We are delighted to bring Aberration back to the magnificent (and inclusive) Ceredigion Museum in Aberystwyth on 28 Feb 2025 with ‘Crossing the Line’, programmed especially for History Month. We’re currently putting together an amazing evening of stories and film, facts and fabulousness for you all. Watch this space!
Tag Archives: trans events
Kaan & Aitch share a stage 14/11/24
Aberration returns to the Bank Vault bar in Aberystwyth on the evening of Thursday 14 November. Doors 6pm, onstage 7pm. £6 on the door (cash / card / phone)
Kaan K will perform spoken word from their brilliant collection If I Were Erol (published by Fourteen Poems) AND a brand new book just out (see below)! We are delighted that Kaan, who had a short slot at last year’s talent night, will tonight take you on a journey through their moving work. Books available to buy on the night, with author signings.
Sharing the stage is Aitch, the comedian alter ego of your regular host Helen Sandler. Aitch will perform new material especially written for tonight. She’s even been on a course!
A magical queer night! Drinks available from the well-stocked bar including a range of craft beers. No pressure to drink alcohol, as there are lots of great soft drinks on sale too. Please support our friendly venue.
KAAN’S FIRST FULL-LENGTH POETRY COLLECTION
Rosewater
Raw, sexy, vulnerable and challenging, Rosewater asks what it means to embody a border.
‘The land isn’t binary and neither am I’
Kaan K dives deep into their Cypriot heritage, pondering their connection to an island with the world’s only divided capital city. They reflect on the divisions in their personal life – cultural, spiritual, sexual.
Rosewater is a homage to trans tenderness, a cry for connection and a search for hope, joy and change. Follow Kaan on Instagram @dream.with.kaan
AITCH’S FIRST PROPER COMEDY OUTING
Tales of the Village
Come with Aitch on a journey. Around the village and back. Perhaps she’ll get a nice little part-time job along the way. What could possibly go wrong?
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Event Calendar
DIGWYDDIADAU CYFFROUS
Friday 26 July 6pm Amgueddfa Ceredigion Museum
Exhibition visit, artist talks, film and discussion around the exhibition ‘For the Curious and Interested’, led by Voices from the Edge. With Rose Thorn and Abid Hussain. Read more >>
and the next day…
Saturday 27 July 11am to 3pm Llyfrgell Genedlaethol Cymru / National Library of Wales
‘Peace of Writing’ – Creative writing workshop led by historian Norena Shopland and our own Jane Hoy, inspired by the Welsh Women’s Peace Petition of 1923-24. Details >>
Saturday 3 August Plas Newydd, Llangollen
Queer Tales from Wales present ‘An Extraordinary Female Affection: The life and love of the Ladies of Llangollen’. An entertaining promenade performance in the grounds of the very house where the ladies lived two hundred years ago. With afternoon tea! Details >>
Friday 16 August Aberystwyth South Beach
Picnic after work – bring your own food and drink to this fun social event. Don’t forget a rug or folding chair to sit on too.
September: We’re taking a break – no event.
Wed 16 October Aberystwyth Arts Centre
A new operetta marks the centenary of Edward Prosser Rhys winning the Crown at the National Eisteddfod with his poem ‘Atgof’. And Aberration will host an intervention that turns a queer gaze on the poet and his circle.
Thurs 14 November Surprise event at Bank Vault!
Details of all above events to be announced soon on our website and socials!
www.aberration.org.uk @aberrationcymru
SPONSOR
We are grateful to Prifysgol Aberystwyth University for financial support for Aberration.
See you soon! Edrych ymlaen!
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Packed House show [past event]
[The following events have already happened!]
Thursday 9 May 2024 at Bank Vault Bar, Aberystwyth. Doors 6pm, onstage 7pm. Tickets on the door, £7 / £5.
Lou C brings their new one-person show Packed House to Aberration in the intimate venue of the Bank Vault.
