Fancy A Turn?

Ever fancied dipping your toe into the exciting world of cabaret? Perhaps you wanna create a brand new piece of short form performance?

Well we’ve absolutely got you covered, babes! Here is your chance to get involved as we present Fancy A Turn? A week long development opportunity from two award winning show offs, Scottee and Harry Clayton-Wright, at The Old Electric.

Fancy A Turn? is brand new performance course from two artists who started their illustrious careers in seedy clubs and pubs, making cabaret and short form performance as a way of experimenting and finding their voices. You’ll spend seven days working on an idea to bring to life (something new, or bring something existing), which will be presented at our scratch night, The Fancy A Turn Showcase Revue.

Fancy A Turn? – More Info

Workshop Dates: 2-7 September

Morning, afternoon and evening slots will be made available to work on material.

Performance Date: 6 September, 7pm.

Apply here via this Google form before the 5th July, 2024. Applicants can also apply by video or voice note. Ten spots are available on the course. Applicants will be notified by 8th July.

This is development opportunity prioritising LGBTQ+ artists and performers from Blackpool and the surrounding areas to work with Scottee and Harry to create new (or to continue working on existing) cabaret and short form performance pieces. Artists from other locations may be considered however Queer Amusements won’t be able to cover costs incurred to take part in this opportunity (eg. travel and accommodation).

Participants will have the opportunity to share their work in The Fancy A Turn Showcase Revue, taking place on the evening of Friday 6th September at The Old Electric. Photos and video of your performance will be given to you after the sharing.

Presented in partnership with The Old Electric.

Access information about The Old Electric can be found here.

About Scottee

Scottee is a self taught, multi-award winning artist and actor who has received critical acclaim for his work in theatre, audio and fine art. A multi-hyphenate, with a career spanning over 15 years, Scottee has demonstrated an ability to work successfully across art forms.

This year see’s Scottee make his screen acting debut in BBC One’s The Listeners – co-starring Rebecca Hall, directed by Janicza Bravo, written by Jordan Tannahill, produced by Element Pictures.

As a theatre maker Scottee has been commissioned by some of the the UK’s biggest cultural institutions and has held associateships at Olivier award winning Duckie, Roundhouse and HOME over the past decade. He wrote and directed the Theatre UK nominated + Total Theatre award winning Fat Blokes. His memoirs written for stage; Bravado (2017) and Class (2019) have been published with great success alongside almanac The Book of Queer Monologues (2018, Bloomsbury). In 2018 Scottee established the Working Class Artists Group, supporting working class artists in theatre.

For four years Scottee supported Ted Huffman and Philip Venables bringing Larry Mitchell’s The Faggots and Their Friends to stage for Manchester International Festival – currently touring Europe + USA. Scottee is under commission with HOME, in collaboration with Sam Curtis Lindsay to adapt and star in a Dickens classic in early 2025.

As a broadcaster for BBC, Scottee has co-hosted flagship Radio 4 show Loose Ends for almost a decade with Clive Anderson., and as the host and co-creator of cult podcast After the Tone, acquired by BBC Sounds in 2021. Their first radio series Taxi Drivers first aired on the network in January 2022 to rave reviews.

Scottee’s five part audio series Self Help exploring mental health and wellness came out on 1st January this year to an epic press response including Guardian Pick of the Week, Sunday Times Pick of the Day + The Week Podcast of the Year.

Scottee is worth his weight in gold – The Observer
Buckets of charisma and a powerful visual sensibility – Time Out

About Harry

Queer Amusements is the latest project from Blackpool based and critically acclaimed performance artist Harry Clayton-Wright. A theatre-maker and radical creator from Blackpool with over seventeen years experience in the industry and multiple international tours under his belt, Harry has worked with cabaret and circus ensembles, presented and self-produced his own solo theatre work, created short films, published zines, crafted durational performance and has been a commissioned artist on queer heritage projects across the country. Associate Artist with Brighton based NPO Marlborough Productions since 2016, Queer Amusements – a brand new multi-artform festival situated in Blackpool – marks a step up to a Creative Director role which is both a cumulative moment in his practice and a logical progression in a diverse and wide-ranging career. 

Over the past 10 years Harry’s practice has included, 107-hour immersive performance art installation The Slumber Party, performed at Glastonbury (2015) and Adelaide Fringe Festival (2018). He created The Fortnight in 2019, a two-week durational work – 14 eight hour performances consecutively performed over 14 days – first performed at The Spire as part of Brighton Fringe (May, 2019) and then at Abingdon Studios in Blackpool (September 2019). Harry has collaborated with GRAMMY nominated and UK Music Video Award winning director David Wilson (Christine and the Queens, Arctic Monkeys, Lady Gaga, Tame Impala) on their film Deep Clean (2019). This film, described by Little White Lies as “truly stunning… a work of legitimately radical power”, was part of the official selection for the Iris Prize, SXSW, NewFest in New York and Fringe! Queer Arts and Film Fest in London, before premiering online on NOWNESS in December 2019. Further film selections and screenings include: Sydney Underground Film Festival and Gay Propaganda curated by Slava Mogutin for the Tom of Finland Foundation. Harry’s debut solo theatre show Sex Education (2017) won the LGBTQ award at Brighton Fringe Festival and was presented to critical acclaim with a Total Theatre Award nomination at Summerhall, Edinburgh Festival Fringe (2019). Harry was named one of British Council’s Artists to Watch. 

During lockdown in 2020 Harry founded You Otter Know, a queer zine featuring over twenty artists, in collaboration with independent publishing house Polari Press. After four digital releases, You Otter Know: The Bumper Edition was released in physical form in November 2021. Three-part video collection Camp In The Collection (2021) was made for The Harris Museum and Art Gallery. Harry made a small cameo appearance as Gaëtan Dugas (1952-1984), the man incorrectly named as ‘Patient Zero’, in the Channel 4 award winning drama It’s a Sin (2021). Most recently, Harry worked in Leeds as a commissioned artist with East Street Arts on their Hidden Histories of New Briggate project (2021-2024). In both 2023 and 2024, Harry reprised his role in The Miss Behave Show (2013 –2024) at sea onboard Virgin Voyages’ Resilient Lady. 

Alongside Queer Amusements, commissioned by Marlborough Productions’ New Queers on the Block and Aunty Social, Harry’s next project is seaside spectacle Mr Blackpool (coming in 2025), pivoting from genre and discipline as an end of the pier show at the end of the world. All the way from Blackpool Promenade to Las Vegas, Butlins Skegness to the West End, San Francisco to Sydney Festival, Harry Clayton-Wright is an artist who never stands still and has built a career creating interesting, exciting and provocative work. 

Extraordinary – The Guardian

Extraordinary – The Scotsman

Genius – Cosmopolitan

A delectably disruptive force in theatre, film and installation. – Attitude Magazine

Poster design by David Scott.