Queer Diary (Exeter)

Would you read your teenage diary to a room full of people?

A brave group of LGBTQIA+ folks are doing just that at Queer Diary!

The night where queers share our teen angst (and joy, dreams, follies, and fabulousness).

We can't promise to reunite you with your first crush, but we do aim to reignite that rush of adrenaline you got when they first noticed you. At Queer Diary the goths, the punks, the emos, the nerds, the glee-clubbers (and maybe a few populars?) come together as grown-ups, to share our younger selves' innermost thoughts via old diary entries, fanfiction stories, tumblr posts, and possibly the odd bit of cringey poetry 👀

Tickets are Pay What You Can - please choose whichever price fits your budget.

To take part in Queer Diary by reading your teenage diaries (or poetry, or fanfic etc) check our FAQs & get in touch via the Sign Up form.

💋

“If a Queer Diary event was scheduled on the Moon, the most anti-capitalist queers would be befriending Bezos in hopes of securing a rocket ride.” – DIVA Magazine

"A space to look back on our formative years with laughter and kindness…

Often funny, sometimes moving and heart-warming, always entertaining" - Reviews Hub ★★★★★

Follow for more:

Instagram @hasbianshow | Bluesky ‪@queerdiary

Facebook @QueerDiaryCIC | TikTok @hasbianqueerdiary

How the event runs:

Anyone wanting to read can sign up via this link.

We'll be checking tickets from 6:30pm, with readings running from 7pm

We usually have 2-5 readers per evening.

We may have slots available last minute, but space is limited - please sign up in advance, to guarantee a spot on the mic!

Queer Diary is hosted by Beth Watson, who will warm up the crowd by sharing some teenage diary entries and chatting to the audience.

During breaks between readings, we'll play our co-curated throwback playlist & for you to enjoy. We also take song requests of teen throwback tracks - tell us your faves when you arrive, so we can line them up.

Location & Access:

• Queer Diary is in The Workshop at Exeter Phoenix, which is on the ground floor with step-free access by approaching from Exeter Central Library on Castle street.
• There is an accessible toilet
• There is 1 accessible parking space at the venue for Blue Badge Holders. To reserve this, call the Phoenix Box Office team on 01392 667080 who will provide you with a parking permit upon arrival.
• Seating is unreserved as standard. Please let us know if you need specific seats reserving for accessibility.
• We ask all readers to give a visual description of themself when arriving on stage, to make this event more accessible for blind and visually impaired audience members.
• We ask all readers to give content warnings for anything that may be sensitive or triggering. Due to the “open-mic” nature of Queer Diary, we're unable to provide detailed content warnings in advance. The general tone of the event is light-hearted, but some readings may touch on themes such as bullying, internalised homophobia, underage drinking, etc, and there will almost certainly be swearing and sexual references.
• If there's something you'd like the Queer Diary team to consider, to make this event more accessible for you, please email the organisers: hello@queerdiary.org.uk
• For questions relating to the location, or physical access to the space, please contact the venue directly.

Inclusivity & Community Safety:

Please note this event is themed around memories of teenage years gone by, and is aimed at adult audiences.

This is an-LGBTQIA+ centred space. We will not assume your gender or sexuality, or apply gendered pronouns or honourifics (until we learn which ones you use). To make sure everyone feels welcome in this space, we ask attendees to do the same.

Discrimination will not be tolerated (including - but not limited to - transphobia, biphobia, homophobia, sexism, racism, xenophobia, classism, ablism, fatphobia). If anyone makes you feel uncomfortable in the space, please tell the event organisers as soon as you can.

We may take photos at this event, to publicise future events like this - if you'd prefer not to be in photos, or want to be anonymised/removed from any pictures we publish on our social media, etc, please let us know, we want to make sure we respect your privacy.

COVID Safety:

Please take a lateral flow test before attending.

Event organisers are vaccinated and use lateral flow testing regularly. We also welcome the wearing of masks.

Do NOT attend this event if you have either COVID symptoms or a positive test result.