Queer Diary FAQs

Yes! Queer Diary needs an audience!

We usually host a handful of readers per event who share on the mic - everyone else watches and cheers them on. 

You can come and enjoy the show as an audience member (some audiences return regularly, because every night is different!)

Find tickets for upcoming Queer Diary events

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A Queer Diary evening usually consists of 2-5 people sharing something they wrote when they were younger (mostly teenage diaries, but also poetry, fan-fiction, creative writing, etc.). Before/after readings, and during the break, we put on a playlist if 'teenage throwback' music - audiences can request to hear their favourite nostalgia tracks.

The night is hosted by Beth, who shares a couple of diary entries, and creates a friendly atmosphere chatting to the audience. It's an informal space with no pressure to participate/share/join in, except on your own terms. The aim of Queer Diary is to be a fun, relaxed and inclusive social space for celebration, connection, and solidarity for everyone in the room - whether you're sharing, or watching/listening.

Feedback from past events:

"[Queer Diary] created a little safe space. I had a good laugh.. and felt like we could all relate to something we shared. I was nervous but quite glad I got to read this in front of a live audience. I’m so glad I got this opportunity to share my story and receive such support from the people who popped up watched and read." - Queer Diary reader, Amandeep (via instagram)

“A fun, friendly sharing where we can pretend to be shocked at everyone else's adolescent high jinks. Very welcoming to all identities.”

“It'll prove that you weren't as weird as you thought you were - or that we're all as weird as each other.”

"So affirming"

"A joy to be a part of."

Start/finish times will change depending on the venue and day. Check our events listings to find out about the next upcoming shows. 

Latecomers will be allowed in, but early arrival is encouraged, because seating is unreserved as standard.

Timings usually run like this:

• Readers arrive ~30min before doors open. 

• Doors open for audience ~30min before readings begin. 

• Readings for about 2 hours, with a short refreshment break halfway through.

• Time at the end to socialise and enjoy the throwback playlist.

As a pop-up open-mic event, running times may vary, depending on how many readers sign up, the length of readings, and style of venue (eg, the event may be longer at a bigger venue with a larger audience, or may be shorter at a festival with a limited time-slot). Feel free to email us, if you're not sure of the running times for a specific event you're interested in being part of.

"Queer" is used here as an umbrella term for everyone who is not heterosexual and cisgender (it's also a neat pun on the phrase "Dear Diary").

We will NEVER police how you identify with queerness, or question where you sit under the LGBTQIA+ umbrella.

​You are welcome here!

Yes!!!!!!!  All queer/LGBTQIA+ life-experience is valid. Whether you came out of the womb waving a rainbow flag, or are still thinking about how you identify. Whether you wrote about every crush in intense detail, or mostly wrote updates about your favourite TV show.

You don't need to have known you were queer. 

Your sharing does not need to be about queerness.

Yes! "teenage diaries" is a guideline. We're not strict about how old you were, as long as it's from your past! 

Some people bring writing from their pre-teen years, if they wrote something funny or sweet when they were a kid. It's all good.

Some people discovered their sexuality/gender as young adults, so may bring something from that time, to reflect their coming-of-age era.

We just ask that it's written/created by you, and is authentically from when you were younger (not a recent piece of writing).

Queer Diary welcomes adults of all ages. We love to hear about queer lives across generations - past readers' ages have ranged from people in their 20s, to people their 70s.

Most Queer Diary public events are NOT aimed at under 18s. 

Our open mic nights are a space for adults to share writing from their past, not the present - so on-stage diary-reading is not open to under 18s. Queer Diary open mic nights may include content that's unsuitable for under-16s, and we sometimes host events at venues that are 18+. Please double check with the organisers and venue, if you're considering bringing an under-18 to one of our events.

If you work for an LGBTQIA+ youth club or project, please email us to speak to us about adapting Queer Diary events or activities to be suitable for your group. Our team have extensive experience working with young people, up-to-date enhanced DBS certificates, and would be happy to discuss ideas about how we can adapt our work to suit the young adults or older teenagers in your group or community.

Our theatre show Hasbian is recommended for ages 16+. Please email us if you're thinking of bringing young people to the show, and would like more information about the content of the script.

Yes!  We're very open to you sharing any writings or artefacts from your teenage years, childhood, or youth.

