Psst… our editor-in-chief Roxy Bourdillon will be doing a post-show interview with writer Iman Qureshi and director Hannah Hauer-King
BY MOLLY SMITH, IMAGE BY HELEN MURRAY
On Thursday afternoon, Soho Theatre will open its doors once again to those looking forward to watching Iman Qureshi’s, The Ministry Of Lesbian Affairs, including DIVA’s very own editor-in-chief, Roxy Bourdillon.
The show follows The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs, a lesbian choir, whose members with different life experiences, meet once a week to sing together. The musical comedy is about love, queerness and belonging, tackling issues surrounding intersectionality, validation and identity whilst remaining funny and joyful.
The frequency at which you see rainbow flags in 2022 can falsely allude to queer spaces being easy to come by and easy to run. The Ministry Of Lesbian Affairs sheds light on the complexities, conflicts and inequalities that still exist without negating the beauty that stems from the spaces when things go to plan.
THE MINISTRY OF LESBIAN AFFAIRS by Iman Qureshi ; Production ; Directed by Hannah Hauer-King ; Set and Costume Design by Anna Reid ; Lighting Design by Zoe Spurr ; Assistant Director: Yael Elisheva ; Sound Designer & Co-Music Director: Nicola T. Chang ; Costume Supervisor: Danielle Levy ; Co-Music Director & Vocal Coach: Victoria Calver ; Assistant Musical Director: Joanna Brown ; Producer: Kitty Wordsworth for Damsel Productions ; Producer: Ameena Hamid for Soho Theatre ; Casting Director: Nadine Rennie CDG ; Company Stage Manager: Saskia Godwin ; Assistant Stage Manager: Catherine Mizrahi ; Deputy Stage Manager: Kelly Evans ; Soho Theatre ; London, UK ; 5th May 2022 ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murray http://www.helenmurrayphotos.com Cast: Kibong Tanji ; Claudia Jolly ; Shuna Snow ; Lara Sawalha ; Kiruna Stamell ; Mariah Louca ; Fanta Barrie ; Fayez Bakhsh ; 
THE MINISTRY OF LESBIAN AFFAIRS by Iman Qureshi ; Production ; Directed by Hannah Hauer-King ; Set and Costume Design by Anna Reid ; Lighting Design by Zoe Spurr ; Assistant Director: Yael Elisheva ; Sound Designer & Co-Music Director: Nicola T. Chang ; Costume Supervisor: Danielle Levy ; Co-Music Director & Vocal Coach: Victoria Calver ; Assistant Musical Director: Joanna Brown ; Producer: Kitty Wordsworth for Damsel Productions ; Producer: Ameena Hamid for Soho Theatre ; Casting Director: Nadine Rennie CDG ; Company Stage Manager: Saskia Godwin ; Assistant Stage Manager: Catherine Mizrahi ; Deputy Stage Manager: Kelly Evans ; Soho Theatre ; London, UK ; 5th May 2022 ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murray http://www.helenmurrayphotos.com Cast: Kibong Tanji ; Claudia Jolly ; Shuna Snow ; Lara Sawalha ; Kiruna Stamell ; Mariah Louca ; Fanta Barrie ; Fayez Bakhsh ; 
THE MINISTRY OF LESBIAN AFFAIRS by Iman Qureshi ; Production ; Directed by Hannah Hauer-King ; Set and Costume Design by Anna Reid ; Lighting Design by Zoe Spurr ; Assistant Director: Yael Elisheva ; Sound Designer & Co-Music Director: Nicola T. Chang ; Costume Supervisor: Danielle Levy ; Co-Music Director & Vocal Coach: Victoria Calver ; Assistant Musical Director: Joanna Brown ; Producer: Kitty Wordsworth for Damsel Productions ; Producer: Ameena Hamid for Soho Theatre ; Casting Director: Nadine Rennie CDG ; Company Stage Manager: Saskia Godwin ; Assistant Stage Manager: Catherine Mizrahi ; Deputy Stage Manager: Kelly Evans ; Soho Theatre ; London, UK ; 5th May 2022 ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murray http://www.helenmurrayphotos.com Cast: Kibong Tanji ; Claudia Jolly ; Shuna Snow ; Lara Sawalha ; Kiruna Stamell ; Mariah Louca ; Fanta Barrie ; Fayez Bakhsh ; 
THE MINISTRY OF LESBIAN AFFAIRS by Iman Qureshi ; Production ; Directed by Hannah Hauer-King ; Set and Costume Design by Anna Reid ; Lighting Design by Zoe Spurr ; Assistant Director: Yael Elisheva ; Sound Designer & Co-Music Director: Nicola T. Chang ; Costume Supervisor: Danielle Levy ; Co-Music Director & Vocal Coach: Victoria Calver ; Assistant Musical Director: Joanna Brown ; Producer: Kitty Wordsworth for Damsel Productions ; Producer: Ameena Hamid for Soho Theatre ; Casting Director: Nadine Rennie CDG ; Company Stage Manager: Saskia Godwin ; Assistant Stage Manager: Catherine Mizrahi ; Deputy Stage Manager: Kelly Evans ; Soho Theatre ; London, UK ; 5th May 2022 ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murray http://www.helenmurrayphotos.com Cast: Kibong Tanji ; Claudia Jolly ; Shuna Snow ; Lara Sawalha ; Kiruna Stamell ; Mariah Louca ; Fanta Barrie ; Fayez Bakhsh ; 
