I’m thrilled to be part of the next Queer Spaces scratch night at the Stephen Joseph Theatre Scarborough (Wednesday 3 June) and York Theatre Royal (Thursday 4 June), with the theatre companies Roots and Four Wheel Drive. ​I will be performing a piece from my new project Breasting Boobily and I would love to get your feedback as a member of the audience.

Queer Spaces is a sparkling night of brand-new LGBTQ+ performances. Created by actors, poets and writers, the line-up includes award-winning artists trying out new material for the first time. All proceeds will go towards Roots' support of new local artists.

The Robin Hood's Bay Folk Weekend is 5, 6 and 7 June, and for the first time there will be ​a spoken word open mic session called It's Only Words, at The Dolphin, Robin Hood's Bay, between 3 pm and 5 pm on Saturday 6 June.. The two-hour session, hosted by me and Steve Hoey, is open to anyone with a story or poem to tell.

Sign up at The Dolphin from Friday 5 June or turn up - but remember, it will be first come first served.

There's lots of other amazing things going on at The Dolphin and around Robin Hood's Bay over the weekend:

Friday 5 June
18:00 - 19:00    
Happy hour with Rob Parker
19.30 - 22.30    
Bayfolk Folk Weekend launch with The Smugglers

Friday events around Bay: Singarounds at Bay Hotel, Wainright’s Bar, Smugglers
 
Saturday 6 June
10.30 - 13.00 
All singers & musicians welcome
13.00 - 15.00
Free for all: ‘Dylan, Guthrie & Friends’ hosted by Ken McCall, Joe Gibbins & Gary Hammond
15.00 - 17.00
Spoken word: ‘It’s Only Words’ hosted by Suzanne Elvidge & Steve Hoey (sign up at The Dolphin, first come first served)
15.00 - 17.00
Open mic session with Dave’s mate (sign up at The Dolphin, first come first served)
18.00 - 19.30    
In concert: Rob Parker supported by George Husband @ St Stephen’s Church, Fylingthorpe
19.00 - 23.00    
Festival Concert: Forest Folk, Steam Pigeon & Bayfolk singers & musicians, hosted by Garry Burnett 

Friday events around Bay: Café Dash, Thieving Magpies Dance Troupe, singarounds at Bay Hotel, Wainright’s Bar, Smugglers
 
Sunday 7 June
10.30 - 11.30    
Folk Service, St Stephens Church led by Rob Parker 
12.00 - 13.00    
Irish music session led by Damian Llewellyn & friends
15.00 - 17.00    
Open mic with Rich Kitson (sign up at The Dolphin, first come first served)
20.00 - 23.00    
Survivor session hosted by Jim Foster

I will be giving an author talk at Scarborough Library on Thursday 11 June at 6 pm where I will be discussing Dancing in Heaven. Come and find out more about the stories, the people I spoke with and my writing process.

Scarborough Library: Vernon Road, Scarborough YO11 2NN

The wonderful 3-Minute Ars Mini Arts Festival Weekend is two days of music, drama, dance, crafting, poetry, storytelling, award-winning plays, stories and songs, all in the beautiful village of Glaisdale. There's also a bar and cafe from The Supper Club.

Saturday 30 May from 10 am: Performance Day and Evening Concert
Music, drama, dance, crafting, workshops, poetry, storytelling, award-winning plays, stories and songs. I will be taking part in the spoken word session in the storytelling tent at 2.30 pm.

Sunday 31 May from 10 am: Arts, Books, Music, Walks and Farewell Concert
Artists and maker stalls with demos and workshops, book talks and book stall hosted by Saltburn's independent book shop, Book Corner, music, drama and song. I'm giving an author talk about my book, Dancing in Heaven, at 2.15 pm.
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I will be joining the glorious drag queen Lana Lamont for a guest slot to celebrate her birthday as part of a night of comedy, drag, great music and special guest performances.

Other guests include poet Charlotte Oliver, drag queen Marlaine Desmond DelaRosa and musician and singer Oriana Phil Towart.

The Cask and Keg, Cambridge Terrace, Scarborough YO11 2LQ at 8 pm on Saturday 28 March 2026.
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Tickets £8, including a free drink, available here.

My monologue, The best lovers are good with their hands, will be part of The Scarborough Playwrights’ Room Showcase, an evening of groundbreaking homegrown writing from a range of voices, including monologues, short plays, and scenes from larger plays, all written in and around Scarborough.

This showcase features writing from eight local writers, including wild comedy, mysterious drama, and moving monologues. Through the show, you'll see snapshots of wider works, some published, some entirely new. This show gives you the opportunity to directly support local creatives, and maybe even get involved yourself!
 
All writing in the show has been developed and/or supported by local theatre creatives at the Scarborough Playwrights’ Room, a local writing group hosted by the SJT and run by Alfie Howle.

The best lovers are good with their hands, published in Dancing in Heaven, tells the story of a young gay man who only finds out that he is HIV-positive when he meets a BSL interpreter in hospital.

The performance is on 6 May at The McCarthy at the Stephen Joseph Theatre. Tickets are free and can be booked at the theatre and online.

See, I knew that would attract your attention. I'm working on a book with the working title 'Breasting Boobily', and it's about boobies.​

Think Vagina Monologues but a bit higher up. People born with boobies and who love them or hate them. People who breastfeed for days, months or years. People born without boobies who get boobies for whatever reason. People born with boobies who have them taken away, also for whatever reason. People who have their boobies made bigger or smaller – for whatever reason. People with big boobies. People with little boobies. People with different sized boobies.

I have never typed the word boobies this often before – blame Steve ‘The Hair’ Harrington in Stranger Things.

Like Dancing in Heaven, this will be a collection of monologues that sit between fact and fiction. Most, if not all, of the pieces will be a mix of a number of different people’s stories and will be fully anonymised. I think it will be funny and sad and silly and bittersweet, and I’m hoping it will make a great performance too.
I’m looking for people’s stories – straight people, queer people, older people, younger people. Performance stories. Everyday stories. Stories that everyone knows and stories that haven’t ever been told before.

Contact me using my contact form or on Bluesky, Facebook or Instagram. I’d love to hear your story.

PS – ‘Breasting Boobily’ comes from a parody of how some male authors write their female characters. The phrase was first posted by Tumblr user scottbaiowulf in December 2016:

​“Cassandra woke up to the rays of the sun streaming through the slats on her blinds, cascading over her naked chest. She stretched, her breasts lifting with her arms as she greeted the sun. She rolled out of bed and put on a shirt, her nipples prominently showing through the thin fabric. She breasted boobily to the stairs, and titted downwards.”

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Whether you are an absolute beginner or have been writing for years, come along and create stories prompted by Robin Hood’s Bay and its surroundings. Bring your own ideas or be inspired by artefacts from Robin Hood’s Bay and Fylingdales Museum, newspaper clippings from the 1800s and 1900s, and beachcombing finds. 

Saturday 23 May, 5.30-7.30 pm

Part of the 3-Minute Arts Mini Arts Festival Fringe

£5 per person, booking essential as places are limited - book your tickets here

Wibury House, Mount Pleasant North, Robin Hood’s Bay, YO22 4RE (Wibury House – Fylingdales WI headquarters – is the first house on the left on Mount Pleasant North). Station car park is just the other side of Station Road