Introduction by Dr Gareth Young (CaCHE), blog by Dr Clare Summerskill
Through both our EDI work, and our work with the Housing Studies Association’s LGBTQ+ Housing Research and Practice Members Network we have been so fortunate to meet lots of different people doing different thing that all have the same thing at the heart: telling the stories of our LGBTQ+ communities and their housing experiences.
Recently, we were introduced, to a stand-up, a writer, actress, singer-songwriter, historian and freelance academic, Dr Clare Summerskill and we heard all about her latest play, At the Rainbow’s End, based entirely on the stories told to her by LGBT people who have experienced homophobia and transphobia in care settings, and when receiving care in their own homes.
We are delighted that Clare has written a piece we can share, so we can spread the work of this incredibly poignant work.
At the Rainbow’s End by Clare Summerskill
Recently, I wrote a play based on interviews with older LGBT people who have experienced incidents of homophobia and transphobia while living in a residential care home, a supported retirement community, or when receiving care in their own home. The piece is called At the Rainbow’s End and members of my theatre company, Artemis, are presenting it as script-in hand performances around the country. The production is targeted towards the LGBTQ+ community (groups and individuals) and those working with older LGBTQ+ people in the care sector. We aim to raise awareness about ‘real life’ situations occurring where members of the LGBTQ+ population, who can be weak and vulnerable as older people needing care, can suffer at the hands of carers who may be inexperienced, ill-informed, prejudiced or even, at times, blatantly cruel. The subject matter of the play is one that I feel is only just beginning to be addressed by the social and health sector and perhaps also by many gay and trans people themselves who will – maybe in a few years’ time – have been out for most of their lives and who might be in a situation of requiring help from a care system that, at the moment, seems to have done little to prepare for our particular needs. Each performance is followed by a short break and then a Q&A session with informed panellists, the audience, and the writer.
One of the interviewees is Ted Brown whose husband, Noel, had suffered homophobic abuse during his time in a residential home. This is an excerpt from Ted’s interview:
Ted: Once Noel said to me “They beat me up” and there was one occasion where I did see the marks on his chest. Another time I visited Noel, I found cigarette burns on the back of his hand. The way that I discovered that some of the abuse that Noel was suffering was specifically homophobic was from a gay man and a lesbian who were also residents in the home. The lesbian had said to me: “If we’d got to you sooner, we’d have advised you not to kiss Noel on the cheek and hold his hand like that because you’re letting people know that he’s gay. We both have lovers who visit us as friends, but we can’t say that they’re our partners.”
I now turn to Robin, a trans man who is 62 and disabled. He uses a wheelchair and lives in a flat relying heavily on daily support from carers. These are some of the comments from his interview:
Robin: I wish people would read the equal opportunities thing and realise that it means what it says and that people’s personal opinions, whether they base it on religious grounds or where they come from or whatever, should be left at home and not be brought into work. And receiving homecare, sometimes I feel extremely vulnerable, especially when people have homophobic and transphobic attitudes, you know? It makes the atmosphere very very uncomfortable. It narrows down my right to have my own opinions and to be able to say what I believe is my truth in my home.
Finally, we learn of Maggie and Sylvia’s story, which is also in the play. In their late sixties, they moved to flat that they bought which was part of a housing association scheme. They were given a form to fill out which was called a ‘piece of mind’ form, and where it asked for their relationship to each other, they put ‘Civil Partnership’. Soon after they handed the form in, they told me that “All hell broke loose”. They soon realised that there was a concerted effort, led by one of the residents who lived opposite them, a man they called “an A1 bully”, to ostracise them because they were lesbians. At first, they wondered how anyone had known since they hadn’t mentioned it to anyone, but then they realised that the housing association must have passed on to other residents what they thought had been confidential information that they had disclosed on the form.
As older members of the LGBTQ+ population, every one of us will have experienced incidents of discrimination and prejudice throughout our lives. As the decades have passed and laws have been implemented to protect us, the thought that we might have to consider ‘going back into the closet’ when we are at our most vulnerable is unbearable and I have frequently heard friends say that they would rather die than go into a care home because of very real fears about how we will be treated. It is now time for those working in the care sector to put measures in place which will finally bring an end to the homophobic and transphobic abuse that is occurring under their watch.
If you would like to find out more, you can visit Clare’s website, and below are the days where you can watch the play live.
Manchester
Location: Hope Mill Theatre, 113 Pollard Street, Manchester, M4 7JA
Dates: Saturday 21st March 2026 (shows at 3pm and 7pm), Sunday 22nd March 2026 (show at 3pm)
How to book: https://hopemilltheatre.co.uk/event/at-the-rainbows-end/
Shrewsbury
Location: The Hive, 5 Belmont, Shrewsbury SY1 1TE
Date: Sunday 26th April 2026 (shows at 3pm and 7pm)
How to book:
- For the 3pm show: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/at-the-rainbows-end-a-play-based-on-interviews-with-older-lgbt-people-tickets-1971890561752?aff=oddtdtcreator&_gl=1*c8sr6l*_up*MQ..*_ga*OTA1Nzc4MjY5LjE3NjMzMDk0NTA.*_ga_TQVES5V6SH*czE3NjMzMDk0NDkkbzEkZzAkdDE3NjMzMDk0NDkkajYwJGwwJGgw
- For the 7pm show: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/at-the-rainbows-end-a-play-based-on-interviews-with-older-lgbt-people-tickets-1971919051967?aff=oddtdtcreator
Sheffield
Location: The Broomhall Centre, Broomspring Lane, Sheffield S10 2FD
Dates: Saturday 9th May 2026 (shows at 3:30pm and 6:30pm), Sunday 10th May 2026 (show at 6:30pm)
How to book:
- For the Sat 9th 3:30pm show: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/at-the-rainbows-end-by-clare-summerskill-a-play-tickets-1976879289170?aff=oddtdtcreator
- For the Sat 9th 6:30pm show: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/at-the-rainbows-end-by-clare-summerskill-a-play-tickets-1976882183828?aff=oddtdtcreator%0d
- For the Sun 10th 6:30pm show: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/at-the-rainbows-end-by-clare-summerskill-a-play-tickets-1976883788628?aff=oddtdtcreator
