This musical comedy will make you laugh, cry and riot
BY MARY W, IMAGES BY MARK SENIOR
Two truths and a lie —
- The Ministry of Lesbian Affairs has been a critical governmental organisation since 2022
- It focuses on prioritising, uplifting, and challenging stereotypes about lesbians everywhere
- The Ministry is open to ALL queer people, and I do mean ALL
Oh how I wish the first was true, but this time, I am not talking about that kind of ministry. Although, every other word I mentioned is true of The Ministry Of Lesbian Affairs. The only difference? It’s actually a theatre show.
The Ministry Of Lesbian Affairs is a musical comedy, created by Iman Qureshi, that follows a small (and mighty!) lesbian choir in London (really, the only one in the country). Their goal — win a place on Pride’s main stage and make lesbians visible in a world that continues to erase, hide and ignore us. This simple end goal reveals itself to be a much more complex journey that takes us along all intersections of lesbianism — gender, sexuality, disability, race, class and more.
The show will make you feel so much, including anger, sadness, happiness, and inspiration, all at once. And I mean that for every single person who sits in that theatre — whether lesbian, queer, straight or otherwise. You will be angry when you see injustice on the stage. You will cry when you feel the characters’ love evolving in different ways. You will smile when you experience the joy of the choir learning new songs. Above all, this play will challenge what you may or may not have known about “lesbians”. Eight letters put together that mean so much to some, so little to others and are so alienating to others. Whatever space and experience you hold (or don’t), you’ll have an awakening.
And if you are a butch lesbian, disabled lesbian, Middle Eastern lesbian, trans lesbian, non-binary lesbian and every other flavour, type and glorious make of lesbian, you will hold all of those dear emotions plus an intense wave of feeling seen. Of feeling highlighted in a world that usually has no space for us — the grand stage.
And if my words weren’t enough to convince you, you can hear it straight from the cast. When asked “Why should someone come see this show,” they said:
“It is fun. It has a lot of heart. It is profoundly accessible and truly made for everyone” – Shuna Snow (Connie)
“It is really a show for anyone and a whale of time. Plus it is a great place for a first date” – Fanta Barrie (Ellie)
“It is the exact show we need in 2025 and tackles every issue we are seeing play out every day in our reality” – Mariah Louca (Bridget)
So bring your family, your parents, your siblings, best friend, your lover, your best-friend-turned-lover-turned-ex and hurry on to Kiln Theatre before 12 July to see this fantastic lesbian work of art. Because to miss this run would be to miss a moment and as someone who has already seen it twice, I don’t recommend the FOMO.
You can book your tickets for The Ministry Of Lesbian Affairs today: the-ministry-of-lesbian-affairs/
DIVA magazine celebrates 31 years in print in 2025. If you like what we do, then get behind LGBTQIA+ media and keep us going for another generation. Your support is invaluable.