An Aberystwyth theatre founder, bringing lively talks and short plays about women and LGBT+ people from history to audiences, will speak at a virtual round-table event, to be held tomorrow.

Age Cymru has organised the event, ‘Here and Cwiar’, on 18 November to celebrate the rich history of Wales’s LGBTQ+ community and commemorate the anniversary of repealing Section 28 in England and Wales.

The free Zoom event, which will take place from 4pm to 6pm, will feature a panel of six experts, including authors, historians, and activists. It has been carefully crafted to help attendees of all ages discover the real stories of LGBTQ+ people in Wales.

The speakers at the event include Aberystwyth local Jane Hoy, of Queer Tales from Wales theatre company, who is the founder of local education & event company Aberration. Jane will share the stories of her favourite queer Welsh characters, including the ladies of Llangollen, the subject of her acclaimed recent play.

Norena Shopland, LGBTQ+ historian and author, will chair the discussion with other speakers including Jeffrey Weeks OBE, Nazmia Jamal, Mark Etheridge, Jenny-Anne Bishop OBE.

The event is part of Age Cymru’s This is Older campaign.

Norena said: “From the time Section 28 was enacted in 1988 to its repeal in 2003 not a single prosecution took place. But this iniquitous law was not without effect.

“For example, libraries, museums, and archives were banned from ‘promoting’ homosexuality, the legacy of which is that is even today it is difficult to name a museum that includes LGBTQ+ people in their permanent galleries.”