November in LGBTQIA+ Iceland marks the onset of winter, as the landscape begins to shift from autumn’s golden hues to the muted tones of early snowfall. With the days growing ever shorter, the warmth of the LGBTQIA+ community offers a welcome glow amid the encroaching chill.
While October brought a tranquil reflection, November ushers in a more festive energy, as locals and visitors alike gather to celebrate community and connection during the lead-up to Iceland’s winter season.
Reykjavík and its surrounding areas offer an inviting array of events tailored to the LGBTQIA+ community, from cosy gatherings in candle-lit cafes to dynamic performances and discussions in art spaces. The city’s intimate venues provide ideal settings for sharing stories, enjoying art, and connecting over shared experiences. As the quiet of winter settles in, November brings a renewed focus on closeness and resilience.
Though the days may be darker, November’s LGBTQIA+ calendar promises light, laughter, and community to help weather the coming winter. So, bundle up, join in, and experience the vibrant spirit of LGBTQIA+ Iceland as we embrace this magical, reflective season together.
Faye Knús Friday Drag Show at Kiki
When: Fridays (November 1, 8, 15, 22 & 29)
Time: Doors open 20:00, show starts 21:30
Where: Kiki Queer Bar, Laugavegur 22, 101 RVK
Cost: 1500 ISK (tickets at the door only), entry is free for VIQ-Card holders.
Kiki’s resident drag queen AKA “the hardest working woman in show business,” Faye Knús (body of a dancer, voice of your father) hosts an evening of drag, comedy, mid-life crisis and acts that cannot be unseen. It’s the perfect way to start your evening and the rest of your life.
ApocalypsticK
When: Friday November 1
Time: 21:00
Where: Gaukurinn, Tryggvagata 22, 101 RVK
Cost: 2500 ISK
The wildest show in town is back. The queerdos of Reykjavík are set to once again take over Gaukurinn.
It’s Apocalypstick, where the freshest talent in Icelandic drag, cabaret, and beyond will serve you fabulous looks and titillating performances.
Heart Attack! Drag at Kiki
When: Saturday November 2
Time: 21:00
Where: Kiki Queer Bar, Laugavegur 22, 101 RVK
Cost: 2900 ISK (available at the door)
Heart Attack is a monthly drag show, hosted by the drag family House of Heart! This extravagant group of performers brings you a different show each month, filled with music, dance and laughter. This is one of the best ways to experience and support local drag so mark it in your calendars and bring a few bills to tip your kings and queens.
This month’s performers are:
Lola Von Heart (The Matriarch)
Chardonnay Bublée (She’s a cool mom)
Milo de Mix (Funniest dad award winner)
Úlla la Delish (Is she still just a baby?)
This month they will also be joined by Drag Comedian, Twitchy Love
Queerness in Theatre Forum
When: Sunday November 3
Time: 14:00
Where: Borgarleikhúsið, Listabraut 3, 103 Reykjavík.
Cost: Free but booking is advised to make sure you secure a seat.
The Reykjavík City Theatre and Samtökin ‘78 would love to welcome all to this forum about queerness in theatre. Both theatre culture and queer culture have been long-intertwined and this winter there are plans for four theatre works with some kind of queer visibility in the theatre. During this forum, the public is invited to hear more about these projects in more detail.
The event will be moderated by Edda Sigurðardóttir, education director of S’78. The keynote speaker is theater expert Sigríður Jónsdóttir
The panel will include:
Gréta Kristín Ómarsdóttir (Director)
Fannar Arnarsson (Actor)
Hjörtur Jóhann Jónsson (Actor)
Iris Tanja Flygenring (Actress)
Kristmundur Pétursson (Vice-Chairperson of the Samtökin ’78)
Valur Freyr Einarsson (Director and Actor)
The panel discussions will be lead by Bergrún Andradóttir (Office Manager of Samtökin ’78).
This event will most likely be completely in Icelandic
Kikioke – Karaoke at Kiki!
When: Thursdays (November 7, 14, 21, 28)
Time: 22:00 to late
Where: Kiki Queer Bar, Laugavegur 22, 101 RVK
Cost: Free
Every Thursday people from all over descend on Iceland’s premier queer bar to share the joys of their vocal talents. The karaoke typically kicks off around 10pm and goes till late so do your warm ups and make your song selections.
Kjallarakabarett (Basement Cabaret)
Late and sweaty on Friday nights! As soon as the show on the Big Stage of the National Theater ends, things come to live in the basement of the theater (Þjóðleikhúskjallarinn). Burlesque, cabaret, circus, drag and all kinds of grown up things for grown up people! Every show is different and over forty artists from around the world will be performing this winter. Please note that the show is strictly prohibited for children and is not suitable for those with a fear of the human body.
When: Every Friday
Time: 22:00
Where: The National Theater (Þjóðleikhúskjallarinn)
Cost: 4.900 ISK
Artistic directors: Margrét Erla Maack and Gógó Starr.
Betra Seint en Aldrei – Better Late than Never
When: Sunday November 10
Time: 15:00
Where: Suðurgata 3, 101 Reykjavík, Iceland
Cost: Free
This is a special afternoon dedicated to women who came out late. In the event description the group have stated:
If you came out late and would like to meet other women who share your experience, come along to Samtökin 78 for an afternoon meeting.
