House Proud
Expect the unexpected at a series of special events across the South East celebrating LGBTQ+ history and Pride season in stunning historical settings.
House Proud at Hatchlands Park, Surrey
Friday 12 September 2025, 6.30pm - 10.00pm
Tickets from £10
House Proud returns to its home at Hatchlands Park for a fourth year for another fabulous evening of untold stories. Revel in the queer ecology found in the park itself and enjoy an evening of music, song and performance, surrounded by historic instruments and art, hosted by our local drag star That Girl.
Take a walk with ecologist Connor Butler to learn what the emerging theory of queer ecology is all about. Join historian Sheldon K. Goodman and our Collections & House Manager Mark Syson-Harvey to revisit some of the LGBTQ+ histories represented in the treasures you’ll find in the house. The Surrey Rainbow Choir will be back for their fourth year in a row, with more acts yet to be announced.
With talks and performances happening at different times in different parts of the house and garden throughout the evening, you'll be free to explore and join in with the bits that most interest you.
About the performers:
That Girl is a stagey, campy, all lip-syncing, all singing fool with big numbers and even bigger hair. Winner of DRAG ARTIST OF THE YEAR at the Pink News Awards 2023, and bestselling author of YA novels Boy Queen, which has been translated into 3 languages, and Don’t Die Alone, Lucas Cook. She is also an award nominated theatre maker with her five star reviewed solo show That Girl VS The World.
Connor the Ecologist is an entomologist and educator on a mission to make people notice and appreciate the smaller details in nature. His work focuses on Queer Ecology, challenging traditional ideas about what is considered “natural” or “unnatural”. Over 2,000 people have taken part in his Queer Ecology tours so far, delivered with organisations such as The Royal Parks, Garden Museum, London Wildlife Trust, and Wildfowl & Wetlands Trust. Instagram @Connor_the_ecologist
Sheldon K. Goodman is a public historian, tour guide and Queer historian. Specialising in truth-telling, LGBTQ+ and minority histories, Sheldon prides himself on making heritage accessible and engaging in museums, art galleries and cemeteries.
Surrey Rainbow Choir are Surrey’s only LGBTQ+ dedicated choir, providing an inclusive and accessible space where people can get together and enjoy singing - judgement-free! We’re made up of members of all ages, gender expressions, sexualities and musical ability. Now for the first time in Surrey, LGBTQ+ people can feel free to belong and sing out in a safe space and all the while doing it to also help our own community by representing LGBTQ+ people performing across Surrey and raising money for good causes with the funds we raise at our concerts.
Tickets from £10
I’m really excited to hopefully bring some new audiences to Hatchlands, and share some stories that might otherwise have been forgotten about. Growing up in the era of Section 28, I had no real concept that people like me existed throughout history, so I think it’s really important that we’re able to explore aspects of our past that were previously brushed under the carpet.
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