Glamrou

After a sell-out run in London, Glamrou brings this hilarious and exhilarating solo show to Contact!

Muslim drag sensation Glamrou takes us from the depths of hell to the zenith of Islamic paradise, saying the things that no one else dares to, and showing us what it means to live in a state of harmonious contradiction.

Amrou Al-Kadhi is a drag queen, actor, screenwriter and author. Their memoir, Life as a Unicorn: A Journey from Shame to Pride and Everything In Between, was published by Harper Collins in the UK and the US and won the Polari First Book Prize and the Somerset Maugham award – it has received praise from Ian McKellen, Russell T Davies, Joanna Lumley, Kumail Nanjiani & Emily Gordon, and many others.

As a screenwriter, Amrou co-wrote the final episode of Apple’s Little America, which The Hollywood Reporter called ‘the show’s pinnacle,’ and named as one of the best 10 episodes of television in 2020; this episode has also just won a Glaad award, with the series nominated for Best New Scripted Series at the Independent Spirit awards.

Amrou was also a writer on BBC America’s series The Watch, and has sold pilot scripts to FX Productions, ABC and BBC Drama. They have written many episodes for Channel 4’s longest running soap opera, Hollyoaks. Their first feature as writer/director, LAYLA, a contemporary queer Romeo & Juliet immersed in the warring factions of the gay community during Pride, is in development with Film4.

As an actor, Amrou has principal credits in Carnival Row (Series 2), Venom 2, Christopher Robin (Disney), The Souvenir 2 (Joanna Hogg), Absolutely Fabulous: The Movie, and many others. Amrou has written & directed four short films, which have been broadcast on PBS, NOWNESS, BBC 4, BBC iPlayer, BFI-Player, Revry, and which have screened and won awards at festivals internationally, including the BFI London Film Festival and many others.

This event is part of Queer Contact. Each February, as part of LGBT History Month, Queer Contact’s programming converges in a festival of events – Queer Contact Festival – featuring the best performance, music, spoken word, dance, theatre and visual art with local young people and performers interacting with the best UK and international talent.