“We are a group of normal queer people, creating our own platform for normal stories to be told, and we’d love for you to join the party”
BY EMILY ALICE AMBROSE, IMAGES BY ROSE BARWICK
What’s the gayest thing you’ve ever done? Perhaps your closest friends are made up of your three exes, and your ex’s ex. Maybe you played house with your “straight” best friend for months or cried at an Adrianne Lenker concert. Or maybe you’ve written a play about a group of gays, shes and theys, falling into love and limerence (guilty). Girl Kisser, a new sapphic play, is uniquely British, anchored in the lesbian renaissance, and cementing us in the present day, where we are here, queer and making girls leave their boyfriends. As the project gains traction, particularly with the North London queers, following a drunk and dazzling launch event at Islington Arts Club, it’s time you get to know Girl Kisser.
Let’s rewind to a year or so ago. I’m a theatre graduate feeling ironically displaced in my own industry. I’m seeing the stories of gay men being told over and over with countless star-studded films and productions entering the mainstream. I found that queer women, particularly those belonging to Generation Z, had yet to have their stories told on stage in a way that felt meaningful and authentic.
So what did I do? I took myself down to the Chappell Roan concert in Brixton (I didn’t gate crash, I had tickets) and I lovingly harassed the sapphics in the queue: What’s the gayest thing you’ve ever done? What’s a lesbian stereotype you feel isn’t true? What’s a trope you’re sick of seeing in queer media? My call to action was heard, the responses to my Google Form were pouring in, and queer stories were being told in all their heartbreaking hilarity.
The result is a play that tells the story of six Girl Kissers trying love. The story becomes complex with addictive hookups, innocent discoveries and the lines of friendship being blurred. Backdropped by the East London music scene and Gen Z’s struggle for employment and belonging. There are sapphics, songs, parties and kissing galore. Oh, and there are femmes playing guitar.
The Girl Kisser Project, headed by myself, is made up of emerging grassroots creatives with spark and desire. In collaboration with 224 Theatre, directors Rose Barwick and Hollie Milne are bringing soundscapes to the sultry story alongside the gayest cast gracing London’s Fringe circuit. Producer Izzy Macpherson is also passionate about the timing of the play: “I think that a lot of us now need to see queer art that isn’t simply the struggle but also the beauty.”
No, our play isn’t about pop culture, and we don’t have the face of lesbian influencing behind us (yet!). We have Laoi though, a fabulous non-binary actor who’s passionate about melding parts of their identity together seamlessly, “highlighting the new wave of the lesbian experience while still reflecting and cherishing the old”. Maybe our story doesn’t rival Lucy and Julien’s relationship news (that we all suspected anyway). But we have our own Lucie, who says “it’s pretty cool to be able to openly play a queer character when that’s all I wanted to be when I was younger.” We are a group of normal queer people, creating our own platform for normal stories to be told, and we’d love for you to join the party.
Girl Kisser, a new gig-theatre play, is making its London debut this summer at the Lion & Unicorn Theatre in Kentish Town as part of the Camden Fringe Festival. Come and catch it at 8:30pm from 5-9 August. Tickets can be purchased directly through the Lion & Unicorn Theatre website: camdenfringe.com/events/girl-kisser. Find them on Instagram @girlkisserplay.
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