Sparks Joy: Live Recording at Imagine Belfast

Recorded live at the Accidental Theatre for the Imagine Belfast Festival, this special episode of Bubble & Squeak. Peterson Toscano guides the audience through a four-part journey that is playful but deeply serious beneath the surface, exploring faith, politics, identity, and the power of storytelling.

In This Episode

• Part One: A Performance to Relax Peterson opens the show with a scene from his one-person play, Queer 101—Now I Know my Gay, B, C’s. Meet Chad, an over-enthusiastic graduate student and sub-lecturer who imagines a date with the Spanish poet, Federico Garcia Lorca.

• Part Two: Resilience and Rights with The Rainbow Project Peterson is joined by Alexa Moore and Simon Carmichael from The Rainbow Project, Northern Ireland’s largest LGBTQIA+ organization. They discuss:

  • The evolution of the project from a 1994 HIV volunteer effort to a full-spectrum support and advocacy center.

  • Current battles for dignity, including campaigning against "conversion therapy" and advocating for trans healthcare rights.

  • The importance of co-cultural counseling and creating safe, affirmative spaces for the community.

• Part Three: The Poetry of Memory with Damian Gorman Acclaimed poet and playwright Damian Gorman (Head of Peacebuilding at Children in Crossfire) shares his work and reflects on the intersection of art and memory. He discusses his recent projects, WITNESS and B O Y, which tackle difficult histories with grace and profound honesty.

• Part Four: The "Mighty Men of God." The show takes a satirical turn with a solo sketch featuring a "Christian Men’s Support and Accountability Group." Peterson inhabits multiple characters to promote vulnerability among men. What starts as a simple exercise to share habits takes a quick turn when a surprise visitor arrives.

Guest and Event Links

• The Rainbow Project: https://www.rainbow-project.org

• Damian Gorman (Children in Crossfire): https://www.childrenincrossfire.org

• Imagine Belfast Festival of Ideas & Politics: https://imaginebelfast.com

About the Guests

Alexa Moore (she/her): Policy, Campaigns and Communications Manager at The Rainbow Project and co-founder of TransgenderNI. She is also a queer set dancing instructor at The MAC.

Simon Carmichael (they/them): Co-Cultural Counseling Manager at The Rainbow Project with a background in psychology and workplace mental health.

Damian Gorman: A renowned poet and playwright whose work has long been woven into the cultural and political life of Northern Ireland.

Episode Credits

Host & Producer: Peterson Toscano.

Sound & Lighting: Martin Price

• Music from Epidemic Sound: Walk Tall by Johannes Bornlöf, Late Night Madrid (Adua Blaize Remix) by Alysha Sheldon, Dirty Feet by Andreas Dahlback, In America by Badskum, Last Laugh by White Bones, and Horseback by QTE

  Venue: Accidental Theatre, Shaftesbury Square, Belfast.