Loo-d and Proud! The Trans Loo pops up in Bristol for Pride Season
Posted on Tue 1 July
A powerful protest pop-up toilet makes its Bristol debut this July – with a message that demands attention.
From Tue 1 July to Thu 10 July 2025, we're proud to host The Trans Loo in our Café & Bar – a striking installation from TransActual UK and BBH London that asks one simple, urgent question: Where are trans people supposed to go?
Originally unveiled outside the UK Supreme Court in May 2025, the installation is a creative act of resistance following the Court’s controversial ruling that defines “woman” in the Equality Act 2010 solely in terms of biological sex – a decision with far-reaching consequences for access to single-sex spaces and services.
Highlighting the exposure, isolation and legal limbo trans people now face, the Trans Loo installation arrives at Watershed as the city marks Bristol Pride (28 June - 13 July), and runs alongside Queer Vision Film Festival, Bristol Pride’s annual celebration of LGBTQIA+ cinema and culture (Sat 28 June - Fri 11 July) taking place at Watershed and other venues across the city.
The Trans Loo adds to a season of powerful storytelling, visibility and celebration for the LGBTQIA+ community in Bristol.
The installation also reflects wider concern across the UK’s culture sector. In April, Watershed CEO Clare Reddington co-ordinated an open letter to the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC), signed by over 1,600 cultural leaders, in response to the EHRC’s interim guidance following the ruling.
The letter expressed alarm at guidance that would require venues to police toilet access, stating: “We are unable and unwilling to police the gender of people using our toilets.”
It urged the EHRC to consult cultural organisations on the practical, legal and moral implications of its position. The letter was co-signed by figures from across the music, performance, and film sectors, and reaffirmed the sector’s commitment to trans, nonbinary, and intersex communities.
Clare Reddington, Watershed CEO, said:
“At Watershed, inclusion isn’t an add-on — it’s built into the walls, the programming, and yes, even the toilets. We’re proud to have created some of Bristol’s most welcoming public loos, and hosting The Trans Loo is a celebration and an ongoing commitment to access, safety and solidarity.
“Toilets are about more than function, they represent who feels safe, welcome and seen in public space. We’re proud to host The Trans Loo during this year’s Queer Vision and Pride season, and to stand up for dignity, inclusion and the right to exist without fear.”
Jane Fae, a director of TransActual, on whose behalf the loo was created, added:
"The Trans Loo is both symbol and statement of defiance. When the Supreme Court ruling came out, we heard very quickly from Baroness Falkner, the head of the UK's Human Rights organisation, viewed by many as anti-trans, who had some words of wisdom for the UK trans community. First, she seemed to believe the ruling gave organisations carte blanche to begin toilet segregation. And second, in the face of such discrimination, she declared that trans organisations should use their 'powers of advocacy' to create trans-friendly facilities.
"We took her up on the second – and The Trans Loo is the result of that. Since then, as additional legal opinion suggests she was wrong to argue that organisations could now exclude trans people from using certain loos, the EHRC has rowed back on that view with a 'clarification.'
"So, loos are no longer an issue. Sadly, no. Because a number of organisations have jumped the gun – potentially opening themselves up to legal action – by imposing restrictions on trans people. There is still a long way to go. But for now, it appears that the trans loo is emblematic both of trans exclusion, and the eagerness of some organisations to bend over backwards and break the law, rather than talk honestly with trans people."
Our own facilities have already set a high bar: in 2023, the venue won two Loo of the Year Awards, including Best in England, for its gender-inclusive, accessible loos in the top foyer. Thoughtfully designed with floor-to-ceiling self-contained cubicles, baby-changing, ambulant and accessible toilets (and free period products), these toilets are among the few fully inclusive public facilities in Bristol city centre.
To round off the installation’s stay, Watershed will host the Safe Space Bristol Summer Drinks on Thu 10 July from 17:00 at Undershed Bar. This informal gathering will celebrate businesses making a visible commitment to trans safety and solidarity – with free welcome drinks on us for trans and non-binary community members, Queer Vision ticket holders, and Safe Space Bristol businesses. And yes – the Trans Loo will be there too!