Examples of things people have brought before include:

- Songs, poetry, fanfics, plays, or short stories written when they were teens

- Love letters, emails, messages - handwritten, printed, or dredged up from the depths of the internet*

- Video clips or audio recordings

- Sketches, collages, scrapbooks, collections, clothing, photos, GCSE art work

If it's not a piece of writing (ie. you bring a drawing, or a t-shirt) then we might ask you to "show and tell" the item, to provide some context. You might want to share a memory from that point in your life.

*if you had Livejournal, MySpace, Bebo, Tumblr, see if you remember your old passwords! 

The Internet Archive Wayback Machine can be handy to find your old stuff online

Yes! Within reason. (Please don't make anything up!!)

You've only got a short time on stage, so if you have plenty of material, we'd encourage you to choose the 'best bits' to start with. We also welcome edits and cuts for brevity, clarity, privacy, or for the wellbeing of yourself and our audiences. (see 'sensitive topics' & 'content warnings', below).

We love authenticity and would urge you not to focus too much on polishing your diary to make it funnier or more insightful. New readers sometimes worry about a diary being "boring", but then discover the audience love it!

If you'd like advice on editing, or choosing what to read, let us know when you sign up: our team will be more than happy to talk it through, or read/listen to some of your material, to help you decide.

If you have loads of material, you may be able to come back and read again another time. Plenty of readers return for more, and audiences often enjoy a 'to be continued...' moment!

Let us know when you sign up if your diary needs any content warnings, or is serious/intense/sad. 

Whilst majority of readings are light-hearted in tone, Queer Diary nights can include teen angst, as well as joy. 

If you're thinking of sharing anything serious or sad, please let us know, so we can take it into account when planning the evening. We may want to chat to you about what you're thinking of sharing, as we need to make sure the audience are prepared, and we'll want to be assured that you're taking care of yourself.  

When deciding what to read:

Check in with yourself, and set your own boundaries.

When deciding what to read (or if you want to read at all) please consider whether your reading may bring up old emotions. Is this something you're comfortable sharing in a public space, with strangers?

Diary-reading can be cathartic, and the support of a room full of friendly queers can feel healing as well as fun, but our team are NOT therapists.

Think about how to care for yourself before, during, and after reading - especially if it touches on anything sensitive.

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Consider our audiences.

Ask yourself:

1. Does your writing go into detail or have long passages on intense, sad, or triggering topics? 

Please use discretion, when deciding whether to read, and check in with our team before the event. 

Consider skipping out some words, or shortening a section if you need to. It's OK not to read everything you wrote as a young person.

2. Does your teenage writing contain offensive language or harmful ideas about a group you're not part of? 

For example: 

• If someone thin wrote a page of fat-phobic comments as a teen, sharing this on stage could be hurtful or triggering to someone in the room. Even if the reader "knows better" now, words from the past can still cause harm. Please don't share this kind of thing at Queer Diary.

However: 

•  A gay person sharing a page of teenage internalised homophobia has a different resonance - because it directly relates to their own experience. There can be space for this at Queer Diary, but please think carefully, and give appropriate warnings for anything like this. Take care of yourself, and the audience.

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We recommend post-it notes and paper clips! 

If you're reading from a paper diary, post-its and paper clips can be useful to remind yourself when give content warnings, or skip over any words/pages that you've chosen not to share.

We recommend planning your intro, and making a note for yourself, so you remember it when you get on stage.

Post-its & paperclips are your friend!

• Give a brief visual description of yourself. 

A brief description of your appearance helps make our event more accessible for blind and visually impaired people.
For example, Beth usually says something like:
"I'm Beth, I'm a 5-foot-tall smiley white person with a brown ponytail, in a purple shirt and pink dungarees. My diary is a blue book with a teardrop drawn on the front".

You can add personality, eg: "I'm Beth, I'm a 5-foot-tall smiley white person with a brown ponytail, in a purple shirt and pink dungarees - so I look like a kids TV presenter. My diary is a blue book with a teardrop drawn on the front, because I was an angsty teen." 

Please do not make this description into a joke for sighted people, which excludes blind audience members. 

For example, do NOT say: “I’m 6 foot tall... Haha no, not really, I’m very short. With long blonde hair down to my knees... haha no, it's a brown ponytail.”  

More tips for audio describing yourself. 

