Siân Docksey is a queer surrealist comedian with political punch. Her first solo stand-up show followed her attempts to turn herself into a lemon, and she has since continued making alternative comedy shows that are gleefully bizarre, heartfelt, and stuffed with LGBT politics and feminist commentary.

For her Creative Fellowship Siân collaborated with Dr Ina Linge, from the Department for Languages and Cultures, and researchers from the The Sexual Knowledge Unit (SKU). Together they created the 'Sex and Nature Salon', a series of online events bringing together artists, academics, comedians and anyone curious in the themes related to SKU's work to explore them in a playful way.

Discover more about how their Fellowship unfolded in the film below.

Together Siân, Ina and the members at the SKU creatively explored the questions:

• How are different understandings and concepts of nature, the natural, our environment, and non-human animals used to reflect on issues of human sex, gender and sexuality, e.g. female fertility, queer desire, or gender diversity?

• Who can produce knowledge about nature and knowledge about sexuality and in what context?

• How can creative practice produce, as well as question, sexual knowledge production?

The Sex and Nature Salon Event Series

Together they devised 'The Sex and Nature Salon'; a playful, experimental online space bringing together comedians, researchers, academics, artists and those who are curious to discuss themes relating to the fellowship.

The pair created three online events in total across the academic year 2020/2021 which took place over Zoom and were livestreamed to YouTube.

Watch a trailer and recordings of all three below. Please note they contain strong language.

Why are we obsessed with gay penguins?

Wednesday 21st October 2020

Featuring a mixture of interactive games and discussion, the first event featured talks from Dr Ina Linge, Florence Schechter (Science Comedian and Director of the Vagina Museum) and Ross Brooks PhD researcher and historian (Oxford Brookes) writing a dissertation on 'Evolution's Closet: Queer Science in Britain, 1871-1957'.

Happy Endlings

Wednesday 2nd December

The second Sex and Nature Salon focused on the theme of 'extinction' and featured talks from multi-disciplinary artist Maria Lux and Dr Sarah Bezan, post-doctorial researcher in Perceptions of Biodiversity Change at the University of York as well as performances from stand-up comedian Andrew O'Neill and a special appearence from Lonesome George the Tortoise (who had a strikingly odd resemblance to Scottish comedian Eleanor Morton).

What's the deal with gay frogs?

Wednesday 10th February

On Wednesday 10th February, Siân and Ina hosted the third and final salon of the series. They were joined by Dr Hannah Boast, specialist in 'Ecofeminism to Alt-Right: Gay Frogs, Xenoestrogens and Contemporary Environmental Culture’ and lecturer at the School of English, Drama and Film, University College Dublin, along with comedy duo Dragprov Revue and stand-up comedian Thom Tuck (disguised as Senator for Vermont, Bernie Sanders).

Further Collaboration

Although the creative fellowship has now officially ended, Siân and Ina continue to work closely together, developing their online salon format for use by other academics at both the University of Exeter and beyond. If you’re an academic or work in public engagement and would be interested in hosting a salon of your own get in touch via their website comedysalon.co.uk.

The pair are also currently working with Professor Jana Funke from the University of Exeter and a group of 16 to 18-year-olds and youth workers from YAY! (Young and Yourself) a Cornwall LGBTQ+ youth group, run by the Intercom Trust on a new UKRI and AHRC project. Siân has collaborated with YAY! running a series of comedy writing workshops to create material for an comedy gig in December 2021. This project is one of a series of projects around the UK designed to encourage 14 to 18-year-olds to use film, theatre, visual arts and storytelling engage with and contribute to important climate research.

Alongside all of this Siân also developed a brand-new show ‘We Live in a Human Dream’ (tired of living for other people’s approval, Siân decides to impress an octopus instead), directly inspired by her collaboration with Ina. The show premiered at the Museum of Comedy in London in November 2021.