The Met and Bury Pride, Arts Council England, Waterside Arts and Pride in Trafford, The Lowry and Salford Pride, Oldham Coliseum Theatre and Oldham Pride – alongside new support from Manchester International Festival and Manchester Pride offered two Pride Stages Bursary awards to Jason Andrew Guest and Cheddar Gorgeous.

Both artists will receive a £1000 development grant, access to rehearsal space, and tailored development support from the partners to create an exciting new performance celebrating LGBTQ+ communities.

The Met’s CEO Victoria Robinson said

“We were overwhelmed by the response to this award and so excited to see the work develop and be premiered in Bury in partnership with Bury Pride. Without doubt the collaborative approach to this commission is going to result in something quite special”

Jason Andrew Guest’s ‘Welcome to the Haus of Myztique’ will celebrate Black excellence through vocal house music and fashion, with an exploration of Black queer artists, musicians, and popular pop culture icons; while Cheddar Gorgeous’ ‘Oh What A Lovely Lockdown’ will use drag artistry and digital visuals to create a new performance exploring the experience of isolation and community during the pandemic.

As Greater Manchester starts to open back up after lockdown, the performances will initially be live streamed, then the hope is that they will be performed in front of live audiences at Bury Pride, Pride in Trafford, Oldham Pride, Salford Pride’s The Pink Picnic and Manchester Pride Festival this summer, providing much-needed moments of celebration.

Smaller awards will also support three other artists to further develop their performance ideas – Jade Williams and John O’Neill (supported by The Met and The Lowry) and Husk (supported by Salford Pride)