Here for you (Við erum hér)
Here for you is musical that takes place on the wedding day of Bjartmar and Arnar, played by Bjartmar Þórðarson and Arnar Haukson, who are determined to celebrate their union with their family and friends. We get to know the people closest to them—their chaotic wedding planner, their parents and friends, the waitstaff—and watch as the day progresses from wedding preparations to the ceremony and finally the reception. We take musical songs from other productions and rewrite the lyrics to suit our storyline, with carefully crafted Icelandic lyrics that often change the original context in humorous and emotional ways.
When: November 19, 20, 22, 28
Time: 20:00
Where: Tjarnarbíó, Tjarnargata 12, Reykjavík
Cost: 6.500 ISK
Shoptalk (part of the Reykjavík Dance Festival)
When: Thursday November 14
Time: 17:00
Where: The Nordic House, Reykjavík
Cost: Free entrance and all are welcome!
Ann-Christin Kongsness (she/her) is a Norwegian dancer, choreographer, writer, teacher and drag king based in Oslo. Her work manifests as performances, workshops, lectures, conversations, drag shows, texts and publications.
In this Shoptalk she will share experiences and discoveries from her work with the drag king collective Gutta and the performance series Butch Tribute, both of which will perform at Reykjavik Dance Festival this year.
The event is supported by and a part of the Shoptalk series at The Nordic House in Reykjavík.
Gutteklubben goes to Hell (part of the Reykjavík Dance Festival)
In the drag show Gutteklubben Goes To Hell the drag king collective Gutta (Larry, Robin, Lavrans and RichHard) creates a delicious, sinful hell, where you, the audience, can get in touch with your innermost desires. Hell is hot, hell is nice, hell is wet and warm. Gutta will open you up; both intellectual, emotional, aesthetically and sexually, so you can get to know new sides of yourself. The four kings will give you everything you didn`t know you wanted. Gutta is your new sexuality.
When: Thursday November 14
Time: 22:00
Where: Iðnó, Vonarstræti 3, Reykjavík. Wheelchair access and accessible toilets
Cost: 2.900 ISK
Wrestling Part 2 (part of the Reykjavík Dance Festival)
“Restling” was born during a residency at Dansverkstæðið, Reykjavík, 2024. The research aimed to explore rest as resistance to our fast moving, fleeting, world. We wanted to find an authentic rest to go (or to be still) against the achievement society while not giving sympathy to the wellness industry’s stolen relaxation. Through movement and poems, sync, uncontrolled slides, working bitches and enya we make our way with restling. Sharing a sensation with a person you love to experience its potent powers. To wrestle with time, rest in time and discover hidden potentials.
“Rest is an act of quiet rebellion, allowing us into new ways of being and seeing the world.” – Bridget Luff (movement and mediation guide)
Choreographers & performers: Alice Romberg, Olivia Teresa Due Pyszko
Visual artist: Ójón Ara Svanhildarbur
Music: Ida Schuften Juhl
When: Friday November 15
Time: 18:00
Where: Dansverkstæðið, Hjarðarhagi 47, Reykjavík
Cost: Free entrance
Butch Tribute
Butch Tribute is a performance series based on a physical and performative exploration of queer, female masculinity, with and by Norwegian choreographers and performers Marte Reithaug Sterud and Ann-Christin Kongsness.We are inspired by butch – a term used to describe masculine women in the queer community, a group who are often marginalized and ignored. Through three smaller dance performances, we want to diversify the representation of butches, by demonstrating different representations of queer, female masculinity.
When: Friday November 15
Time: 19:30
Where: Iðnó, Vonarstræti 3, Reykjavík. Wheelchair access and accessible toilets
Cost: 3900 ISK
Torfi (part of the Reykjavík Dance Festival)
TORFI is an Icelandic musician and contemporary dancer based in Reykjavík. His debut album ‘EITT’ was released in April and is a collection of queer love letters, written for queer nightlife that has yet to be established in Iceland.
When: Friday November 15
Time: 22.30
Where: Iðnó, Vonarstræti 3, Reykjavík. Wheelchair access and accessible toilets
Cost: 1900 ISK
Mamdouh313 (LB/SE) DJ SET (part of the Reykjavík Dance Festival)
Mamdouh313 will deliver a DJ set blending contemporary electronic dance music with heavybass, disco, baile funk and more, drawing inspiration from West Asia, North Africa, and the Levant. A fusion that promises a genre-defying, borderless musical experience.
When: Friday November 15
Time: 23:30
Where: Iðnó, Vonarstræti 3, Reykjavík. Wheelchair access and accessible toilets
Cost: Free entrance
Queer Choir ‘90s Concert
When: Saturday November 16
Time: 16:00
Where: Guðríðarkirkja, Kirkjustétt 8, 113 Reykjavík.
Cost: 6500 ISK
The Reykjavík Queer Choir would love to invite all to this fabulous celebration of ‘90s music. Grab your flannel, your chunky shoes and your bucket hat and head to Guðríðarkirkja to get your dose of ‘90s glitz, glam, pop and grunge.
This concert will feature a selection of ‘90s Icelandic classics as well as some international favourites.
Duets
Come take a dance journey with some dynamic duos! Friends, siblings, co-workers, a mother and son … They are connected in different ways but what they have in common is a love of music and dance. They take us back in time to the club where they met, show us into their world of adventures, invite us to join the fun when they dance in their kitchen in the evenings. They share their dance.
When: Saturday November 16
Time: 20:00
Where: The Main Stage, Borgarleikhúsið, Reykjavík. Borgarleikhúsið has wheelchair access and accessible, gender neutral toilets
Cost: 4900 ISK