Pride in Ageing x Manchester Art Gallery

Age Without Limits Day Celebration – 10 June

We marked Age Without Limits Day by visiting Manchester Art Gallery’s WORN: the life within clothes exhibition, which showcases pieces of clothing that have lived fascinating and vibrant extended lives through mending, altering, customising and recycling.

We also experienced a 30-minute highlights tour of the exhibition and completed a short quiz on ageing.

More photos can be seen here.

Only Connect

In 1979 W Stephen Gilbert, an openly gay drama producer at the BBC, commissioned Noel Greig and Drew Griffiths, from the radical theatre company Gay Sweatshop, to write an original drama for television. They had already been acclaimed for their stage work. The result was Only Connect, shown on BBC2 in a series called The Other Side.

It concerned a research student’s rediscovery of the forgotten figure of Edward Carpenter, a socialist pioneer and campaigner for gay rights. Keith Howes enthused in Gay News: “Credit should be bestowed upon all the people involved with Only Connect. It was a sensational work in the truest sense: changing our perceptions, stimulating our minds, stretching us. Although it was … completely accessible to non-gay people, it was ultimately ours. All we were required to do was to adapt to its pace and structure and watch it. I hope we haven’t seen the last of it.”

With Only Connect the BBC succeeded in producing a drama that portrayed the lives of gay men in a thoughtful and naturalistic way. However, in spite of Keith Howes’s hope that “we haven’t seen the last of it”, Only Connect remained buried, but is finally to get a repeat.

It will go out on BBC4 on Wednesday 17 June as part of Pride Month, accompanied by a new introduction.

John Bury, beautifully played by Joseph O’Conor is an older gay man, living in retirement in a mining town, who recalls a love affair he had in his youth with Edward Carpenter (1844-1929), the English writer and Utopian socialist.

Tony Powell, the secretly gay footballer

Tony Powell (born on 11 June 1947) was a secretly gay professional footballer for Bournemouth and Norwich in the 1970s. Powell is now 79 and lives in a very different world compared with when he was a husband, the father of two young daughters and Norwich’s player of the season in 1979.

Powell was forced to bury his true self for decades, At that time it was not a good idea to come out. Powell travelled to the US in the early 1980s to continue his career. He came out in a new country, abandoned his family in England and cut ties with them so they had no idea where he was for 35 years. He took that drastic decision because he was convinced his family would shun him if they learned the truth about his sexuality.

Another professional footballer, Robbie Rogers, came out, feeling proud and loved by his family. He played for LA Galaxy. Most days he walked past the Holloway Motel on Santa Monica Boulevard in West Hollywood – without realising that another gay footballer lived in the dilapidated motel. Rogers has now helped to produce a moving and important feature-length documentary about Powell – The Last Guest at the Holloway Motel.

Rogers came out in public as he wanted to try and change football so young gay men could be themselves.

It’s been a little sad that other footballers haven’t been able to come out, and we can only hope things change for gay players in the future.

Grindr: The Opera!

Saturday, 22 August – 3.30pm – £35 tickets are reduced to £20 with Promo Code OITC20

53two, Arch 19, Watson Street, Manchester M3 4LP

Grindr: The Opera! puts the most notorious gay hook-up app into the exaggerated world of opera. This musical parody takes you on a hilarious and thought-provoking journey through the world of gay dating, focusing on the greatest catalyst for the shift: GRINDR.

With catchy songs, witty dialogue, and colourful characters, this unique and ground-breaking production explores the impact of technology on human connection and the search for meaningful relationships.

Through the experiences of four gay men who use Grindr to connect with each other, Grindr: The Opera! offers a satirical commentary on modern gay culture.

Devon the romantic, Tom the cynic, Jack the twink and Don the daddy meet via the medium of the Grindr app, each seeking a different type of connection.

You’ll laugh, you’ll cry, and you’ll be challenged to think deeply about the ways in which technology is shaping our lives and relationships.

But above all, Grindr: The Opera! will make you feel alive. With its infectious energy, dynamic performances, and unforgettable characters, this production will leave you feeling inspired, entertained, and maybe even a little bit hopeful about the future of human connection.

Book here.

Please note the Promo Code should not be shared outside Out In The City