We’re kicking off Departure Lounge Festival 2025 in true festival style — with bold new ideas, big energy, and our much-loved scratch night, FROM SCRATCH!
Grab your ticket and be part of the official launch of Departure Lounge 2025 — an exciting night where you’ll witness bold new performances in the making, share your feedback, and become part of the hottest new work emerging from the Midlands.
FROM SCRATCH! will be hosted by the fabulous Drag King, Tito Bone — bringing charisma, chaos, and charm to the stage.
POST SHOW PARTY
And the fun doesn’t stop there…
We’re kicking off this year’s festival with our Launch Party, right after the FROM SCRATCH! scratch night extravaganza!
Join us in the foyer for drinks, mingling, and exclusive announcements about what’s in store for Departure Lounge 2025. Expect a buzzing atmosphere as artists, audiences, and industry peers come together to raise a glass and officially launch the festival.
About Our Host
Tito Bone
Tito Bone is your average blind, non-binary, bisexual drag king who just wants you to smell the world through their nose, ya know?
They are a true triple threat: they sing, dad dance, and audio describe, all while wearing large amounts of eco glitter. Tito’s mission is simple: to entertain the masses through parody songs, stylish suits and a lot of dad dancing. They also strive to prove that making accessible art is the epitome of cool.
Tito Bone shares a body with Amelia Cavallo, a multi-disciplinary artist and one half of Quiplash (@quiplashlondon) – a queer, disabled (quip) performance project that is taking space for Deaf and disabled people across the LGBTQQIA+ spectrum.
Performances
A Foot is Not an Appropriate Prize for the Tombola by Daniel McVey
After a chopped-off foot is found in the box of one of the tombola prizes, the Greenwold village fete is thrown into disarray. But Lydia, owner of the tombola stall is determined not to let it ruin the day. As she pushes on, the revelations get even more bizarre, and as Lydia attempts to work out ‘whodunnit’, it appears there might be a more horrific truth to the village, and the fete than anyone realised.
A darkly comedic interactive show inspired by the worlds of cozy crime and cosmic horror, join us on the village green, and discover the mysteries of the tombola.
Dan Webber's Pride Poetry Playlist
Join acclaimed performance poet Dan Webber for a vibrant night of spoken word celebrating LGBTQIA+ voices, experiences, and culture. Pride Poetry Playlist blends powerful poems and personal stories into a unique live experience that’s part gig, part poetry jam, all heart.
ADHDay in the Life by Amber Gollay
Amber has thousands of notes in her phone. Thousands. Spanning eight years. Eight years of important (and let’s be real, not so important) stuff noted down. And she’s going to attempt to tell you all about it whilst being interrupted by…well, everything! She’ll either be completely derailed or get on with the show – Welcome to ADHDay in the life of Amber!