In the second instalment of book & film group and in collaboration between Bookbag and Exeter Picturehouse, the University of Exeter's Trans & Non Binary Cafe were invited to curate the pairing in honour of LGBTQ+ History month. They chose Hedwig and the Angry Inch (2001) and Grace Lavery’s Please Miss.
Read the book, watch the film, and join us for a discussion in the Exeter Picturehouse bar afterwards.
The Book
Please Miss is a funny, warm, sexy and painful memoir of gender transition and recovery from addiction. A dance across genres, Please Miss is unlike anything you’ve read before. As Grace fumbles toward a new identity, she tries on dozens of different voices, creating a coat of many colours. The result is dazzling and unforgettable. How could her story be straightforward when she is anything but?
The Film
Raised a boy in East Berlin, Hedwig undergoes a traumatic personal transformation in order to emigrate to the U.S., where she reinvents herself as an “internationally ignored” but divinely talented rock diva. Based on the trailblazing musical from writer–director–star John Cameron Mitchell and composer lyricist Stephen Trask , Hedwig and the Angry Inch tells Hedwig’s life through her music, an eclectic assortment of original punk anthems and power ballads a tribute to the transcendent power of rock and roll.
Cost: £8 film tickets
Accessibility Statement: Both screens, the Box Office, the kiosk and the toilet are fully accessible, including to wheelchair users. There are three spaces for disabled badge holders in the cinema car park immediately next to our building. There is a slope from the car park to the cinema doors. The bar is accessed either from the front foyer, which involves climbing 16 steps or from the bar doors, which are level with the upper car park. Please note the car park is quite steeply inclined (1:9).
The Box Office, kiosk and bar all have adapted counters and accessible levels for transactions.
Visually impaired customers
We have the Dolby ScreenTalk audio description system. This means that for certain films audio description is available. It works by picking up an infrared signal through special headphones that are available from the Box Office. The screenings with this facility are indicated in our printed programme but are always subject to confirmation and update, so please check with the Box Office.
Guide dogs are welcome. If you wish to take your dog into a performance, please let us know when booking so that we can arrange an aisle seat. Alternatively, your dog can be cared for by a member of staff for the duration of the performance. Our staff will be happy to provide drinking water for your dog.
Our stair rails have bumps on the side to indicate the number of steps approaching each level. Three bumps mean that you are on the third step from the landing, two that you are on the second step, and one that you are on the final step.
Customers with impaired hearing
There is an induction loop system in each screen. Please turn your hearing aid to the T position. Reception is best closer to the outer aisles and if you avoid the rear four rows in Screen 1 and the rear three rows in Screen 2.
We have the Dolby ScreenTalk system. This means we are able to provide special subtitled screenings of some English-language films. It works by projecting the words onto the screen. Unlike those for foreign-language films, these subtitles often supply extra information, such as a description of sound effects and the music playing. The screenings with this facility are indicated in our printed programme but are always subject to confirmation and update, so please check with the Box Office.
Foreign-language films usually carry subtitles, and these are clearly indicated in the printed programme.
Toilets
There is an adapted toilet at the rear of the main foyer on the left.
Bookings and general enquiries
Wheelchair spaces and Carers tickets are bookable online. (For Carers Tickets please see Carers section). Alternatively to book wheelchair spaces or carer tickets by phone, or for all other accessibility enquires, please call our dedicated accessibility hotline 02072 947908 (Text Relay call 18001 02072 947908).