13/03/2023
📣😱 ONE DAY TO GO! 😱📣
Here’s a story:
Con-Version has had a long, long journey.
began writing Con-Version in 2020, inspired by the government’s long-gestating ban on conversion therapy in the UK (conversion practices is a more acceptable term, considering that it is in no way accredited or sanctioned therapy).
In 2021, the show and Rory were shortlisted for the VAULT Five, an incredible achievement that helped us secure a slot in VAULT Festival 2022. At this point, the ban on conversion practices still hadn’t gone any further.
In 2022, the VAULT Festival was cancelled due to the pandemic. In the interim, Con-Version was shortlisted for ’s Charlie Hartill Theatre Reserves, one of the most prestigious Fringe awards in the UK. From then, we reapplied for VAULT 2023 and were given a prime slot, right at the start of the festival.
And then we didn’t get funding.
We were all ready to pull the show completely, but with the help of VAULT’s team, we were able to make one more last minute application, and reader, we succeeded.
In a mad dash, we pulled together this show we’ve been working on for three years, finally making it the best it can possibly be and showcasing the amazing, incomparable talents of our actors, designers, directors and stage manager.
But it’s slightly tinged with sadness.
Conversion practices still aren’t banned. We haven’t gone any further. A dangerous, ineffective practice that harms a minimum of 7% of all q***r people (which may not sound like a lot, but equates to roughly 45,000 people in the UK alone) has not been banned.
Please come see our show. Please message your MP after. Please research conversion practices and how you can help stop it (use ’s excellent info guide for help).
They’ll always say there’s more important things to be thinking about right now, but q***r people don’t stop being in danger when another issue is prevalent in the UK. We need protecting, always.