The Queer Kingdom: A Staged Reading

Experience the first full reading of The Queer Kingdom by Tom Ballard, winner of the 2024 QPAS Award. Be part of the development process towards presenting a premiere production in 2026, meet the artists and share your feedback.

In 2004, a group of radical queer activists boarded a fishing trawler they’d christened The Gayflower, flew 200 nautical miles off the coast of Queensland and landed on a tiny patch of sand and grass in the middle of the ocean. It was here that Emperor Dale Parker Anderson I would plant his rainbow flag and officially declare the claiming of “The Gay & Lesbian Kingdom of the Coral Sea Islands” – a gay nation independent of homophobic Australia, where there was marriage equality for all, the currency was the pink dollar and the national anthem was Gloria Gaynor’s I Am What I Am.

Playwright, Tom Ballard says: “I want to write a funny, joyous play that tells the story of this fascinating queer protest – its history, its characters and its politics – and interrogates what it means for Australian queers today. Would we all just be better off escaping to our own separate queer paradise?

 

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LIVE in Kiama & Geelong

I’m doing two one-off shows in Kiama NSW and Geelong VIC this November and they will be FUN FUN FUN.


FRIDAY NOV 1: THE KAZADOR, KIAMA

7PM

The Kazador, Shoalhaven St, Kiama NSW 2533

BOOK HERE

 


SATURDAY NOV 2: GEELONG COMEDY FESTIVAL

8PM

Shorts Pl, Geelong VIC 3220

BOOK HERE 

The Bugle: Benjamin Big Red Button

Andy, Tom Ballard and Chris Addison debate if an assassination attempt on Donald Trump has killed Joe Biden’s chances in the presidential race.  What could Gareth Southgate have learnt from Sir Francis Drake? And, will Buglers help set a new record? (Please don’t.)