• Do you need to give content warnings? 

Clear content warnings give people a chance to prepare, or leave, if there's anything they don't want to hear (eg, something triggering or upsetting - see previous question). You may also mention other things people might want to avoid - like spoilers for movies/TV.

• Do you want to give context for your reading?

Some extra info might help the audience understand everything. You can do this in your intro, or as you go.

For example: 

- Where/when was it written? 

- Are there any slang words, or specific cultural references to explain?

In our experience, these things are usually really best read in your own voice.

If you're hesitant, and want us to help ease your nerves by having a chat beforehand, or having a practice reading with our team, let us know. We'll have your back! It's 100% your choice to read (or not).

If you really don't want to read on the mic, but do want something shared on stage, email us to chat about options.

You might also enjoy bringing your teenage writing to one of our zine-making sessions, where you can use our craft materials to turn your old words into a page or mini-booklet. This way, your words or memories can be shared with other queer folks in a different way to the open-mic nights.

If you're signed up to read something in advance you do NOT need to buy a ticket. You're part of the show, so you'll be our guest.

Please DO encourage your friends to book tickets ASAP if they're coming to cheer you on. All our events are either 'Pay What You Can', or on a sliding scale (with low-cost and free spaces available), but tickets can get booked up quickly!

If you need to bring a PA or have someone accompany you for access support, please just let us know when you sign up.

This is NOT a professional performance night. If you're a performer, and want to read, you're very welcome, but please bring real old teenage writings, from your past.

Do not NOT bring your regular/rehearsed current stand-up/spoken-word set (even if it's ABOUT your teenage years). The reason for this is that we don't want anyone sharing a poem/story written when they were 14 to feel embarrassed about revealing their teenage scribblings in the same night as a professional performer reading their well-rehearsed recent composition. We want everyone's stage time to be on the same terms!

This is a just-for-fun opportunity for queer bonding. We're not looking for professional 'performances' and this is NOT a paid gig.

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However, we're keen to make sure everyone who wants to share is able to take part, and has the most fun night possible, so we can cover expenses for anyone who's signed up in advance to read at Queer Diary. This could mean covering transport, refreshments, childcare, postage if you need your diaries sent to you, etc. 

We budget for up to £20 expenses per participant, but you can request more, if it's what you need. Please let us know in advance so we can check our budget and plan for any costs above £20.

If you have something to plug, that may be of interest to Queer Diary audiences, we'll be really happy for you to mention it, but please let us know - so we're aware of what it is, and can take it into account, when preparing the timings for the event.

It's usually best to mention anything like this at the end of your reading - before you leave the stage to a round of applause.

Our audiences love to hear about:

• A show/night they may enjoy (especially if it's LGBTQIA+ and/or nostalgia-based)

• Something they can get involved with, such as a workshop, market, or community group

• A cause, protest or fundraiser (especially if it supports Queer community spaces, LGBTQIA+ youth, or Queer history & education)

• Where they can find you or your work - feel free to mention your social media, website, etc. Self-promo is welcome!

If you've read at one of our nights, we'll always be happy to re-share promo posts on social media advertising your work, or anything good you're involved with, please just tag us (@hasbianshow) so we can easily re-post your stuff.

As a guideline, most people share about 5-7 minutes, but we can usually be fairly flexible.

Please let us know if your reading is likely to be much shorter or longer than this guideline. 

It's important that we have a realistic idea of how long you'll read for, as we need to work out timings for the evening, think about when to have a break, etc.

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If you run over your agreed slot, this may impact other participants, and may be detrimental to our relationship with the venue and their staff. Please be considerate of others by taking time to practice your reading to check the running-time beforehand.

If you have a lot of material, please see above: 'Is it OK to edit my teenage writing?' or email us to talk about how to choose or edit a section of your diary.

Accessibility may vary from one event to the next.

We tour to a range of different locations and venues, and work with different short-term budgets for each of our events. Please check the booking page if you're interested in a particular event, and feel free to email us if you can't find the access info you need.

Let us know if you want to take part, and have specific access requirements that need to be met for you to do so. We'll do our best, within our means to make it happen. 

​Currently:

• We ask all readers speaking at all our open-mic events to audio describe themselves, for blind and visually impaired audience members.