Packed House is a sexy, honest and gut-punching exposé from poet Lou C where body politics gets queerly personal. In a cocksure and impassioned delivery, Packed House refuses the dangerous absurdity of the binary and flags up how transness ushers in liberation for all.
‘A captivating literary voyage of witty, profound, and life-altering experiences.’ – Radio Summerhall Arts – Full review here>>
Audacious new writing that finds personal survival in collective healing through joy and protest, Packed House is an emboldened response to the mundane violence of the everyday straight world.
Performed at the Edinburgh Free Fringe 2023 where audiences found it ‘Profoundly moving. Rhythmic, inspiring, spiritual poetry about our universal relationships with our bodies and each other. … Superbly written. Super talented!’
Lou C’s previous Fringe shows are critically acclaimed, earning them the title “the literary lovechild of Allen Ginsberg and Jeanette Winterson”.
AUDIENCE PRAISE:
An extraordinary spoken word piece – a torrent of powerful poetry, language and queer creativity. Thank you!
This was wonderful. I didn’t expect to blush or cry so much or to be so understood.
Fabulous, informative, exciting, educational, fun, quirky, languaged – a walking lexicon… Loved it!
Really powerful, when Lou stepped forward at the end it felt magical.
The perfect show for queers and their allies; or even queers who need a refresher.
Thank you for helping me to be inspired to be myself.
It feels so important to be understood like this by someone with more life experience than me.
About Lou C
Lou C aka Lucy Aphramor is a radical dietitian and spoken word performer – or poetitian!
Lou C’s shows are renowned for connecting disparate themes with immediacy and physicality, captured by a review from the iconic Bar Wotever as “horny and lust-filled” and “heart breaking” and by Scotsgay as “graphic and cuts no corners … a poet of real substance.”
Described as “the literary lovechild of Jeanette Winterson and Allen Ginsberg” (Broadway Baby) and noted for “dizzying eroticism” Lou C has performed across general and LGBT venues and events ranging from Shrewsbury’s Severn Theatre to L Fest and at Manchester and Seattle Pride. And now, Aberration!
About Aberration
Aberration is a series of exciting events with an LGBTQ+ theme. We aim for a friendly community space. Everyone is welcome, including open-minded straight friends and allies of course. Events are very much trans-inclusive as well as highlighting gay, bi and lesbian lives and culture. All under one rainbow!
Your friendly hosts are Jane Hoy, Ruth Fowler and Helen Sandler (pictured above with D-M Withers and canine pal at one of our first Bank Vault events).
Tickets are £7 full price, £5 concessions (including low waged). Pay by card or cash on the door.
The venue is the Bank Vault bar at 1 New Street, Aberystwyth SY23 2AT. A supportive venue where we are made very welcome. Please buy drinks to return the support! There is a range of craft beers, ciders, wine, spirits and soft drinks on offer.
We collect for our favourite charity, All Out, so bring some cash for the collection.
We are grateful to Prifysgol Aberystwyth University for financial support for Aberration.
See you soon! Edrych ymlaen!
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Gay Gardeners’ Question Time
Aberration presents GAY! Gardeners’ Question Time at Bank Vault Bar, Aberystwyth on Thursday 25 April at 7pm. Doors open 6pm. Suggested payment on the door: £7 / £5 (but no one turned away for lack of funds, see below).
We bring you our very own Aberration tribute to the long-running Radio 4 show Gardeners’ Question Time – with a queer twist! Our panel are three highly knowledgeable local gardeners, who also have a sense of fun. They are ready and willing to answer your questions about your own gardening, as well as telling us why they love getting down in the dirt. Whether you have a garden, an allotment, or just a straggly houseplant, you will enjoy this very special evening, which adds an LGBTQ+ slant to the world of horticulture. And non-gardeners are of course very welcome!
Questions
It would be great if you could email questions to aberrationcymru@gmail.com in advance, but there is also the option to bring them on the night. The panel will answer a selection.
