Priority Hoarding: A Retrospectacle
Priority Hoarding: A Retrospectacle invites visitors into The Hairport, an immersive, interactive installation assembled from 16 years of costumes, props, baggage, and other remnants of The Bearded Ladies Cabaret. Framed as a fantastical airport where a flight may never depart, the experience explores art, care, disorder, community, loss, and queer cabaret. Visitors can search through the company’s accumulated “baggage,” encounter elements that feel personally familiar, and consider how to move forward without knowing the destination.
The multi-room installation includes opportunities for interaction and encounters with docents, and concludes in a lounge filled with Bearded Ladies memorabilia. That lounge also functions as the performance site for the related Now Hoarding: In-Flight Entertainment live series. The project is part of Collective Futures.
When: Thursday, October 29, 2026
Showtimes: The installation is open from 4:00 PM to 9:00 PM. The final timed entry is at 8:15 PM.
Run time: Allow approximately 60–75 minutes to experience the full installation.
Timed entry: Groups of six enter every 15 minutes.
Venue: The Hairport, 444 North 3rd Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19123
Tickets: Price not available
Installation dates: The Hairport installation is on view September 10 through December 20, 2026.
Experience: The space is designed as an immersive, metaphorical airport containing costumes, cardboard scenery, performance ephemera, and other material from The Bearded Ladies Cabaret’s history. Visitors may participate in the installation’s interactive components and may meet docents in guiding roles.
Additional activity: Visitors may choose to ride a Surrey bike, though participation is not required.
Content note: The installation addresses loss, grief, death, sex and hookups, illness, gender dysphoria, and airports.
Access and visitor care: The Hairport reimagines the stress some LGBTQIA+ visitors may associate with real-world airports as an environment intended to support affirmation, agency, expansiveness, and safety. Visitors with additional concerns can contact BeardedLadiesCabaret@gmail.com for more information.
COVID policy: Masks are optional. KN95 masks with ear loops and surgical masks are available at the front of house. Visitors are asked not to attend if they feel unwell or have symptoms.