Homotopia 2026 honours April Ashley as it celebrates 22 years of queer excellence

22 years of queer artistic excellence is about to take over Liverpool, with Homotopia returning this autumn celebrating trans model and pioneer April Ashley.

Running from 17 October to 1 December 2026, with this year’s theme, ‘We Come Together’, events will take place across venues in Liverpool and nearby Port Sunlight.

The nine venues include Museum of Liverpool, Unity Theatre, District, Everyman Cinema, Playhouse Studio, The Music Room, Bluecoat, Arts Bar and Cobble and Hay.

Homotopia kicks off with House of Suarez

Homotopia will kick off with a major opening event from House of Suarez, a spectacular vogue and runway event celebrating the collective’s 20th anniversary.

Another highlight of this year’s festival is its line-up of theatre and performance collectives, including Thick & Tight, Fag Packet and Fatt Butcher.

As well as the above, there will be screenings exploring queer history, including Project Triangle at 17: YOUNG QUEER AND STILL HERE, alongside work commemorating Section 28.

A month of queer nightlife

And to get you dancing into the early hours, Homotopia will include a month of queer nightlife featuring EAT Me Collective, Noiregaze, Protect Scouse Dolls, Sonic Yootha and PINK SUITS’ Queer Cxntry Burnin’ Daylight.

Director Jayne Compton said in a news release: “This festival is both a gathering and an act of hope and resistance. It is a place to question, reflect and connect. It is also a place to laugh, celebrate and experience the joy that comes from community.”

Highlighting the importance of visibility in the current political climate, she said: “Homotopia champions the transformative power of creativity to challenge injustice, inspire understanding and affirm the richness and diversity of LGBTQIA+ lives.”

Honouring a legend

There will also be a focus on the legacy of Liverpool-born model April Ashley for Transgender Day of Remembrance, with a screening of Enigma followed by a walk to her grave in Crosby.

Full 2026 programme:

House of Suarez 20th Anniversary RUNWAY — 17 October at Invisible Wind Factory, Liverpool.
Thick & Tight – Natural Behaviour — 7 November at Unity Theatre, Liverpool.
Queer Cxntry Burnin’ Daylight — 7 November at District, Liverpool.
First Take 40 … And Queer! — 10 November at Everyman Cinema, Liverpool.
QueerCore Showcase — 13 November at Playhouse, Liverpool.
Young Homotopia – OUT LOUD — 14 November at Playhouse, Liverpool.
Fag Packet – DYKE Systems Ltd — 19 November at Unity Theatre, Liverpool.
Transgender Day of Remembrance: Enigma — 20 November at Crosby Library, Crosby.
Fatt Butcher – Congregation — 20 November at Liverpool Philharmonic, Liverpool.
Project Triangle at 17: Young Queer and Still Here — 24 November at FACT, Liverpool.
EAT ME – HORRIBLE HERSTORIES — 27 November at District, Liverpool.
Cookery Book Club at the Movies — 28 November at Cobble & Hay, Port Sunlight.
World AIDS Day Vigil — 1 December at Liverpool Parish Church, Liverpool.