The Panel
Alys Fowler is a well-known horticulturist who lives in Aberystwyth. A former presenter of Gardeners’ World on BBC2, Alys writes a regular column for the Guardian. Her popular books include The Thrifty Gardener, The Edible Garden (to accompany her TV series of the same name), and Hidden Nature. Alys is a regular attendee at Aberration and we are delighted that she will be chairing our “Gay Gardeners’ Question Time” panel. (Photo: Francesca Jones / Guardian)
Colin Audigé-Soutter (otherwise known as the gay gardener) is a self-taught gardener and landscaper working in and around the Dyfi Valley. He is happiest with a pair of secateurs in his hand and his head in a bush! Colin is originally from Conwy and was given his first plant, a Venus Flytrap, at the age of six. He learnt how to keep cacti and orchids from his grandmother in his teens. Since moving to Machynlleth in 2018, he has started the Houseplant Hospice and Cacti Against Covid; as well as working on market gardens and with the Mach Vegbox scheme, which supplies seasonal local produce. Since 2020 Colin has been running his own garden maintenance and landscaping business in the area.
Preds Tomos has been gardening in the Dyfi Valley all his life, first at his parents’ farm and subsequently in Machynlleth. For the past 13 years he has tended the garden of the old house near Darowen where he lives with his partner Mike. This special place was inherited from their dear old friends Reg and George, who were together more than 60 years. Preds’ sense of place – and of being the custodian of the land – drives all of his planting and design ideas, and inspires much of his artwork too.
Contributions
After a run of subsidised, free Aberration events at the Bank Vault, we now need to start asking for your contributions to cover costs, including paying our speakers and artists. Please contribute on the door if you can afford it. Suggested payments: £7 waged, £5 concession / low waged. Cards or cash accepted. If you don’t have funds right now, just say ‘Not today thank you’ on the door!
AllOut
Aberration will still collect for our favourite campaign, All Out, by passing the bucket round, so please bring cash to donate if you can. Or you can give to AllOut direct on their website >>
The All Out movement works with activists around the world to mobilise efforts to shut down hateful bigots, change anti-LGBT+ laws, and provide life-saving support to LGBT+ people facing emergencies.
Venue
Bank Vault is a lovely bar where we are made very welcome. They serve a fantastic range of craft beers, ciders, wine, and soft drinks. Please support them by buying drinks.
Ethos
This is a friendly LGBTQIA+ themed night, and all open-minded folk are welcome. Trans and non-binary people are of course very much part of our rainbow at Aberration. And just to be clear, straight allies are welcome too!
Sponsor
Aberration is grateful to Prifysgol Aberystwyth University for its generous support. Diolch yn fawr.
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Seasonal Social 14/12/23
[THIS EVENT HAS NOW PASSED]
Join us at the Bank Vault bar in Aberystwyth on Thursday 14 December for our Seasonal Social! Doors open 6pm. Games, reindeer, karaoke, stories and socialising! Join in as much or as little as you like. Bring friends or come alone.
Whether you love this time of year or prefer to ignore that it’s C—mas, there will be something jolly for you… possibly in a stocking.
Come along and enjoy a relaxed evening together in a festive atmosphere. Free! All LGBTQIA+ people & friends are welcome.
Bank Vault is a gorgeous venue that kindly welcomes Aberration without charge, so please support this lovely intimate bar in return by buying lots of drinks! They are well stocked including superb craft beers and soft drinks.
SPONSOR
Aberration is generously supported by Aberystwyth University.
Aim King 19/10/23
We are thrilled to welcome Aim King to Aberration at the Bank Vault – intimate bar venue in Aberystwyth. Doors 6pm, onstage around 7pm. Host Helen Sandler. Free Entry. Donations to All Out.
Prepare to be bathed in sound, as haunting new voice Aim King performs original spoken word over live beats from their new band. A unique evening!
