy is the lack of acceptance for the term that we as lesbians have a complete right to use. 

The good news is that more people than ever know about the show and will hopefully go and see it. 

VG Lee has recently been on the Polari First Book Prize panel and is currently doing stand up comedy and working on her next novel Mr Oliver and Miss Francis. 

By Katie