What does it mean to be perceived? I have been thinking about this question more than is probably healthy since watching Tia Kofi at the Edinburgh Fringe. The occasion was The Final FronTia, a live recording of Tia's podcast, with comedy duo Flo and Joan joining her to talk about their Andrew Lloyd Webber show. Tia, who won RuPaul's Drag Race UK vs The World, has spent the years since becoming one of British drag's most recognisable figures.

Having been in therapy for several years now, I am no stranger to the question, “What would you say to your inner child?” I am never prepared to answer it, though. In the small room that hosts Legendary, we are greeted by this question, beamed onto a backdrop from an old school projector. Yellow balloons hover along the edges of the stage and an ethereal character – loose hair, clad in a long white lace dress – stands amongst the audience, gently welcoming those that walk in.

Memuna Konteh responds to Fringe comedy split-bill Ayo Adenekan and Alvin Bang: Abandon God, putting expectations aside to enjoy stand-up that adapts to important societal moments.

In this Response to Rat Tails (WIP) by Jeremy McClain, Eilidh Akilade details the journey of art criticism, from the inception of an idea in June, to the witnessing of an Edinburgh Fringe show, before the long bus ride home in August.

Shivanee Ramlochan discusses Michelle Mohabeer’s Coconut/Cane & Cutlass, a mythic/poetic rumination on exile, displacement, and nationhood from the perspective of an Indo-Caribbean lesbian who migrated to Canada twenty years ago.

Shirine Shah responds to Flesh and Paper (1990), a lyrical exploration of the sense and sensibilities of Indian lesbian poet and writer, Suniti Namjoshi, directed by Pratibha Parmar.

Asyia Iftikhar responds to (Tending) (to) (Ta), a dream-like journey across parallel dimensions that imagines a world without capitalism, by interdisciplinary artist April Lin 林森.

Hayley Wu (胡禧怡)

“It feels like there’s no good place to be these days,” my friend tells me over lunch. We are in a quiet corner of Hong Kong, thinking about the dozens of friends and acquaintances who in the past year have left the city, looking for a new home. From what we hear, no one has found one elsewhere yet.

Andrés N. Ordorica responds to Batería, a film by Damián Sainz Edwards that captures the raw beauty of a disused military base just outside of Havana, a refuge for gay men for cruising, connection, and imagining better futures.

Georgina Quach

Still We Thrive, written and directed by Campbell X, ensures we never look away from the past. It brings together contemporary Black actors speaking to camera with archive footage of Black history from the Caribbean, United Kingdom, United States and the African continent. As poet Elizabeth Alexander said, for so long, communities of colour have had to “carry around knowledge and stories in our bodies,” because resources were not devoted to preserving the spaces that held those stories and culture.

Arusa Qureshi

Beyond the constructs and confines of gender, the divine feminine exists deep within us all. It’s the energy that allows for compassion, nurturing and devotion; an embracing of softness and stillness in all its varying guises. In Danny Bailey’s short film Soft Bwoi, the notion of the divine feminine is beautifully encapsulated through the use of folklore and imagery from Caribbean carnival culture and queerness.

Theophina Gabriel responds to black queer nature poem for khadijah (and all of us), a gentle performance film by Mae Diansangu and one of Fringe of Colour’s 2021 commissions.

Rho Chung responds to Selkie, a visually sumptuous short film exploring issues of identity and belonging through visual and oral storytelling, by collaborative siblings Niall and India Moorjani.

Theophina Gabriel responds to Bloom, a queer Kenyan pole dancer’s surreal adaptation of Shakespeare’s A Midsummer Night’s Dream by A.T, and a Fringe of Colour 2020 Commission.

Asyia Iftikhar responds to plant portals: breath, a film by Nicky Chue who presents an experimental meditation on the concept of “rest” and asks: “Can nature heal us?”

Elete N-F responds to CLUB, a vibrant exploration of queer black women forging space for themselves against the landscape of London's nightlife, by Esme Allman.