FYFFI

Fifty Years of the Fight For Inclusion

FYFFI is an initiative by Unfinished Histories, in conjunction with London Performance Studios, to mark key moments in the struggles for change in British theatre in the post-war era.

Through three exhibitions and associated events  FYFFI marks three key anniversaries: 

  • The first Women’s Theatre Festival in Britain in 1973-74
  • The first Gay Theatre Festival in Britain in 1975
  • The publication of Naseem Khan’s ground-breaking report The Arts Britain Ignores, by the Commission for Racial Equality in 1976

FYFFI 1: 2024

RADICAL REDISCOVERIES: Feminist Theatre in Britain 1969-1992

FYFFI 2: 2025

RADICAL REDISCOVERY II : HOMOSEXUAL ACTS AND BEYOND

FYFFI 3: 2026

RADICAL REDISCOVERIES: THE ARTS BRITAIN IGNORES

EVENTS

RADICAL REDISCOVERY II: HOMOSEXUAL ACTS AND BEYOND – EXHIBITION

RADICAL REDISCOVERY II: HOMOSEXUAL ACTS AND BEYOND An ambitious new archival exhibition,  celebrating fifty years of LGBTQ+ alternative theatre in the UK.  THURSDAY 6th NOV - SUN 14th DEC Open Fridays to Sunday 12- 5 London Performance Studios Penarth Street London SE15 1TR The programme marks 50 years since Homosexual Acts, the first Gay Theatre Season in Britain that took place at the Almost Free Theatre in 1975. It shares an array of materials from the Unfinished Histories archive alongside other sources, and is curated by its director and co-founder Dr. Susan Croft.  The exhibition charts the growth of the [...]

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06 November 2025
London Performance Studios,

RADICAL REDISCOVERY II : ACTING OUT and DRAGGING UP – A SYMPOSIUM

RADICAL REDISCOVERY II: HOMOSEXUAL ACTS and BEYOND presents DRAGGING UP AND ACTING OUT: a Symposium Friday and Saturday 7 and 8 November, 10.30am till 5.30pm London Performance Studios Penarth Street London SE1 1TR A two day symposium exploring the radical work of lesbian and gay theatre makers in the 1970s – 80s and its resonance for LGBTQ+ artists and the wider culture today.  From the first Gay Sweatshop plays that toured the country to audiences, some of whom had never before seen their experience represented on stage, to radical drag that lampooned narrow definitions of gender and sex roles, campaigning [...]

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07 November 2025
London Performance Studios,

RADICAL REDISCOVERY II: WHERE TO NOW by MARTIN PATRICK – A STAGED READING

RADICAL REDISCOVERY II: HOMOSEXUAL ACTS and BEYOND presents WHERE TO NOW by MARTIN PATRICK THURS 13th NOV at 7.30pm London Performance Studios Penarth Street London SE15 1TR This staged reading explores the conflict of a young black university lecturer forced into confronting his identity in the context of the Brixton riots of 1981. Leaving his white lover of ten years and thereby his own submergence in white culture, he hopes to find fulfilment with a vibrant young black lover. ‘Brave and innovative’ (City Limits) it was among the first plays to bring black British gay male experience to the stage, originally performed [...]

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13 November 2025
London Performance Studios,