Lavender Hill, by Leo Briggs & HG Gruebmeyer

In Larry Mitchell’s 1977 manifesto The Faggots and their Friends Between Revolutions, a queer utopia thrives against and within the empire of “the men.” Loosely inspired by a visit to the Castro District in San Francisco, The Faggots and their Friends is part survival manual, part gay communist fantasy. Mitchell reminds us that “you can choose to either obey the programs or to defy the programs… they find it troublesome to be around those who say the program is inevitable.” The book, which has gone in and out of print many times since then, is explicitly intended to share among queer friends and lovers.

“Lavender Hill” is an evening of transsexual performance by choreographer Leo Briggs and writer HG Gruebmeyer. Sharing a name with the queer commune that Mitchell co-founded in upstate New York in the 1970s, the concert presents a glimpse into queer utopia within dystopia, as relevant as ever in today’s climate of anti-trans legislation and rhetoric. Each work plays with deviance, taboo, and fantasy while staying rooted in the mundane, horrible, beautiful reality of living between revolutions, where queer and trans liberation and revolution is the only way out.

First, Briggs & Gruebmeyer will present their new multimedia work “CVS,” an evocation of trans identity and home in the south, the reality of medical transition in our political climate, and the fear that access to transition will be further restricted or eradicated. The concert will also feature the premiere of “Twin Brothers,” a new duet by Leo Briggs in collaboration with Gruebmeyer and dancers Merryn McKeough and Kiera O’Reilly. “Twin Brothers” is about the chosen and found twins in our life, the trans contagion narrative, and queer becoming. Finally, Briggs will restage their 2020 work “Violet Adagio,” which was produced through the Dance Canvas Palette Project. “Violet Adagio” is a reimagining of the famous “Rose Adagio” from the ballet Sleeping Beauty, through a sapphic lens focused on self-pleasure and sexual liberation. It will be performed by Aryanna Allen, Leah Behm, Madison Lee, and Carly Wynans.

The funds raised through this crowdfunding effort will be used to produce the concert (venue rental, technician labor, etc.) and compensate six collaborating artists for their time and effort. Your donation will directly support queer and trans artists working in Atlanta, and it will return to the community through the sharing of this art with the public.

Performances of “Lavender Hill” are Saturday, June 24, at 7:30pm, and Sunday, June 25, at 3:30pm, at 7 Stages Theater in Little Five Points.

Cover photo: Ned Asta, from "The Faggots and their Friends."