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CELEBRATING QUEER CULTURE
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CELEBRATING QUEER CULTURE

Sheffield

Vegan Banana Bread

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ingredients to make a vegan banana bread are laid on a wooden table. Sugar, flour, wooden spoon, bowl.

We know life is incredibly tough for so many people right now. Not least LGBT+ people isolated from supportive friends and networks that can be a lifeline. We know we’ve been missing our queer community and queer life in Sheffield during lockdown. We’ve been working hard to bring you some content that might prove useful, or bring joy. Our Instagram Stories and Twitter feed are full of news, resources and online events that can help members of the LGBT+ community during this pandemic.

Today we’re sharing something tasty. If you’ve been to one of our events you’ll know how important a feature our cakes are, and we’re missing them. Over the coming week we’re celebrating 4 years since our first event in Sheffield (a cosy screening of Jamie Babbit’s But I’m a Cheerleader, at which a giant cheerleader skirt cake made a splash!)

So what better way to mark 4 years of Andro & Eve than by sharing a recipe from our very own baker, Kat, otherwise know as Kelham Island Kitchen. Her blog is full of delicious vegan cooking, and her cakes are a staple of Andro & Eve events. Fun fact – Kat was the very first volunteer for Andro & Eve, back in 2016!

Ingredients for banana bread on a wooden table. Bananas, sugar, flour, oil.

This cake was featured at our January screening of SILVANA at Yellow Arch Studios. Its proper comfort food, ideal for coping with lockdown life, and not too expensive to make either. We know how hard it is to make ends meet for a lot of folx right now. It may be a quarantine cliche, but an easy banana bread, may be just the tonic. (I certainly enjoyed baking and eating this last week as a test – Katherine). Enjoy!

(And if you do bake this, please tag us @androandeve in any pics. We’d love to see!

Why not chuck in some dark chocolate chips, peanut butter or toast a slice with some coconut yoghurt for breakfast?

Kelham Island Kitchen’s Vegan Banana Bread 

Ingredients 

  • 3 large, overripe bananas
  • 2 tsp cinnamon
  • 1tsp mix spice
  • 200g plain flour
  • 1 tsp baking powder
  • 150g brown sugar
  • 75ml vegetable or sunflower oil
  • 1 tsp vanilla extract
  • 100ml oat milk – if it needs it

Instructions 

  1. Preheat the oven to 180 (160 fan) mark 4
  2. Grease and line a loaf tin
  3. In a large bowl mix the flour, spices, sugar and baking powder
  4. In a separate bowl mash the bananas then add the oil and vanilla
  5. Mix the dry and wet mixtures together, if needed add the oat milk
  6. After a thorough mix pour into the prepared loaf tin and sprinkle some brown sugar on the top
  7. Bake in the oven for 45min – 1hr until a skewer inserted into the middle comes out clean
  8. Leave to cool in the tin for 10 minutes before removing to cool
  9. Enjoy!

 

 

Finding My Community

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‘I struggled to find a community that would really support me in my drag journey’

For years, I’ve been interested in becoming a drag king – partly because of my theatre degree and fascination with gender as performance – but I’ve struggled to find a community that would really support me in my drag journey. So, when I saw a poster advertising Andro and Eve’s Drag King Workshop in November 2019, I simply knew I had to sign up for it.

Drag king louis Cyfer tutors workshop participants in drag makeup skills
Drag king Louis Cyfer teaches some drag makeup skills

Before the big weekend, I was buzzing with anticipation, but there was also a fraction of performance anxiety, as the practical workshops, especially comedy and character development, sounded challenging. On the second day of skills workshops, brilliantly facilitated by Katherine and Natalie, I found myself literally crawling on the floor whilst performing my first ever comedy improvisation that made my audience laugh. This wasn’t just confidence-boosting, it really made me realise I could “do” things, if only I was brave enough to take the plunge.

Workshop participants enjoy exploring gender as performance
Exploring gender as performance

The talent within our group is incredible. Some are charismatic performers, there are actors, singers, musicians and dancers, but everyone is warm and supportive. Our little community thrives on WhatsApp and some of us have met up at local events, such as Andro and Eve’s own Reyt Queer Do. The friendships forged at the workshop are proving an invaluable source of positive energy and inspiration during these strange times. I admit I can’t wait until I see the other Kings again on the other side of lockdown.

Andro & Eve director Katherine leads a session in gender as performance. They are sat in chairs having fun 'manspreading'.
Katherine Warman, Andro & Eve creative producer leads a session in gender as performance.

Developing Tristan – my drag king alter-ego – brings me a lot of joy. He still hasn’t quite found himself but he started his own life on social media and I’m looking at developing more comedy material, especially bad poetry. I’m truly grateful to Andro and Eve for giving me the tools to this wonderful, creative outlet and helping me find my place within the queer arts community.

