In this talk, Studio Resident Tom Marshman invites us to consider how queer people navigate love, desire, and identity in an age of constant connectivity, and what artistic possibilities emerge from this shifting landscape.
As Tom launches his new project, with a working title: This Showgirl Is Offline, he reflects on his own experiences of navigating queer connection from the pre-digital era of real-life encounters to the rise of online hookup culture.
Drawing on over 25 years of creative practice and more than 60 successful projects across theatre, cabaret, and museum audio tours, Tom's visually striking and socially engaged work also offers deeply personal storytelling often centred on the LGBTQ+ experience and stories that are omitted through archival silence.
The talk also touches on the experience of ageing within this digital terrain, drawing inspiration from a zeitgeist of “showgirls” spanning from Pamela Anderson to Taylor Swift.