Classes
1 March 2026, 15:00-17:00 : Cabaret
3 March 2026, 19:00-21:00: Rent and Jonathan Larson
19 March 2026, 19:00-21:00: Stephen Sondheim
21 March 2026, 15:00-17:00: Angels in America: Queer Prophecy and the Politics of Survival
22 March 2026, 13:00-15:00: Tennessee Williams: Desire, Decay, and Queer Longing
For more specific details on each class, see Class Details below.
Practical information
- You can choose to purchase either a full course ticket (£137/£73) or a single session ticket for the first class (£29/£19). Single session tickets for the remainder of the course will only become available after the first class and are subject to availability.
- Online ticket sales will close two hours prior to the event starting.
- If sales have closed and you would still like to attend, to enquire about availability please contact our Box Office team via 020 73929200. If spaces remain we can arrange payment over the phone.
- These sessions are live only and will not be recorded. Attendees must join at the scheduled time, as recordings will not be made available after the event.
What can I expect?
These classes are taught through presentations (PowerPoint on shared screen) video clips and discussions. Discussion sections are optional, but allow participants to reflect on the material and their own experiences.
Joining via Zoom
These classes will be held via Zoom. You need a computer/laptop or mobile phone to access the Zoom website, and a reliable internet connection.
Need to Know
Meet the Tutor
Dr Emily Garside
Emily Garside is a writer and professional nerd based in Cardiff. She has a PhD in theatrical responses to the AIDS crisis and is a leading expert on LGBTQ+ theatre. Emily regularly writes for journals such as The Queer Review, American Theatre, and Wales Art Review. She published her first non-fiction book ‘Love That Journey For Me: The Queer Revolution of Schitt's Creek’ in 2021 with 404ink. This was followed by ‘Angels in America at the British National Theatre’ in 2022 (McFarland). While 2023 sees ‘Seasons of Love, why Rent Matters’ (Applause), ‘Schitt’s Creek and the Rise of Queer TV’ (Applause), and ‘From Queer as Folk to It’s A Sin; Russell T Davies and Queer TV’ (Calon Books). She is also a journalist, a regular contributor for The Queer Review and has written for American Theatre, Slate, BBC, and The Stage. She also uses her research and lived experience to tell queer stories through fiction, having had several plays performed in London and nationally.
Class Details
01/03/26 - Cabaret
15:00-17:00
In Cabaret, queerness shimmers beneath the sequins — bold, playful, and perilously free. This session explores how Kander & Ebb’s masterpiece channels the queer energy of Weimar nightlife, where gender and performance blurred on the edge of fascism’s rise. We’ll look at the Emcee as a queer icon, the club as a sanctuary, and at how Cabaret still warns and seduces us with its politics of visibility. And asks: in today’s political climate, is Cabaret the musical we should be paying the most attention to?
03/03/36 - Rent and Jonathan Larson
19:00-21:00
Jonathan Larson’s Rent brought queer life centre stage — raw, joyful, and unapologetically political. Set in the shadow of the AIDS crisis, it reimagines Puccini’s La Bohème through artists, lovers, and friends fighting for dignity and connection. This session examines Rent as a queer cultural landmark — blending activism and art, heartbreak and hope — to redefine what a Broadway family could look like, with a reflection on the long-ranging impact of the show, from the original cast to friendships made in fandoms and, of course, Larson’s lasting impact.
19/03/26 - Stephen Sondheim
19:00-21:00
Explore how Stephen Sondheim reshaped musical theatre through a queer sensibility of wit, alienation, and emotional honesty. From the longing of Company and Sunday in the Park with George to the gender play of Into the Woods, Sondheim’s work challenges traditional masculinity, relationships, and desire. This session focuses on the subtle queer codes and complex outsider voices that made Sondheim the quiet revolutionary of Broadway.
21/03/26 - Angels in America: Queer Prophecy and the Politics of Survival
15:00-17:00
Tony Kushner’s Angels in America (1991–92) is a landmark of queer theatre — an epic vision of AIDS-era America where angels, ghosts, and real politics collide. This lecture explores the play’s mix of tragedy, satire, and spiritual rebellion, examining how it gave voice to rage, loss, and queer faith at the end of the 20th century. We’ll look at how Kushner turned queer suffering into transcendence — and why his call for compassion, visibility, and change still resonates in today’s cultural and political climate.`
22/03/26 - Tennessee Williams: Desire, Decay and Queer Longing
13:00-15:00
Behind the Southern charm and shattered dreams of Tennessee Williams’ plays lies a world charged with queer emotion. This session delves into the coded desires and secret identities of A Streetcar Named Desire, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, and Suddenly, Last Summer, uncovering how Williams wrote queerness into mid-century America through metaphor and lyricism. We’ll explore his life as a gay man under censorship, his influence on queer aesthetics, and how his work continues to define the language of longing on stage
What We Do
