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Happy Birthday Glasgay--20 years young!

Missy Lorelei takes a cheeky look at some of the acclaimed festival's highlights for this year.

Hellooooo, come on in, looking good- twenty, you say? No way—have you had something done?

Producer Steven Thomson's much loved Glasgay festival is no longer a naughty teen, but a fully-grown 20 years old, and unlike Miley Cyrus, doesn't need to bend over and twerk to shite music to prove it: it's way, waaay classier and with better tunes...

Fresh from Edinburgh festival-related shenanigans, bon viveur and all-round live art scamp Scottee brings his The Worst Of Scottee to the Arches, a confessional piece in a photo booth, to right a few wrongs. A regular at Duckie and bessie mate of the gorgeous Ms Amy Lame, I love him more than cake and red wine.

Playwrights Stef Smith and Martin O Connor/ Donna Rutherford provide thoughtful pieces in, respectively, Cured at the Arches and Wilful Forgetting at the Tron. The first is a sensitive look at 'conversion' therapy, the second examining the impact a family has on sexual orientation.

Rachel Jury's The Gates is inspired by cabaret nights populated by poets, artists, bohemians and musicians and is all set in Chelsea during the 50s. Glamour with a brain, a heart and above all, a celebration of 'outsiders' in turbulent times. See for yourself at the Classic Grand.

Just want to shake it in sequins, feathers, fur, leather or whatevah? Try it at club night Bollox, Menergy's celebration of drag disco and being fabulous. Lip sync, art installations and dance collides as Manchester and Glasgow team up at AXM for a diverse playlist in their Party Monster Ball.

No festival would be a festival without a cult hero or heroine and Divine gets two movie tributes to his wondrousness-his scathing disco singles were pure joy and his roles, both scatological and sublime on the big screen as one of John Waters' "Filthiest People in the World' sealed his status as an outsider who broke into the mainstream and placed a well-aimed stiletto heel at those who tried to pigeonhole him. A legend of queer culture, see him in documentary I Am Divine and uber-camp Western parody Lust in the Dust... both at GFT.

On a more serious tip, there are talks on What's Next for Queer Performance (self-explanatory) at Gilmorehill, and Man For a Day at the CCA explores gender roles in contemporary society with legendary performance artist Diane Torr.

Haven't even mentioned The Maw Broon Monolgues, Tina C, Craig Hill, Club Noir's Ballet Blue Burlesque, Raja, GFT’s Queer Cinema season and oodles more. All out there... Check press, babies.

Venues, times and prices vary. Check details at www.glasgay.com. Festival runs until Nov 9.

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