A joyful celebration of the beautiful identities of our LGBTQ+ community, the first ever Poole Pride will bring a splash of rainbow colour to Lighthouse on Saturday 8 June with an open invitation to come as you are and embrace a full day and night of inclusive entertainment.

With performances and exhibitions in various venues throughout Lighthouse, a stellar ticketed evening concert and after-show party in the Concert Hall are preceded by free activities and entertainment in the Concert Hall – Pop’n’Olly’s Storytime and Crafts – as well as the Gallery and Outside Theatre.

And Pride would not be complete without a special twist on classic cabaret. From comedy to music, and theatre to dance, all with a heavy helping of drag chaos, the Sherling Studio is the place to be for Life’s a Cabaret.

It’s all free to see and opens at 1pm with Outspoken, the Pride Slam with Bournemouth Poet Laureate Myriam San Marco, founder of the Word Makers & Silence Breakers collective. Presented in the slam format with two halves, it’s an hour of thought-provoking poetry and spoken word as community submissions go head-to-head to be crowned the most OutSpoken Voice of Poole Pride 2024.

Hot on its heels comes Dorsetborn’s Writing Out Loud, an hour of heartfelt LGBTQ+ stores filled with drama and humour, written and performed by local artists.

All of which paves the way for the Come on Out Cabaret, with performers including non-binary drag artist Dragona, (not so) typical Spanish performance poet Mayu El Cono Loco, drag king Dandy Issues, Pantheatrix duo Jazper and Bugsy’s new and improved show Total Thievery!, genderfluid boylesque drag artist King St Fox and, fresh from DragCon UK 2024, Miss Venezuela D’Vina pulling out all the stops to make a right old song and dance.

It’s all held together by our host, Thorn, who specialises in tender revolution, radical self honesty and wild, queer love. They’re a Purbeck Valley slam champion and Hammer and Tongue veteran, and have been crowned the ‘monarch of the extended metaphor’. A hedonist queer with more genders than brain cells, they bring decadent drag, drunken tales of debauched gods, and silly sausage energy to every smouldering performance.

*Please note: All events are free to attend, but to avoid disappointment it is advisable to book tickets in advance in the usual way at Home - Lighthouse (lighthousepoole.co.uk)