Ben Whishaw, Alan Cumming, Gemma Whelan Headline BBC's 'Queers'

Ben Whishaw, Alan Cumming and Gemma Whelan are among the actors cast in the upcoming BBC series Queers.

The series of eight short plays will mark the 50^th anniversary of the partial decriminalization of gay sex in England and Wales.

Each play will be staged at The Old Vic in London throughout July. The BBC will begin broadcasting the plays in July.

According to RadioTimes, the series was conceived by Mark Gatiss, the co-creator of Sherlock and Doctor Who, for the BBC. Gatiss also plays Tycho Nestoris in HBO's fantasy series Game of Thrones.

“I'm thrilled and delighted to have been asked to curate this exciting series from both established LGBT writers and a whole host of new talent fresh to the screen,” Gatiss said in a statement. “It's a privilege to be working with such brilliant writers and actors. At this challenging and fluid time, it's a marvelous opportunity to celebrate LGBT life and culture, to see how far we have come and how far we still have to go.”

Russell Tovey (Looking), Rebecca Front (Humans), Kadiff Kirwan (Black Mirror), Ian Gelder (Game of Thrones), and Fionn Whitehead (Dunkirk) will also appear in the series.