For its sixth edition (23 April to 18 May 2025), Queer East announces its performing arts programme, including a thought-provoking theatre play, When the cloud catches colours, from Singapore, and an immersive solo dance performance, aWokening, from Canada.

Marking its debut live theatre presentation, the festival hosts the international premiere of When the cloud catches colours, at The Pit, Barbican (Thu 24 – Sat 26 April), featuring an international company led by Singaporean theatremaker Chng Yi Kai. This newly formed partnership with the Barbican Theatre extends from Queer East’s ongoing collaboration with the Barbican Cinema over the past five years.

When the cloud catches colours explores the experience of two queer Singaporeans as they grow older. Based on true accounts, this verbatim play delves into relationships, family, insecurity, kindness and safety. Written and directed by Chng Yi Kai, When the cloud catches colours is a timely reflection on queer resilience after the country repealed the British colonial law section 377A, criminalising sex between adult males, in 2023.

The partnership between The Place and Queer East continues with aWokening by Hong Kong-Canadian artist Winnie Ho (Fri 16 May). Blending physical performance, immersive scenography, and sensory dramaturgy, aWokening transcends the traditional boundaries of contemporary dance. The artist uses the concept of wok chi (鑊氣), the fleeting energy of wok cooking, which gives Cantonese cuisine its distinct flavour, as a metaphor for her diasporic and queer identity.

Queer East is a multi-disciplinary festival that showcases boundary-pushing LGBTQ+ live arts, cinema, and moving image work from East and Southeast Asia and its diaspora communities. The sixth edition runs from 23 April to 18 May 2025 in venues across London, exploring notions of what it means to be queer and Asian today. The full programme will be announced in late March.