Maria.

A group discusses creative ideas about creating scenes

Cancelled – The Kingdom Come 6

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It is with deep sadness and heartbreak that we announce the cancellation of The Kingdom Come 6 which was due to take place on Saturday 21 March at Abbeydale Picture House. This event, which would have been our 21st event, is the first event we have cancelled in our 4-year history. We do this in response to the escalation of the coronavirus and its impact on our wider community.

As a queer-led social enterprise, which means we put people before profit, and care of the most vulnerable and marginalised at our heart, we felt we must take action on this matter. By cancelling this event we can potentially reduce the amount of people contracting coronavirus, limit the impact of the coronavirus on our already strained NHS, and reduce the impact on public health workers.

As a small organisation with a staff team of one person alongside our team of volunteers, we cannot in good conscience put the health of our team, our artists, or wider community at risk. The board of Andro & Eve have consulted with our team and with our contacts in the arts and business community. This collective decision is not one we have taken lightly, or without much heartache.

Much of that pain comes from the fact that we know what the Andro & Eve events mean to our community, as well as to our artists. We send our love and solidarity to those already affected by coronavirus.

Everyone who bought a ticket is of course entitled to a refund, but if you can afford to, we’d ask you to consider your ticket a donation to help support our vision to bring queer arts and culture to South Yorkshire. Cancelling this event puts our financial security as an organisation at risk.

We rely on our big events such as The Kingdom Come to financially support the running of the organisation the rest of the year. Also, we are well aware of the pressures on freelancers at this time, and this will help us ensure that we can reimburse our artists and crew for fees they will lose, and in recognition for all the hard work they have already put into this event.

If anyone would like to support us at this extremely challenging time, you can by heading to Tickets for Good and buying a ticket for The Kingdom Come, before the 21st March. You can also add a contribution to our Pay it Forward Ticket fund there too. Your donation will be used to ensure we come back stronger and better than ever at a later date.

All those who have bought a ticket for The Kingdom Come will receive a discount on tickets for our next event; we will send a discount code to the email you used to book with, on announcement of the next event. We very much appreciate the support and trust you have placed in us. Details on refunds will also be sent to the email used to book with on Tickets for Good. Alternatively, please email hello@androandeve.com for more information.

We wish to thank our partner venues, Abbeydale Picture House and Theatre Deli Sheffield for their support and guidance in this difficult time. Independent venues and businesses in Sheffield will be at real risk of closure as we move through this health crisis. If you can also donate money towards Theatre Deli Sheffield or Abbeydale Picture House, you can do so via these links.

https://www.crowdfunder.co.uk/abbeydalepicturehouse

https://www.gofundme.com/f/theatredelisheffieldheatingfund

Finally, over the coming days we will be sharing resources to support our community. If you have any questions or have seen any useful links or resources, we are happy to promote.

For now, Queercare have some excellent resources available including this Google Form if you are in need of extra support at this time.

With love and solidarity

Team Andro & Eve

New Board Members Wanted

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We are excited to share that we are seeking new people to join the Andro and Eve board.

New board members will be part of an exciting period of growth and development for the company, helping us achieve our vision to celebrate queer culture through memorable events that inspire.

Our directors support the governance of Andro and Eve, contributing their expertise to the organisation’s growth, sustainability and reputation of excellence in the field of queer arts and events. We recognise that each board member will bring a unique set of skills to the role of director, and therefore are offering this opportunity on an individual basis to see if there is a match between your skills and the needs of the company.

This role is offered on an expenses only basis, with the understanding that you are giving your time to grow and develop the work of Andro and Eve. We understand that you may want to get involved for a variety of reasons, and welcome applications from people from a range of sectors, backgrounds or experience levels.

Deadline for applications is 9am Wednesday 8 January. Informal interviews will be held in Sheffield from the 13th January onwards.  Full details on the role and how to apply available to download here:

 

Director Role Outline
Equality and Diversity Form

Volunteer With Us!

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Andro and Eve is all about bringing our community together, and one of the ways we do that is by working with a wonderful team of volunteers who give their time to help make our events happen. We’re looking to expand our volunteer team and would love to hear from you if you’ve got some time and energy to help out.

We’re looking for folks who can be at events, interact with members of the public, are happy handling money and love a spot of decorating. (If you’ve been to one of our events, you’ll know our approach to decor is more is more!) Some of our volunteers also help out with stage management and sound. We’re also keen to hear from people who would be up for distributing our posters and flyers, this is an important part of helping us reach new people.

A volunteer operates the sound desk alongside our technician who is wearing a pink suit.

