Day: 8 June 2014

  • TODAY IN GAY | k.d. lang came out

    TODAY IN GAY | k.d. lang came out

    Today in gay history, singer k.d. lang came out in an interview with Advocate Magazine in 1992.

    k.d lang is a famous Canadian pop and country singer, most known for songs such as “Constant Crave” and “Miss Chatelaine“. She has released 12 studio albums and 41 singles since 1984.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Sex With Animals

    ★★★★★ |Sex With Animals

    ‘Sex with Animals’ is a must see for those who like one-man shows, information about animal mating habits or just want a fun filled hour. Ryan Good will keep you spellbound and leave you wanting more.

    I don’t often recommend theatre productions because watching performers is very personal and what I like may not be what you would. But Ryan Good’s ‘Sex with Animals’ is a powerful, educating and entertaining hour-long, one lion (man) show.

    Go see it. Ryan holds the audience with humour and personal insights. He has cleverly put animal sex (including humans) under the microscope. Intertwined is the story of his love life which is different to the norm but the way he explains it makes it intriguing not embarrassing.

    This is an intimate theatre but at no point did Ryan make us feel uncomfortable. In fact he got one member of the audience (I’m not saying who) to admit he had tried sucking his own penis. Well, ignoring my women readers, who hasn’t?

    Ryan’s hilarious examination of the sexual habits of the animal kingdom encourages the audience to the think about their sexual habits. At the same time he gave us a snap shot of potential different techniques.

    We got to hear of females who lick their partner’s penis whilst they are copulating (obviously not humans) and penguins who do what some religious fundamentalists think we shouldn’t do.

    Go see him tonight. If it’s midweek you’ll have time to watch his production, grab a fish and chip supper in a trendy Highbury and Islington restaurant and still be home by 10pm. If it’s the weekend you’ll feel energised to try out your chat-up lines at whatever pub or club you end up in.

    It’s just a pity about the name which I feel may put some people off. The production has nothing to do with bestiality despite what the title suggests.

    Ryan may have thought that courting controversy would help him with publicity but I feel it puts potential audiences off googling to find out what others thought of the production. Something like ‘Animal Sex’ would have served him better.
    ‘Sex with Animals’ is at the ‘Hope Theatre’, 207 Upper Street, Islington, N1 1R1 until the 21 June, starting at 7.30pm. Well worth the £10 price. For booking visit www.thehopetheatre.com

  • THEATRE REVIEW | A Simple Space, Udderbelly: London

    How long can you hold your breath for? How many back flips can you do in one go? Can you stand on your head…or even somebody else’s?

    In the London premiere of the show that has captivated sell-out festival audiences around the world, seven young acrobats compete for your laughter, gasps and applause with non-stop, mind-boggling feats of breath-taking acrobatics. Spend a riveting hour with one of Australia’s hottest young circus ensembles, Gravity & Other Myths, as they push themselves to their physical limits and beyond in a captivating show of physicality, skill and daring.

    I have to confess that I can barely stand up without falling over so these young (and rather lithe and good looking) Australian acrobats were always going to impress me. The show is a stripped back, pure acrobatics show that manages to captivate and entertain with aplomb for an exhilarating hour. The show ranges from human pyramids, death defying aerial manoeuvres and feats of strength through to tongue in cheek comedy, absurdity and joyful physicality. Part circus, part gymnastics and part contemporary dance, this show had the audience on its’ feet with a loud and boisterous standing ovation at the end of the show.

    Did I mention the men too? It’s worth the price of the ticket alone just to see them. They’re muscular lithe and not afraid to take off their tops (and at one point trousers too).

    The show runs at the Udderbelly on the South Bank until the 6th of July.

    Buy tickets here: https://www.underbelly.co.uk/node/5325256

  • COLUMN | Unhappy Birthday

    I did something sly and naughty this week. I kept a big secret. I wasn’t hanging around in a sauna in a skimpy towel, working my way through a selection of sex toys, snorting Crystal Meth or shoplifting. My secret was far worse: I was having a birthday, a secret birthday.

    I’m not ashamed at aging. I’m irritated by aging (thinning hair, ear hair, nostril hair and other hair related things) but not ashamed. I don’t mind being in my early 40s at all. I feel more comfortable in my skin and more assured of what I do and don’t want and am able to better articulate this.

    One thing I don’t want is to be made a fuss of. I can’t abide those silly office things where colleagues put a few quid into a pot and ritually buy each other a card with a silly slogan and a gift voucher for some shop you wouldn’t necessarily set foot in under usual circumstances. I’d rather get something useful like a packet of cigarettes or a tenner off my supermarket shopping. I hate all those inane Facebook messages and tweets from people you barely know that only know it’s your birthday because the site tells them so. I’m not keen on shelves full of cards that the combined cost of would buy me something useful (e.g. cigarettes). They seem a bit of a waste of money to me.

    I’m pretty rubbish at pretending. I can’t do faces of delight when offered a present I don’t want. I’m actually pretty impossible to buy presents for. Who’d want their clothes or household items chosen for them? Not me, for sure. From the age of about 5 I was quite determined to choose my own attire and soft furnishings. The usual suspects are out: booze and chocolates (drink issues and migraines rule those out). That leaves books, DVDs or music which are surely impossible things to buy for someone unless you actually inhabit their head and police their taste and monitor what they’ve already read, seen, own or have listened to.

    I do like cake. Cake is good. I just can’t be bothered with all that embarrassing attention that goes with it. I nonchalantly spent the day at work and almost forgot it was my birthday, pulled up occasionally when I typed the date. It was perfect. My partner insisted on taking me out for a meal, which was sweet and a friend made a cake for me. We quietly consumed it whilst watching T.V.

    I’m not totally miserable but just know what I like. Being older is great. Being able to choose to do or not do something is better than anything.