Did you keep a diary as a teenager? Would you read it in front of a crowd? With leather-bound journals and frayed A4 notebooks in hand, a group of queer people do just that in Shoreditch’s Rich Mix venue. For wholesome, nostalgic fun, strap in for Queer Diary, a night of wistful recollections of juvenile relationships, insecurities, heartbreak and hilarity.
A very appropriate soundtrack accompanies the Shoreditch school disco-goers into the audience: think 90s to nostalgic noughties, everything from Pink to Avril Lavigne and Green Day and more. There’s even a ‘tuck shop’ selling Dib Dabs, lollipops, bead bracelets and temporary tattoos. The colourful lights are spinning and flashing, and it’s only the unhidden alcohol that gives away that this school disco is for adults.
Queer Diary is a chance for LGBTQIA+ adults to reflect on their youth through diary readings, angsty poetry and other adolescent writings. Host Beth Watson acknowledges the unusually big crowd and the energy is reflected in a giddy excited atmosphere. The audience is entirely receptive to every reading with enthusiastic reactions and knowing laughs as all reflect on the hilarious naivety of young queer-hood. It’s often funny, sometimes moving and heart-warming, and always entertaining.
Some speakers return from previous readings, and regular attendees can build a holistic image of the teenage version of returning speakers; it adds to the lovely sense of community built in the room. A nod to the effort made with people’s outfits on the ‘School Disco’ theme is shown through awards for best dressed, the winners being titled the gender-neutral ‘monarch’ and offered a hand-crafted paper crown. There’s a rightful acknowledgement of the particular abundance of fishnet tights in the room, which is a nice transition into reflecting on teenagers’ creative interpretation of school dress codes.
Although diary entries themselves change with each evening, the night brings some themes recognisable to any queer: emo culture in all its forms, ‘I asked the tarot’, and even the sad, yet a bit funny, manifestations of internalised homophobia. The important adage that ‘good girls go to heaven; bad girls go to Claire’s (accessories)’ is a sentiment that remains true to this day.
Serious props to the production’s accessibility; the BSL interpreters, visual descriptions and live captions not only are seamlessly intertwined into the show but have their own comedic flair to add (a particular favourite includes a ‘xoxo gossip girl’ sign-off in the captions to signal the end of the interval).
The rip-roaring playlist continues as the chairs are cleared away so the dancing can begin; it’s school disco time. It’s nice to see that the dancing is equally as awkward and beautifully careless as it might have been at school.
It’s heart-warming to see the after-party full of people who might have had to wait for their queer crowd, but now have found it in their adulthood. It’s the queer school disco young people deserve but don’t always get. It’s a space to look back on our formative years with kindness and laughter. An entertaining and important evening.
Reviewed on 31 May 2024. Host Beth Watson’s Hasbian plays at Omnibus Theatre 25-29 June 2024