Typically, we ask volunteers wanting to help with events to work with us on evenings and weekends, and for shifts of 4 – 8 hours. We always provide food, breaks and plenty of support for our team, and as a volunteer, of course you’ll get to see behind the Andro and Eve scenes. We also organise socials for our team and offer event training throughout the year.

Here’s what some of our volunteers have said about working with us…

‘After feeling like a lost queer in Sheffield during my time as a student, volunteering for Andro & Eve was one of the best things I could have done for myself, whilst also contributing to the local community. Meeting younger and older LGBTQ+ people who were all so vibrant and positive opened me up to a whole new world and I feel so much more connected to my queer identity. If you feel like you are in a similar state of mind to how I was, or simply want to have fun and contribute your time to some of the best queer events this planet has seen – volunteer for Andro and Eve! Without them and the caring people who dedicate their time there, I’d still be looking for my queer identity’.

‘Being part of Andro and Eve is like having a fabulous queer family. I’ve volunteered now for a number of their events and have loved every minute, we always have such a laugh and I love that its supporting and developing a strong queer presence in the Steel City’….. Laura.

‘Getting involved with Andro and Eve has been a great decision. There’s something really powerful about coming together and putting on these fabulous events to celebrate aspects of our queer culture. The team are so friendly, and its been a pleasure to meet so many new friends from those involved’.

We’d love to hear from folks who are available on the 13th and 30th November for our events in Sheffield and Doncaster, and for dates after this too. If the above sounds good to you, and you have some availability then drop us a line using the contact form here. Thanks!

Our Sliding Scale Tickets

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For the last 18 months we’ve offered sliding scale tickets for for all our events. This has been made possible through generous donations by our community when buying tickets, our limited edition pin badges, or through our fantastic raffles! (Huge thanks to the local Sheffield businesses, who have donated their goods towards this)*. We believe that everyone should have access to fantastic live performance, and feel welcome in warm, accessible spaces where they can be part of their community.  

We’re really pleased to say that our Arts Council funding is enabling us to add more options, so a wider range of people can enjoy our live events. Our next event at Theatre Deli will use these ticket bands, so we ask you to be honest with yourself and your financial situation when buying tickets – that way those who really need the discounted tickets will benefit from the reduction in costs. A fuller description of each ticket band is below.

Huge thanks to Leeds Queer Film Festival who originally inspired us to introduce sliding scale ticket prices, who in turn adapted their ticket bands from The Green Bottle Sliding Scale by Califia Collective (califiacollective.org). A massive thanks also to the Andro and Eve Community who continue to contribute to our Pay it Forward Ticket Fund as well as the excellent Tickets For Good who have supported us throughout and whose booking fees support good causes. Everyone mentioned has helped make it the success it is, just keep at it! Queer solidarity forever! x 

* Thanks to Birdhouse Tea Company, Pip and Peel, Truffle Pig Vegan, Cocoa Mester, Beer Central, Hard Times Vegan, Zeds, Our Fave Places, Showroom Cinema, Sheffield Theatres. 

A New Phase…

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We are very excited to announce that less than a year since becoming a not for profit arts organisation, we have received funding from Arts Council England to support an exciting programme of work for Autumn 2019 – Spring 2020.

Our events continue to grow in scale and ambition, with the last, a drag king cabaret at Abbeydale Picture House, attracting an audience of 330 people. Building on this success we will produce another drag king cabaret, The Kingdom Come at Abbeydale Picture House in March 2020, along with another edition of queer party and performance series, A Reyt Queer Do at Theatre Deli Sheffield on the 30th November.

The programme will also provide both training and performance opportunities for emerging artists in the Yorkshire region, as well as showcasing some of the UK’s most exciting queer performance. We are also excited to announce a new collaboration with CAST in Doncaster, enabling us to bring our feel good events to Doncaster, with the first such event, A Reyt Queer Do, planned for 13th November and hosted by award winning Drag King Louis Cyfer.

This month also marks a new phase for the organisation, which was originally founded by Rhiannon Scutt and Katherine Warman in 2016 to address the lack of safe, inclusive spaces for the LGBTQ+ community to enjoy queer culture in Sheffield. Having worked together creating queer events over the last three years, Rhiannon is now stepping down as a director of the board, and Artistic Director and Chief Executive, Katherine Warman, supported by the board of directors, will lead the company. 

