Celebrating Wollongong’s LGBTQI+ community one story at a time

Get ready for a night of pride, prejudice, resilience and resistance with Queerstories returning to Wollongong and featuring Illawarra’s finest LGBTQI+ storytellers.

Tickets have sold out for Queerstories, this Friday 4 June, presented by Wollongong City Libraries and Maeve Marsden.

Wollongong City Lord Mayor Councillor Gordon Bradbery AM said he was pleased to see Queerstories become part of Wollongong’s annual season of events and its sold-out status is indicative of community interest in it.

“This year will be our third year bringing Queerstories to Wollongong for a live and local event that shines the spotlight on our Illawarra’s LGBTQI+ community and their lived experiences,” Cr Bradbery said.

“Each Queerstories performance, invites LGBTQI+ locals to share their stories on a diverse selection of topics and interests. This means, each performance is unique, vulnerable, hilarious, and occasionally heartbreaking. Whatever the stories, it’s always an enjoyable night for all attending.”

The line-up for Queerstories at Thirroul Library includes host Maxine Kauter, with stories from Ash Johnstone, Fox Shepherd, Lu Bradshaw, Paige Headington, Alex Groombridge and Adam Larkham aka Roxee Horror.

“The Wollongong events are always so joyful and community-focused,” said curator Maeve Marsden. “This year’s line-up includes some incredible young writers so audiences are in for a treat!”

This event is Auslan interpreted and will be recorded for the Queerstories podcast.

“Wollongong City Libraries takes pride in offering opportunities for our community to enjoy and celebrate the culture and creativity of the LGBTQI+ community,” Cr Bradbery said.

“This program of events is part of our libraries’ focus on celebrating diversity within our community and being a safe and welcoming space for all.”

Meet the stars of the show

Fox Shephard is a nonbinary writer, poet, Radical Fairy and bodyworker. Fox grew up in Wollongong and moved to the Rainbow Region for healing. They’ve featured at Enough Said Poetry slam in Wollongong, with Speak Satellite at Wollongong Writers festival, Unspoken Words in Sydney and My Trans Story during Mardi Gras in 2019. When Fox isn't writing or on the dance floor, they’re most likely studying a Bachelor of Art therapy in their den. They currently reside in Meanjin (Brisbane), on unceded Turrbal and Yuggera land.

Adam Larkham is best known by his drag alter ego, Roxee Horror. Roxee is creepy and she’s kooky, mysterious and spooky, and one of the campiest queens in the Illawarra. You can find her at drag bingo and drag trivia or onstage in her famous drag shows, always there to entertain the masses. Adam enjoys painting, drawing, or anything artistic, loves a bit of theatre or relaxing with a good horror movie.

Ash Jonstone is a bisexual Dunghutti woman living on sovereign Dharawal land. She is an academic, an advocate for Indigenous survivors of domestic, sexual, and family violence, and an occasional writer of fiction and poetry.

Alex Groombridge is a local trans theatre actor and is the former bass player for Sydney bands Pyrefly and Ruby Lane. He found his passion in directing and empowering aspiring rock bands, through his job as a music teacher, and has even seen some of his mentees tour America. Underneath the band tees and bass solos that make Alex, you'll find a big nerd who loves video games and cosplaying, winning several cosplay competitions in both Sydney and Brisbane.

Lu Bradshaw is a trans and queer artist, writer and performer who lives and works on unceded Dharawal land. They are currently in their final year of a Bachelor of Performance at the University of Wollongong. Their most recent performance work, Voices, explored questions of community, vulnerability and belonging with young queer people in the Illawarra and their writing has recently been featured by Wear It Purple. Lu's practice centres the identities, stories and relationships of trans and queer individuals.

Paige Headington is a coffee aficionado, partner and a mother. In her spare time, she lounges in her hammock drinking coffee watching the birds in her backyard, plays with her kiddo and runs events for the local queer community. She works for the federal government and is a project manager for her organisation’s diversity and inclusion program. She is a trans rights advocate and an always improving intersectional feminist.