A summer of theatre at St Margaret’s House arts centre has launched to get people used to being together again after three lockdowns.
The organisation, which is next to Bethnal Green’s York Hall, has had a tough time navigating the pandemic, so it's staging its Embrace: What Might Be season of events.
This includes a Molly’s Masquerade, which will look at early lesbian and gay communities and the 18th century, culminates on July 24 with an evening "exploring gender, drag, queerness, sex workers and women" in LGBT+ culture with dance and performances.
A "molly house" was a place for LGBT+ people when homosexuality was punishable with a stretch on the gallows, and a well-known establishment was Miss Muff's in Whitechapel.
Other events include children's theatre with Finding Percy Erebus by Elephant Talk Theatre, which features magic and storytelling, and a free summer school teaching youngsters skills in comedy, which opens in the last week of August.
The arts organisation is also running summer workshops in woodwork, pilates, fitness, massage, acupuncture and a “photo social” group to learn photography.
The season opens on July 6 with Mark Lockyer taking the stage for a new play running four nights, Take Off Your Cornflakes, about the effects of dementia on a relationship.
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