Rury Sean is just about to graduate from the Liverpool Institution of Performing Arts.

Before he began his studies in the city, he lived in a small village in Northern Ireland, where the nearest gay bar was an hour away.

Before I came to Liverpool, my gay life was extremely different to what it is now. Even though I was eighteen and had been out for four years I had never experienced the ‘gay scene’.

I came from the middle of nowhere in Northern Ireland and you really could say I was ‘the only gay in the village’. You only knew other gay people through friends of friends. The talent was few and far between, and not many were out and proud - even my ex took some convincing. With the troublesome history of Northern Ireland, alongside committed Catholism; it was extremely difficult to be truly open.

Before Liverpool, I had never been to a gay bar in my life. The nearest one to me was in Belfast, which was a hour away. My first experience of the gay scene was in my first couple of weeks at LIPA. I remember getting into Superstar Boudoir for free because we flirted with man outside. Even though he was much older than myself (and nothing happened), the openness and the chilled attitude that surrounded gay people in Liverpool was exciting.

This was what I was looking for. My first time in GBar was a shock to my senses, in a good way. I loved being able to feel completely free and not worry if I looked gay, something which was constantly on my mind back home.

Being at LIPA over the past three years has contributed highly to the person I am today. Although it is a drama school - not ‘Britannia High’ as some people may think, the majority of male students are straight. However, their attitudes towards gay people is something to be commended. The whole atmosphere in the building is very open and welcoming.

Some of my best friends are committed heterosexuals, believe me I have tried to turn them, but the whole gay thing completely doesn’t register with them. This is something I have also noticed in the general Liverpool community.

I know recently there have been a number of homophobic attacks in Liverpool, and I am not belittling their significance, but I do genuinely believe the scouse people are extremely friendly. You only have to look at GBar on a Thursday night and the amount of straight men in the club. Although they may be there on the look out for our fag hags, the fact that they even go to a very proud gay bar is fantastic.

Now that my three years at LIPA have finished and I am about to graduate as another unemployed actor (fun), I am moving on to the big smoke down south. Although I can’t wait to experience the gay scene in Soho, I think London lacks something that Liverpool has bundles of: a sense of community.

I suppose my advice for those fellow gays just starting out in Liverpool that may be new to the scene, like I was; is to seriously enjoy and embrace it. Things are getting exciting in Liverpool, with its first ever Gay Pride being held in August this year (another thing I am yet to experience). This must be a sure sign of things to come.