The Decriminalisation Monologues, winner of the Irish Arts and Entertainment award at the 2020 GALAS, is going on a national tour this autumn. The performance created by the Acting Out LGBTQ+ drama group has also been nominated for Best Play at fringe theatre festivals in Prague, Brighton and Manchester.

On the 25th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in Ireland, the thousands of LGBTQ+ victims imprisoned, taunted, and brutalised during years prior by the State, finally received an apology. The Decriminalisation Monologues platforms the stories of those ordinary people who showed the courage and bravery needed to ensure such groundbreaking change.

The stories are drawn from discussions with the older LGBTQ+ population in Ireland; stories that will shock younger generations, and show how we stand on the shoulders of those who came before us.

Coming soon to @BirrTheatre @GayProjectIRL @Glenscentre @TippPrideFest and Theatre@36 Dublin, our @TheGalas Award winning show, The Decriminalisation Monologues. Booking details soon! pic.twitter.com/Vjf1ap5DUK

— Acting Out (@ActingOutGroup) September 21, 2021

Writer Sean Denyer said: “I am really excited that, thanks to funding from the LGBT+ Community Services Fund, we are going to be able to take this play to some smaller towns that never usually get access to queer theatre.

“We [have] had some brilliant reactions to it, wherever it’s been seen. Many have been very moved by what they see and we have had loads of amazing emails and messages from audience members in response to it,” he continued.

“As gay people have become more visible, it is easy to forget where we have come from. Only twenty-five years ago, to be gay, was to be a criminal in Ireland, whilst it’s now recognised as one of the better places in the world to be an LGBTQ+ person, in terms of equal rights. In The Decriminalisation Monologues, we wanted to acknowledge both the pain and the fierce resistance of an older generation of gay people, without whom equality would still be just a dream, but also to recognise that these rights can never be taken for granted.”

The Decriminalisation Monologues will kick off its Irish tour in Cork and then travel to Clonmel, Manorhamilton, Dublin and Birr. The full list of dates are as follows:

29th October             7.00 pm     Cork Gay Project, Cork
30th October             7.30 pm     White Memorial Theatre, Clonmel
13th November         7.30 pm     Glens Centre, Manorhamilton
18-20th November   7.00 pm     Theatre@36, Dublin
28th November         8.00 pm     Birr Theatre and Arts Centre, Birr

For full details on how to book, click here, and to learn more about the Acting Out performance group, visit their website.