Hasbian Programme

Hasbian promo image of 4 pairs of red shoes against a pink backdrop. The shoes are red plastic jellies, red trainers (with red-trousered legs coming out the top), red doc martens with red gems stuck to the front, and sequined stilettoes with red quilted insoles. Text top right says HASBIAN in glowing gold font.

Audio of this page

00:00 / 07:05

Hasbian is an autobiographical comedy about growing up queer in Brighton (the UK’s gay capital) during Section 28 (the 1988-2003 law that prohibited the ‘promotion of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship’).

Take the Hasbian Crush Quiz to see which character in Hasbian would be your perfect teen-movie match 💋

Listen to the Hasbian soundtrack on Spotify or YouTube 💿

We welcome all feedback (positive & constructively critical) to help us to continue improving the piece and every audience’s experience of this show. Use this form to give feedback or email us: hasbianshow@gmail.com

Beth, a white person with dark hair against a pink backdrop. Beth wears a high ponytail, pink dungarees and a lilac tie-dye t-shirt. Beth's opening a blue book with a teardrop doodled on the front and making a scandalised expression with one eyebrow raised and mouth open.

Access & content

This performance includes frequent use of full-volume music and changes in lighting.

This is a relaxed space, which means you are free to move, make noise, leave and re-enter the room whenever you like/need.

Pre-written captions are being projected throughout, and audio description is integrated creatively throughout the script, including the use of a pre-recorded voiceover.

We request that you are mindful of other audience members, especially with regards to COVID-safety and social-distancing, and keep your masks on (unless you’re exempt, and except when drinking or eating).

This show contains descriptions of bullying, including homophobic and biphobic language, and passing (critical) mentions of sexually predatory/objectifying behaviour. There is one description of an incident of physical violence. The plot contains sexual activity and alcohol consumption amongst teenagers from 14-16.

You will be addressed directly as an audience, and may be asked to volunteer to join in with the show - any participation is by consent and from your seats. No one will be ‘picked’ on, touched, or asked to get on stage.

There may be filming and photography happening for archive or publicity purposes.

Hasbian Team

Writer/Performer Beth Watson

Bethwatson.co.uk | @bethwhatcanido

Creative Producer Josephine Shipp

@JosephineShipp

Director Chloe Kennedy

@chloe_n_kennedy

Dramaturgy Koko Brown

Heykoko.com | @thekokobrown

Projection Designer & Animator Edalia Day

Edaliaday.co.uk | @edaliaday

Sound Designer Kristina Kapilin

Kristinakapilin.com | @kristinakapilin

Lighting Designer Amelia Hawkes

@ameliahawkesdesign

Access Consultancy Quiplash

Quiplash.co.uk | @quiplashlondon

Access Support & Social Media Assistant Sophie ‘Solo’ London

@Solosays

Access Support Jeanie Barnsley

@barnsleyjean

Production Photography by Holly Revell

Hollyrevell.co,uk | @hollyrevellphotography

Set built by Adam Smith

Dungaree playsuit made by Emperor’s Old Clothes

Beth would like to thank

Pleasance for welcoming us into their programme and building after the cancellation of VAULT Festival in 2022; Stanley Arts, New Diorama Theatre, Old Diorama Studios, Millennium Performing Arts, and Sarah Allen for R&D and rehearsal space; Camden People’s Theatre for support following this show’s first programming and cancellation in 2020; London Performance Studios for the 2021 Seeding Space residency; Omnibus Theatre for supporting Queer Diary & the opportunity to test Hasbian for the first time at their Engine Rooms night in 2019; the QAF Space community & everyone who’s taken part in Queer Diary nights for holding space for queer teenage nostalgia and connection throughout 2020; Katy McLeod & Daisy Hale for ACE-bid access support; Miranda Hamill for assisting with set painting; Harvey Nowak-Green for lighting the first version of the show in 2021; Joana Nastari for dramaturgy on the first draft of the script; Helen Black and her Dear Diary nights, for early encouragement to read this diary on stage; The Family Jewels, Pippa Sa & Tim Faulkner for listening to so many unedited dairy entries early on; All my friends growing up*; All the activists teachers, parents & youth workers who resisted Section 28 from 1988-2003 (especially those who also put up with me as an angsty teen); and Craig (wherever you are!).

Organisations to support

Free2B is a London-based organisation supporting LGBTQ+ youth.

Allsorts Youth Project is a Brighton-based organisation supporting LGBTQ+ youth.

Mermaids is a UK organisation supporting gender-diverse kids, young people & their families.

Educate and Celebrate is a UK organisation founded in 1998 by a queer teacher to provide LGBTQ+ inclusion training for schools and workplaces.

Are you a queer person interested in sharing something from your own teenage years?

Get involved with Queer Diary

A night of queer teenage nostalgia, where LGBTQ+ people are invited to show-and-tell diaries, stories, poems, artwork & artefacts from their formative years, to help raise money for queer youth and community organisations.

Hasbian & Queer Diary are supported by Arts Council England

*Disclaimer: All the words read from the diary in this show are taken from my real teenage diary, but names have been changed for privacy and identities/dates merged for brevity. I cannot vouch for the reliability of teenage Beth as a narrator!