Fabulosa! A brief history of Polari, the lost language of camp

Wednesday 26 June 2024, 6:30pm to 8:00pm

Venue

Margaret Fell Lecture Theatre - View Map

Open to

Public

Registration

Free to attend - registration required

Registration Info

Registration information to follow

Event Details

Polari was a secret form of language, developing across the 19th and 20th centuries among a queer subculture that newspapers of the time referred to as the "twilight world of the homosexual".

Polari was a secret form of language, developing across the 19th and 20th centuries among a queer subculture that newspapers of the time referred to as the "twilight world of the homosexual". In the 1960s Polari became famous when it was used in a popular BBC radio comedy series called Round the Horne but by the 1980s it had all but vanished. Paul Baker has researched Polari for the last 30 years and he tells the fascinating and hilarious story of its rise, fall and rediscovery, charting its fortunes alongside tumultuous changes in British LGBTQ+ representation and visibility. He also reveals some of the secrets behind the words, so you'll learn how to tell your lallies from your luppers. Troll along and vada the palarying screeve-omee for some bona cackle.

Contact Details

Name Justin Lo
Email

j.h.lo@lancaster.ac.uk

Directions to Margaret Fell Lecture Theatre

To access the Margaret Fell Lecture Theatre, enter the campus via Big Forth Drive, then take the first exit at the roundabout at the top of the hill. Follow the North Drive, the road takes a couple of curves to the right, after the second curve, John Creed Avenue is the 3rd road on the right.