Glasgow Royal Concert Hall

Paul Burston and Jack Parlett - Love, Loss and Liberation

Paul Burston and Jack Parlett - Love, Loss and Liberation
THIS EVENT HAS EXPIRED
Tickets
£11.20 (£10 ticket charge plus £1.20 Booking Fee)
Dates and times
Saturday 20th May 2023
12:45pm
Age
Adult, Over 14s only. Under 16s must be accompanied by an adult.

Paul Burston’s We Can Be Heroes is an illuminating memoir of the eighties, nineties and noughties from a gay man who only just survived them. Paul came out in the mid-1980s, when ‘gay’ still felt like a dirty word, especially in the small Welsh town where he grew up. He moved to London hoping for a happier life, only to watch in horror as his new-found community was decimated by AIDS. But even in the depths of his grief, Paul vowed never to stop fighting back on behalf of his young friends whose lives were cut tragically short.

It’s a promise he’s kept to this day. As an activist he stormed the House of Commons during the debate over the age of consent. As a journalist he spoke up for the rights of the community at a time of tabloid homophobia and legal inequality. As a novelist he founded the ground-breaking Polari Prize.

From almost drowning at eighteen to a near-fatal overdose at thirty-eight, this is Paul’s story of what happened in the twenty years between, and how he carved out a life that his teenage self could scarcely have imagined. Emotional but often witty, 

Jack Parlett’s Fire Island leads the reader through the early days of the island's life as a discreet home for same-sex love, to the wild parties of the post-Stonewall disco era, to the residents' confrontation with the AIDS epidemic, and into a present where a host of new challenges threaten the island's future. Tracing Fire Island’s rich history - a slim strip of land off the coast of New York, and a place of hedonism, reinvention, liberation – Parlett explores the halcyon scenes of Frank O'Hara's poetry; the bars where Patricia Highsmith got drunk; the infamous cruising sites; and the dazzling beaches where couples had fallen in and out of love, free for a sun-kissed moment to be themselves in the time before gay liberation.

Lyrical and vivid, Fire Island is a hymn to an iconic destination, and to the men and women whose ardour and determination spread freedom across its shores.

Chaired by D Franklin.

Dispatch Charges

E-tickets - Free of charge
Fulfilment Fee - £1.95

Transaction Charges apply as follows

Online up to £1.50
Phone up to £1.75
Counter/in person: Free

View the full Ticket Purchase Policy.

Restoration fund
From 1 September 2024, for any new events going on sale at our Concert Halls venues (Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, City Halls and Old Fruitmarket and Kelvingrove Bandstand), a new Restoration Fund of £1.50 per ticket may be added at checkout. View the full Restoration Fund T&Cs.

Tickets Booking Line

0141 353 8000

Lines open Monday-Saturday 09:00-17:00 (excluding Bank Holidays). Please check opening hours over any Bank Holiday period.

Accessible toilets

There are several accessible toilets in this venue. For more information on the location and features of these toilets, please use the AccessAble guide. 

Assistance dogs

Assistance dogs are welcome at the venue, but please be aware that noise levels can be high during some events. At the time of booking please let our Box Office Team know if an assistance dog will be accompanying you to the venue, or email the Venue Team at GRCHVM@glasgowlife.org.uk

Hearing loop

The stalls of the Main Hall and New Hall are equipped with induction loop systems, but operation is dependent on each individual event or performance, so provision can vary. Headsets can be supplied during your visit. For more information about the availability of induction loop systems at the venue please email our Venue  Team: GRCHVM@glasgowlife.org.uk

Wheelchair access

Wheelchair access is from the Killermont Street entrance (North Entrance) only. From this entrance, there is Lift access to all levels.    

Wheelchairs are available on request. For use of a venue wheelchair, please email our Venue Team at GRCHVM@glasgowlife.org.uk

Please note wheelchairs for events are used for transfer only to your seat.

Emergency Evacuation

If you have accessible requirements and wish to discuss a Personal Emergency Evacuation Plan (PEEP) please contact the venue management team: GRCHVM@glasgowlife.org.uk

Baby changing

There are baby changing facilities in the café toilets and exhibition corridor toilets (next to the Box Office)

Baby feeding

Breastfeeding is welcome at the venue.

Cafe or restaurant

Full table service is not available, food or drinks are ordered from the service counter. However, food and drinks can be brought to the table. 

There is not a lowered section at the counter.

No tables are permanently fixed. No chairs are permanently fixed. Some chairs have armrests.

Drinking straws are available.

Menus are hand held and wall mounted. Menus are not available in Braille. Menus are not available in large print. Picture menus are not available. View our menu online but please note that some fillings may vary at different times of the year.

Café standard opening hours are 10am-4pm Monday to Saturday.  If an event is taking place within the venue, it will be open to ticketholders only. For more information contact our Venue Team at GRCHVM@glasgowlife.org.uk

Parking

There is no on-site parking but there are nearby car parks:

Concert Square Car Park

Buchanan Galleries Car Park - visit their website      
Please note Buchanan Galleries close at 9pm.

Meter Street parking is also available.

Photography and video recording

At times, Glasgow Life will be on the premises to film and take photos. 

The public are only permitted to record and take photos where explicit permission has been granted in advance. 

Free wifi

Yes, there is free public Wifi access. To connect, visitors have to register with the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall Public Wifi which should pop up on their browser. After that visitors will only need their password for future uses.

Location Map

Here at The Glasgow Royal Concert Hall, we take your safety and security seriously. That’s why we’re supporting Counter Terrorism Policing’s campaign to encourage everyone to help keep each other safe.

We have security measures you can see and, of course, ones you can’t. We ask you to help by staying alert and trusting your instincts.

Allow extra time for security measures. This will help prevent queues and delays getting into the venue.
Please be patient with security checks and allow the staff to help you. We know it’s inconvenient, but they are there to keep you safe.

While you’re with us, you will see our security team and front of house staff, who are there to help you if you need it. If something doesn’t feel right, tell them straight away and they will do the rest. You won’t be wasting our time.
In an emergency, call 999. Let’s keep each other safe.

With many different rooms and breakout areas available, the complex can accommodate meetings and conferences from 12 - 2000 delegates. Visit the Glasgow Royal Concert Hall's venue hire web page to find out more.


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