Humanists UK:
Lead Me Into Temptation, Please: LGBT Summer Fair

*Please note that tickets are available to purchase on the door at the box office*

Join us for a summery day of performances, workshops, talks, market stalls, an exhibition, and more! The historic spaces of Conway Hall will be transformed into an LGBT festival, inspired by the annual fairs hosted LGBT Humanists in the 1980s. Join us for music, art showcases, and a whole lot of fun!

Enjoy the brightest and best of the creative LGBT community in London, with activities throughout the day and night. From workshops to presentations, they will invite you to enjoy creativity and discussion, exploring how we can be inspired by our LGBT heritage, especially the examples of LGBT humanism found in our Picturing Nonconformity exhibition.

Performances will range from the London Humanist Choir‘s rendition of LGBT non-religious music to a poet’s response to archival records of LGBT Humanists engaging in topics of race and international politics.

We will be celebrating the 45th anniversary of LGBT Humanists, whose bestselling t-shirts from the 1990s have inspired our fair’s title. In the 1980s, LGBT Humanists (then known as the Gay and Lesbian Humanist Association) teamed up with the Campaign for Homosexual Equality to organise annual fairs at Conway Hall, complete with stalls, entertainments and refreshments. Now we return to Conway Hall with all these activities and more!

Lineup

Kicking off at midday, the fair features a show stopping lineup of performers, creatives, and facilitators. These include: Black Peppa, David Hoyle, Beth Watson, Carrot, Claire Mead, CN Lester, EM Parry, Housmans Bookshop, London Humanist Choir, Mahatma Khandi & the Khandi Shop, Orlando, Prinx Silver, River Manning, Rachael Field, SL Grange, Theophina Gabriel, Tomara Garrod, and more!

During the day, fairgoers can:

• Screen print their own Lead Me Into Temptation, Please t-shirt with artist River Manning;
• Create zines, badges, and poetry over a series of creative workshops;
• Watch a special screening of the short film Saintmaking, depicting the canonisation of Derek Jarman by the London Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence;
• Browse the wares of artists and sellers, including Housmans radical bookshop;
• Explore the landmark exhibition Picturing Nonconformity: LGBT Humanist Heritage.

In the evening, the Main Hall will be transformed into a performance space, featuring artists including:

• The evening’s host, Carrot, ‘everyone’s favourite drag vegetable’;
• David Hoyle, the first English ‘saint’ to be ‘canonised’ by the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence since the ceremony in 1991 for artist and activist Derek Jarman;
• Black Peppa, Rupaul’s Drag Race UK star, who spoke openly on the show about her struggles with homophobia in religious contexts throughout her upbringing;
• London Humanist Choir, the UK’s foremost non-religious choir, who will be singing a repertoire of LGBT classics, from Queen to Elton John;
• Mahatma Khandi and the Khandi Shop, an iconic drag troupe who will be strutting their stuff to the likes of numbers from Sister Act;
• Orlando, drag performer and cultural historian from the University of Oxford, whose research-led work has been featured in major institutions like the National Gallery, Tate, and the V&A.

FULL TIMINGS & PROGRAMME

Main Hall

• 12:00-17:30 – DJ and Stalls (art, books, games, and creative activities).
• 12:00-14:00 – T-shirt printing workshop with River Manning, featuring the ‘Lead Me Into Temptation, Please’ slogan.
• 15:00-17:00 – Nostalgia-themed zine workshop with Beth Watson.
• 18:30 – 21:00 – Performances (with one interval) from David Hoyle, CN Lester, Theophina Gabiel, Holly James Johnston (aka Orlando), London Humanist Choir, Black Peppa, and the Khandi Shop. Hosted by Carrot.

Brockway Room

• 12:30-14:00 – Poetry workshop with Alexander Williams.
• 15:00-17:00 – Historical fiction writing workshop with Tomara Garrod.
• 17:45-18:15 – Film screening of Saintmaking, featuring Derek Jarman.

Library

• 12:00-18:30 – Browse LGBT Humanists’ archives.

Foyer

• 12:00-17:30 – Café.
• 17:30-20:00 – Bar.

Bertrand Russell Room

• 12:00 – 18:30 – Picturing Nonconformity: LGBT Humanist Heritage exhibition.

This event is organised as part of LGBT strands of the National Lottery Heritage Fund supported project ‘Humanist Heritage: Doers, Dreamers, Place Makers’, coordinated by Humanists UK in partnership with Conway Hall.

Age Recommendation: 18+

Price: Standard £3

Access Information

Due to the age and Grade II listing of the building, there is no lift access to rooms above the ground floor.

All the ground-floor rooms are fully accessible by wheelchair. Main Hall (street access, step-free), Brockway Room (street access, step-free), Bertrand Russell Room (street access, shallow ramp), Hive Cafe (street access, step-free), There is also an accessible toilet on the ground floor opposite the Brockway Room.