Polyglamorous is the queer club that brought Brighton Dome audiences Our Roots: Queer Futures, and Brighton Festival goers Our Roots: Dreamland, with fellow queer club Gal Pals. We caught up with Co-Founder Emily to find out more...
1. What’s the idea behind “Our Roots”?
Our Roots is a collaboration between Brighton Dome, Polyglamorous and Gal Pals. The idea was conceived by the wonderful [Producer] Abs from the Brighton Dome team who wanted to combine two local queer-focused nights for the closing night of Brighton Festival 2023. The Guest Director of the Festival that year was Nabihah Iqbal who has ties with nightlife, therefore the first ever club night at the Brighton Dome was born!
2. You were the first club night to be held in the Concert Hall - what's it like to take the club to a heritage venue?
It was an incredible honour for us! Polyglamorous has had many homes over the years in different venues in Brighton, so hosting one of our parties in a heritage space and becoming a part of its history was very special for us.
[Photography: Polyglamorous]
3. Tell us more about what goes into curating Our Roots club nights!
Our core team of 8 Co-Founders (Emily Meow, Spinks, Bertie Clarke, Alfie Ordinary, Lydia L’Scabies, Rococo Chanel, Conor England and Prudence Rae) all come from different backgrounds in the arts and entertainment industry. We’re made up of event producers, DJs, drag artists, makeup artists and musicians, so we all work together collaboratively to curate line-ups, theme ideas and immersive moments that pull from our unique experiences.
For Our Roots, working directly with Gal Pals on further collaboration has been incredible! It’s been so much fun merging our nights to create something that really speaks for itself and has its own identity. Our graphic designer Jack Alfie then helps bring our visual ideas to life through our posters and visuals on the night.
4. How do you come up with the themes for each night?
[For Brighton Festival, we] try to lean into its theme, for example, our May 2024 party was dubbed “DREAMLAND” to reflect the Guest Director Frank Cottrell-Boyce’s Parade theme, “Dream Again”. We made balloon clouds for the stage and had dancers and performers that radiated this whimsical vibe (including a gogo dancing cherub and sleeping drag hosts complete with pillows and pyjamas snoozing on stage).
[Photography: Polyglamorous]
5. What's something you want everyone to know about Our Roots events?
That our guests are making history just by partying with us! It’s incredible to have two grass root queer club nights take up this kind of space and be a part of the venue's long and iconic legacy. We hope to welcome the community to many more in the future.
Catch up on our News...