• We're seeking out venues that have step-free access, with accessible toilets and parking, and can meet our priority to ensure the spaces we visit are safe and welcoming for LGBTQIA+ people. We keep our booking pages and social media updated with announcements about physical access to event spaces, including toilets/parking at each Queer Diary event, providing as much information as possible, as and when we have details confirmed.

• We've been able to book BSL interpreters and/or captioners for some funded events, and on occasional request, but cannot yet afford provide these for every event as standard. 

• We're continually asking for feedback from participants and audiences, so we can ensure relevant access improvements are written into our budgets and future plans. 

Future plans:

We are a small neurodivergent and disabled-led company, so whilst our capacity and budget may sometimes be limited, our commitment to improving accessibility to Queer spaces is genuine and deeply-held. We recently had some funding on a short-term and project-basis, which has allowed us to hire interpreters, captioners, ramps, etc, for some events, and had some training and consultancy to improve our knowledge and understanding of how to improve accessibility.

In future, we aim to secure longer-term funding and partnerships with venues and other organisations, and are working towards making more of our events more consistently accessible, for more people. 

Feedback relating to access and inclusion is always gratefully received. Being able to properly understand the access needs of current and potential Queer Diary readers and audiences is essential for us when planning and budgeting for future activities.

Yes, this is an absolutely trans-positive event.

Your pronouns, names, and any experiences you share will be respected.

We make sure there are gender-inclusive toilets available in any venues that host us for in-person events.

Let us know if you have any concerns/questions about gender-inclusivity at Queer Diary.

When choosing what to read, please remember that Queer Diary is a public event with an audience. 

We ask our audience to be respectful of reader's privacy, but due to the informal nature of the events, we have very little control over how members of the public use their phones, or what they might tell their friends or write on social media about the readings. So far, our audiences are all friendly, respectful and kind, but please keep in mind that anything you choose to read will be in a public space. This is something you might want to particularly consider if whatever you're sharing is personal, secret, or involves other people.

Some readers like to change the names mentioned in their diaries to protect the anonymity of their teenage friends/crushes - it's totally up to you if you want to do this!

If anyone is disrespecting your privacy, or making you feel uncomfortable in our spaces, please let the Queer Diary team know, so we can address any issues appropriately.

For in-person events, we often take pictures to share on social media. 

We occasionally host live-streamed events, which means readings are available to watch live online. Streaming makes our events more accessible, and gives us the ability to record the show, for the host, and any readers who'd like to watch themselves back. The livestream link is only for ticket-holders, and if the stream is recorded, we'd only share on request, with the readers who were part of that night. 

Please speak to us when signing up if you don't want to be photographed/streamed/recorded. Your privacy is vital to us, so we'll be happy to talk through any concerns. Please also tell event staff on the day, if you prefer not to be in pictures/videos.

We'll always be happy to remove any images from any of our social media ASAP, if you're not comfortable with anything featured - no questions asked.

Yes! We're unashamedly inspired by another night called 'Dear Diary' (hosted in London & Edinburgh Fringe by Helen Black). Our name 'Queer Diary' is a tribute to the great time Beth had reading at those events. We just added an LGBTQ+ community-focus into this tried-and-tested formula.

People keep mentioning a podcast/radio show - this isn't a direct inspiration, but sounds fun!

Fill out the sign-up form, and someone will get back to you.

The form is short & all questions are optional. If it's not accessible to you, please feel free to email us instead.

If you haven't heard back from us, feel free to follow up via email. 

We aim to reply quickly, offering you a date to read, but we're a small neurodivergent-led company of people working multiple jobs, so your form may be buried in our inbox, if it arrives at a busy time. 

We'll always really appreciate a nudge!

If you've done the form before, please don't fill it out again (we won't see it). Just simply email us.

If the sign-up form is not accessible to you, please feel free to email us instead.

Signing up in advance (by form or email) is the only way to guarantee a spot to read. 

We may occasionally have last-minute spaces to read (check with us when you arrive), but we strongly prefer new readers to use the sign-up form. The form allows us communicate with you ahead of time, to plan timings for the event, ensure content is prepared, readers are introduced correctly, etc.

We run Queer Diary nights often, and in lots of different locations, and many of our team are neurodivergent. 

Using the form to sign up supports our access: It means we can easily keep a list of readers in one place, to remember who's reading where/when.