Aim writes amazing lyrics that wash over you and evoke visions and emotions – unique but with an affinity with artists such as Arlo Parks or Kae Tempest, or going back in time Massive Attack and Tricky. You can have a listen to the stunning Liminal album here: https://aimking.bandcamp.com/album/liminal-l
Aim King is an ecologist, filmmaker, and poet, who grew up in London and is currently undertaking a practice-based PhD at Aberystwyth University. Through writing, they are interested in drawing together threads of inner and outer worlds, in accessing the collective heart-mind, and in making transitory feelings tangible. This year they released a spoken word album, entitled liminal(l), which explores the in-betweenness we exist within.
Bank Vault is a gorgeous venue that kindly welcomes Aberration without charge, so please support this lovely intimate bar in return by buying lots of drinks! They are well stocked including superb craft beers. Also please bring cash for donations to AllOut, the international campaigning charity that channels funds direct to LGBTQ+ projects at grassroots level.
Aberration is generously supported by Aberystwyth University.
Aberration x Queer Diary
13 July 2023, Bank Vault bar, Aberystwyth. 6pm doors, 7pm start
The popular Queer Diary night from ‘That London’ is on tour – and they’re coming to Aberystwyth especially for Aberration! People, get ready!
Would You Read Your Teenage Diary Aloud To A Room Full Of People?
A brave group of LGBTQIA+ folk 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.
In here the goths, the punks, the emos, the nerds, the glee-clubbers (and maybe a few populars?) come together as grown-ups, to escape cis-het-normativity by sharing our younger selves’ innermost thoughts via old diary entries, fanfiction stories, tumblr posts, and possibly the odd bit of cringey poetry!
Quick links:
- To book, click here: https://www.outsavvy.com/event/14692/queer-diary-aberystwyth
- To apply to read, click here:
- To see the FAQs first, click here: https://www.bethwatson.co.uk/queerdiaryfaq
Mae croeso i chi ddarllen yn Gymraeg – rhowch wybod i ni pan fyddwch yn cofrestru, a chrynhowch yn Saesneg ar ddechrau neu ddiwedd eich darlleniad os yn bosibl plis.
If your contribution is not in English – whether it’s in Welsh or another language – please let us know when signing up so we can facilitate your reading. It would be great if you could summarise in English if possible at the start or end of your reading.
Note: If you have registered to read then you don’t need to book a ticket. If you incur expenses you can claim them back from Queer Diary.
Don’t want to read? Come and listen!
We need an audience!
Please book if you possibly can, so that the fabulous Queer Diary presenter and producer, Beth and Josie, can share details with you!
TICKETS: Pay what you can – between zilch and £12 depending on your circumstances. Book via OutSavvy here >>
ACCESS: Ground floor bar. Wheelchair access by side door which bar staff will need to open for you. Let us know if you would like us to meet you outside at a specific time to make this easier. (Email aberrationcymru@gmail.com) There are two unisex toilets. We are sorry but the toilets are not accessible by wheelchair.
Ethos
This is an LGBTQIA+ themed night, and all open-minded folk are welcome. Trans and non-binary people are of course very much part of our rainbow at both Aberration and Queer Diary. Straight allies are welcome in the audience too.
Please note this event is themed around memories of teenage years gone by, and is aimed at adult audiences.
See you there! Edrych ymlaen!
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‘A Home for My Heart’ film
THIS EVENT HAS NOW PASSED
2.30pm Sunday 26 March, Aberystwyth Arts Centre: WOW Film Festival matinee
Come and watch A Home for My Heart, a sensitive documentary portrait of Suvana Sudeb, an Indian trans woman – her life with her family, friends, lover and fellow activists. Hour-long film directed by Sankhajit Biswas. Plus short.
After the film, Helen Sandler of Aberration will be chairing a Q&A in which the star and director will beam in from India to answer your questions!
Find out more and book your tickets at Aberystwyth Arts Centre >>
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Parti Traeth Aberration Beach Party
On Friday 5 July 2019 we had a fab beach party! Starting out in Bottle & Barrel bar and then with food and fires on Aberystwyth South Beach. A lovely sunny evening social. Here’s a pic while the sun was still out.