Rhiannon Scutt says ‘It has been a greatly fulfilling experience to nurture Andro & Eve from the seed of an idea and the tiny film night it started out as, to what it has become today. As lesbians in Sheffield, it was important to us that we offer an alternative, gentle night out, where the focus is fun and there is a sense of community. I’m proud to say I think we’ve achieved that time and time again. I wish the team every success, and hope to support Andro & Eve events in the future as an attendee’

Natalie Diddams, Chair of the Andro and Eve board says, ‘we’re so grateful for the hard work and vital input Rhiannon has given to the organisation over the last three years. It’s been a pleasure working with Rhiannon and we wish her all the best with her future projects. We’re excited by the programme of work and confident that the plans we have, will help grow the community benefitting from our events to celebrate queer culture’.

We are also thrilled to announce a weekend of drag king performance workshops on the 9th – 10th November at Theatre Deli Sheffield. Participants will then have the opportunity to apply to perform at either CAST or Theatre Deli in one of the open mic slots showcasing new queer performance. The introduction of a Pay It Forward Ticket scheme in 2018 has enabled an increasing amount of audience members to attend events who may not otherwise have been able to access them, using donations from the public to support the scheme. The funding received will help support this provision of discounted and free tickets for those on lower incomes, as well as enhance accessibility for deaf and disabled audiences.

Katherine Warman comments, ‘It’s been an honour to work alongside Rhiannon the last three years and I’m so proud of what the team and we have achieved. The demand for our work is clear, with so many of our events in the last 18 months selling out in advance. I’m excited that this funding will help us work towards our vision to put South Yorkshire on the map for arts that explore LGBTQ+ lives, nurturing artists and the community we serve’

The Kingdom Come #4

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On December 1st 2018, we brought our drag king cabaret, The Kingdom Come back to Walkley Community Centre, Sheffield. The night was a sell out, with audience members rocking some amazing costumes and outfits. Its never too early for tinsel right?

_V3A0247 copy

Host Don One was charm personified, his Brummie accent and smooth songs winning everyone round. Stellar performances came from Dick Slick, Loui Von Dini, Mo Torboat and Chiyo, who were warmly enveloped in the love from our audience.

Don 1
Host Don One from Birmingham!

As usual the cake sold faster than you can say hotcakes, and the Andro & Eve volunteers did a brilliant job of helping the night run smoothly. We want to say a huge thanks to them for giving their time to help at this night and the others we’ve produced in 2018.

Loui.jpg
Loui Von Dini had treats for us all…

A massive thank you to Walkley Community Centre for lending us their venue again, to all the local businesses who donated towards our raffle, and our audience for contributing to our Pay it Forward Ticket fund. This fund allows us to provide cheaper and free tickets to those who need them. We raised £245 from this event through raffle and online contributions alone! Thank you! Here’s to more super events in 2019. Have you got your ticket to A Reyt Queer Do: Electric Dreams edition on February 16th yet?!

All photos credited to Ndrika Anyika. See more of the night via our Facebook album! 

_V3A0213 copy.jpg
Pirates came ashore for the evening…!
Mo 1
Mo Torboat. Spoken Word Artist. Musician. All round good egg..
Dick + Audience.jpg
Dick Slick serenaded the audience…
Chiyo 3.jpg
CHIYO

We won an Award!

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We won an Award!! Last month at Cinema For All’s 2018 Film Society of the Year Awards we won in the BEST SINGLE EVENT category for our screening themed around Sekiya Dorsett’s film THE REVIVAL: WOMEN AND THE WORD. You can read more about what happened at that event in January 2018 on our blog here.

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Andro & Eve co-founders Rhiannon and Katherine with the award! 

We’re really grateful to Cinema for All for this award – Thank you! Big thanks also to Jade Foster and Sekiya Dorsett for making this brilliant film. We want to say a huge thank you to Ella Otomewo Poet and DYLEMA for performing their poetry at our event, and massive love to Rainbow Noir and Our Mel who we collaborated with in creating the night. Finally, our sincerest thanks to our amazing volunteers who help us run special events like this, and you, our audience, for supporting what we do. Here’s to more awesome film screenings in future!

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Ella Otomewo performs at the event ‘ The Revival: Women and the Word’ January 2018

We want to hear from you!

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This week we hosted a QUEER HUB, in order to get feedback and ideas for an exciting programme of queer arts events that we’re planning. It was a really creative and useful session, and we’re really grateful to those that gave their time to contribute.

We also want to hear from people who have not yet attended one of our events. AND we’d love to hear from an even wider range of our audience. We’ve created a short online survey, to help us shape a programme of queer arts events, and we’d love to hear from you!

Head to this link to fill it out, it should only take 5 – 10 minutes and then you get the satisfaction of checking tick boxes and completing a task… Just us that likes that? Surely not! Seriously though, being responsive to our community is important to us. We really appreciate any feedback you can give.

Thanks very much!

King Confusa
Want to see more drag kings? Or are you all about a cosy film night? Or both?! Tell us! 

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