THE MINISTRY OF LESBIAN AFFAIRS by Iman Qureshi ; Production ; Directed by Hannah Hauer-King ; Set and Costume Design by Anna Reid ; Lighting Design by Zoe Spurr ; Assistant Director: Yael Elisheva ; Sound Designer & Co-Music Director: Nicola T. Chang ; Costume Supervisor: Danielle Levy ; Co-Music Director & Vocal Coach: Victoria Calver ; Assistant Musical Director: Joanna Brown ; Producer: Kitty Wordsworth for Damsel Productions ; Producer: Ameena Hamid for Soho Theatre ; Casting Director: Nadine Rennie CDG ; Company Stage Manager: Saskia Godwin ; Assistant Stage Manager: Catherine Mizrahi ; Deputy Stage Manager: Kelly Evans ; Soho Theatre ; London, UK ; 5th May 2022 ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murray http://www.helenmurrayphotos.com Cast: Kibong Tanji ; Claudia Jolly ; Shuna Snow ; Lara Sawalha ; Kiruna Stamell ; Mariah Louca ; Fanta Barrie ; Fayez Bakhsh ; 
THE MINISTRY OF LESBIAN AFFAIRS by Iman Qureshi ; Production ; Directed by Hannah Hauer-King ; Set and Costume Design by Anna Reid ; Lighting Design by Zoe Spurr ; Assistant Director: Yael Elisheva ; Sound Designer & Co-Music Director: Nicola T. Chang ; Costume Supervisor: Danielle Levy ; Co-Music Director & Vocal Coach: Victoria Calver ; Assistant Musical Director: Joanna Brown ; Producer: Kitty Wordsworth for Damsel Productions ; Producer: Ameena Hamid for Soho Theatre ; Casting Director: Nadine Rennie CDG ; Company Stage Manager: Saskia Godwin ; Assistant Stage Manager: Catherine Mizrahi ; Deputy Stage Manager: Kelly Evans ; Soho Theatre ; London, UK ; 5th May 2022 ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murray http://www.helenmurrayphotos.com Cast: Kibong Tanji ; Claudia Jolly ; Shuna Snow ; Lara Sawalha ; Kiruna Stamell ; Mariah Louca ; Fanta Barrie ; Fayez Bakhsh ; 
THE MINISTRY OF LESBIAN AFFAIRS by Iman Qureshi ; Production ; Directed by Hannah Hauer-King ; Set and Costume Design by Anna Reid ; Lighting Design by Zoe Spurr ; Assistant Director: Yael Elisheva ; Sound Designer & Co-Music Director: Nicola T. Chang ; Costume Supervisor: Danielle Levy ; Co-Music Director & Vocal Coach: Victoria Calver ; Assistant Musical Director: Joanna Brown ; Producer: Kitty Wordsworth for Damsel Productions ; Producer: Ameena Hamid for Soho Theatre ; Casting Director: Nadine Rennie CDG ; Company Stage Manager: Saskia Godwin ; Assistant Stage Manager: Catherine Mizrahi ; Deputy Stage Manager: Kelly Evans ; Soho Theatre ; London, UK ; 5th May 2022 ; Credit and copyright: Helen Murray http://www.helenmurrayphotos.com Cast: Kibong Tanji ; Claudia Jolly ; Shuna Snow ; Lara Sawalha ; Kiruna Stamell ; Mariah Louca ; Fanta Barrie ; Fayez Bakhsh ;
Iman aimed to write a play centred around togetherness and with the show produced by Damsel, a company that aims to tackle the misrepresentation and lack of representation of women in theatre, the product of this power pairing is not one to be missed!
The show has been described as “a true celebration of lesbian identity” by Broadway World, “delightful and moving” by Culture Whisper and “full of life, wit and pathos” by Time Out. There isn’t much lesbian theatre about, making this critically acclaimed show both good and important.
DIVA Magazine’s Roxy Bourdillon will be doing a post-show interview with Iman Qureshi (writer) and Hannah Hauer-King (director) after Thursday’s matinee performance. The show is running until 11 June 2022 at the Soho Theatre, so there are still plenty of opportunities to see The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs in action.
Want to attend? Well you can use the discount code DIVA40 which gives you 40% off for tickets to the Thursday 26th matinee. You can book here.
Location:
Soho Theatre, 21 Dean Street, London, W1D 3NE
Contact:
www.sohotheatre.com | 020 7478 0100
Price: £12-£22 Duration: 2hr 30min
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