We met up with the boys for a natter about their literary salons. Tickets for both Naked Boys Reading & Naked Queers Reading are just as in demand now as when they were when the salons were first presented, so don’t delay and buy your tickets now.
So, what is Naked Boys Reading and Naked Queers Reading?
Honestly?! It’s exactly what it says on the tin. NBR and NQR are literary salons where our readers take to the stage in the buff and read short stories, essays, poetry, excerpts from novels in their very own and finest Emperor’s New Clothes.
No stripping. No tricks. No techno. No deathdrops. Just naked people reading out loud.
Simples. Duh.
For us, the focus is on the spoken word, the pleasure of listening, and the strange, wonderful things that happen when nudity is treated as a given rather than a spectacle, and how, when it’s all stripped bare, suddenly you’re paying attention differently.
Sometimes our readers choose their own material, sometimes the texts are curated, but there is always a theme, lovingly woven together by our gorgeous hosts. Over the years, we’ve held brunches and clubs; events on boats and in basements; in theatres, galleries and institutions, with national and international versions. No two shows are ever the same, and we like it that way.
NBR was our original format, and the gays love it. NQR expands the space to include our queer, trans, non-binary and other beautiful readers. NQR is particularly special because nudity is self-defined by the reader: so you can expect jocks and binders, or partial or full nudity, or something else entirely. It’s about agency, not uniformity.
Where have we been since 2020?
Baby… The pandemic. Remember her?
Like many platforms, we paused. But we returned in December 2025 with a sell-out show and a reception so warm it felt like coming home, albeit to a house that’s been rearranged.
We’re now fully back, with NBR and NQRs events lined up through 2026, plus some delicious collaborations and venues on the horizon.
So what’s different?
For starters, don’t expect our former know-it-all drag host, Dr Sharon Husbands. Founder Justin Hunt (formerly, “Dr Shaz”) will still appear occasionally. Still, we’re opening the floor to new hosts: drag queens, literary starlets, curious odd-balls, all carefully chosen to keep you
fed and leave no crumbs. We’re also more peripatetic now, popping up in different spaces to make each show feel distinct, and to keep you salivating.
We get asked a lot, ‘Is it a sexy show?’
Look, we love titillation, double entendres, and a bit of the nasty, nasty. It is nudity, after all.
We’re body-positive and sex-positive to the core. But this is not a strip show or a cabaret. Nolap dances. No dark rooms. And no audience nudity (generally). You have Adonis for that.
Any arousal is incidental; it’s not the point…. so, hands where we can see them.
And RULE ONE: no photography. We pay someone for that, sweetie.
Why naked?
Because nudity disarms. It strips away status, costume, and performance, and because nude bodies are the perfect beautiful canvas for curating texts. The body becomes the backdrop, and the text becomes the scene stealer. People often say they forget the nudity entirely, which is precisely the point of the experiment.
Who performs?
Consenting adults of all types: actors, writers, dancers, artists, your neighbour, the bar person, possibly your GP (who knows). Bodies are real. Diversity is intentional. Our readings are all open to submissions via an open call.
And that brings us to RULE TWO: Respect. Respect the readers, the host, the audience, and the venue. You are as much a part of the show as the performers!
Who’s in the audience?
Queer-friendly, curious, mixed, and amiable people. All genders welcome. Phones down, attention up. This is a salon, not a club; it’s a space for engaging with the people around you, for connection and community.
RULE THREE: hydrate. A thirsty brain is a sad brain. And we like our audiences fully attentive.
Why does it matter?
Because listening can be intimate. Because bodies aren’t obscene. Because literature is a live act. NBR and NQR exist to create a space where words land, raw, unclothed, unguarded, and heard. Because we all like to be heard in the end, right?
Tickets at www.nakedboysreading.co.uk
The next event is on 27 February 2026 at Chats Palace, 42-44 Brooksby’s Walk, London E9 6DF, United Kingdom.
All images supplied.
