CELEBRATING QUEER CULTURE

Whats in our name?

Why Andro and Eve? Let us tell you where our name comes from!

Well we love a pun for starters.. But this famous origin story of Adam and Eve called for a reworking in our minds… Something that reclaims the ‘woman’ from ‘man’ and says women can be so much more than the ancient stories we were told. Andro and Eve is a name that recognises women don’t need to be femme. We are androgynous, butch, dykes, tomboys. Also the divine feminine and ‘Eve’ character is also just as powerful as the archetypal man, masculine woman or genderfluid person.

We like our name because it acknowledges the blurring and broad spectrum of gender identity, and we seek to ensure our events and ethos are inclusive, and for us, queer community is about building a family outside of heteronormativity. We are about uniting different identities across race, class, gender, sexuality, disability and age. Lastly, our name was also chosen because we are keen that all women have a space they feel safe and free to explore queer culture, and break down some barriers that sadly, sometimes exist between different women and other marginalised genders.

Now we just need to remember all that next time we get asked about our name!

In this post, we’d like to acknowledge the pioneering and wonderful work of those who’ve gone before us, and were / are part of the inspiration for making spaces that promote queer and women – centered culture. In no particular order… Kate on Autostraddle in ‘Butch Please‘, Leslie Feinberg, Miss Major Griffin, Ani D Franco, Kate Bornstein, Bitch Planet, Susanne Sondfor, Audre Lorde, Angela Davis, Patricia Highsmith, Cheryl Dunye, to name but very few…

Carol; a film to make the heart sing

We were asked by the wonderful Moor Theatre Delicatessen last year to think of a film we’d like to programme as part of a festival to explore sex, sexuality and gender. The resulting festival Lets Talk About Sex Festival opened this week in Sheffield, and we’re very happy that as Andro and Eve we can represent for lesbian / queer women by presenting Carol

But why Carol? Well. Although we’re not blessed with hundreds of films exploring lesbian sex and relationships, there were a few other options but none of them so clearly put across a woman’s experience of falling for another woman in such a stylish and emotionally resonant way. We saw Carol on its release in 2015 and were already fans of the book, The Price of Salt by Patricia Highsmith, and frankly, we were blown away.

The two central performances by Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara are flawless, and the cinematography, costume and score, perfectly conjure the world in which these two exist. For those worrying that Todd Haynes film will ‘spoil’ the book, I remember being worried about this too. But somehow this film manages to capture the essence of the book, changing a few minor plot points, but making a piece of art that stands in its own right. Phyllis Nagy’s screenplay also allows us to see more clearly the world of Carol Aird, rather that in Highsmith’s novel, where we see the world through Therese’s eyes only. The film is richer, and more moving for this adaption.

Yes, there is sorrow in this film, but ultimately, Highsmith’s novel was groundbreaking in its treatment of a homosexual story where the characters (women too!) were allowed to have their hopeful ending. This bats against the still pervasive classic ‘lesbian must die’ trope in TV and film in a way that makes your heart sing.

We’re so excited to screen this film, transforming the Old Woolworths on The Moor (a fitting tribute to the way Therese and Carol meet!) into a homage to all things 1950’s. With cocktails, costumes galore and 1950’s music it will be an absolute dream to see this film back on a big screen again. We can’t wait!

Our thanks to Moor Theatre Delicatessen for their support in making this event happen, and SheFest Sheffield for placing this film in their weeklong programme to celebrate women as part of International Womens Day!

 

rooney-mara-800
Rooney Mara as ‘Therese Belivet’ in Todd Hayne’s ‘Carol’. 2015

 

 

So what’s a drag king night?

Since starting Andro and Eve in May 2016 we’ve been keen to promote the wonderful and surreal queer art of drag kings. Most people know what a drag queen is, and many will have watched RuPaul’s Drag Race, even if they have not been to a drag night. But when we’ve talked about drag kings to various people, they don’t seem sure what a drag king is, and definitely aren’t sure what a drag king night will involve.

So let us clear this up! A Drag King is a performer who impersonates male gender, usually in an exaggerated form. Often the person wearing the costume is a woman, but sometimes they might identify as non binary or male. The point is to poke fun at gender and entertain a crowd.  The performers create acts based around singing, dancing, lip-syncing, comedy or a mixture of all or none of the above. It’s exciting because you never quite know what you’ll get with performers creating new acts all the time.

adam-blue-suitsAdam All and Apple Derrieres founders of Boi Box.

We’ve programmed some of the best UK Drag Kings to perform in Sheffield on the 26th November in order to bring this art form to a new and wider audience. The London drag scene is thriving  and drag kings grow more popular thanks to the efforts of Adam All and Apple Derrieres who set up Boi Box in London 3 years ago. Nights like ‘Kingdom’ in Brighton extend this network and are a great example of the queer community supporting one another.  Its time Sheffield and South Yorkshire got its own slice of this queer and subversive art form with a night solely for drag kings, so we bring you THE KINGDOM COME. Grab a ticket and come down and enjoy the sparkliest, silliest and most surreal night you’ll have for a while!

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