OTP2020
The theme for Schools OUT UK LGBT History Month 2020 is Poetry, Plays and Prose.
This means we can connect to the English curriculum of schools and the four people we have chosen to link to them are detailed below:
E.M. Forster (1879 – 1970)
Gay author, widely regarded as one of the greatest British writers of the 20th century. ‘A Passage To India’ brought him his first success, and he has had several other books adapted as Merchant Ivory films – ‘A Room With A View’, ‘Where Angels Fear To Tread’ and most significantly ‘Maurice’, a gay love story. Forster wrote the novel in 1913, but left instructions that it was not to be published until after his death. Next year is the 50th anniversary of Edward’s death, and we anticipate there will be much in the media about him.
Dawn Langley Simmons (c.1922 – 2000)
Our trans Face is probably the least well-known but undoubtedly had a fascinating story. The child of Vita Sackville West, before transitioning Dawn wrote an acclaimed biography of Princess Margaret. After transition she wrote a biography of eccentric actress Dame Margaret Rutherford, and was ‘semi-adopted’ by her. But probably most interesting is the fact that Dawn’s marriage to John-Paul Simmons, on 21 January 1969, was the first legal inter racial marriage in South Carolina!
Lorraine Hansberry (1930 – 1965)
Lesbian playwright; author of ‘A Raisin In The Sun’, the first play written by an African American woman to be produced on Broadway. The title comes from the poem “Harlem” (also known as “A Dream Deferred”) by Langston Hughes. For some time the play was part of the O Level and GCSE syllabuses. Hansberry inspired the song by Nina Simone “To Be Young, Gifted and Black”.
William Shakespeare (1564 – 1616)
Quintessentially British, we have chosen Shakespeare as our bisexual reference, as his work is very much at the heart of the English curriculum. This is important given the ongoing difficulties over inclusive teaching. Sonnet 20 is widely quoted as being written about a man.
The entire year is dedicated to Lyra Mckee
Organisational timetable for OUTing the Past 2020
(Ireland, UK & USA):
1st September 2019
OTP’20 Festival Hub Partner Applications launched
OTP’20 Festival Presentations invited
30th September 2019
OTP’20 Festival Hub Partner Applications closed
OTP’20 Festival Presentations closed
14th October 2019
Provisional announcement of Festival Hub Partners [Ireland, UK & USA]
Release of the OUT’20 Festival Gazette [Ireland & UK]
1st Nov 2019
Festival Briefings – an overview of the project, together with important practical details,
including the opportunity for meeting members of the OTP Coordination Team, and each other
14th November 2019
Deadline for submission of provisional Festival Hub Programmes
1st December 2019
Confirmation of OTP Festival Hubs ‘line-up’
3rd January 2020
Public announcement of OTP Festival Hubs & their Festival Programmes
Commencement of the OTP Festival Comms strategy
The annual OTP Festival Conference Gathering was on 21st - 22nd May and was kindly hosted by Queens University Belfast, hosted by PRISM (the QUB LGBT staff network)
Read about the Hubs that took part in 2020’s events:
Read about programmes organised by each Hub:
