THEGAYUK

Day: 11 February 2015

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Gods and Monsters, Southwark Playhouse

    ★★★★★ | Gods and Monsters, Southwark Playhouse

    It’s the late 1950s and ageing Hollywood director, James Whale, best known for his iconic Frankenstein films, is languishing in his Los Angeles house.

    Whale is incapacitated by a series of strokes that have left him frail and prone to crippling headaches, dark moods and memory lapses. In spite of his infirmity, he hasn’t lost any of his impish ways with young men, persuading them to swim in his pool or pose naked for portraits. Old habits die hard. Unashamedly gay in an era of repression, Whale is a singular and striking personality. Enter pneumatically muscular new gardener, Clayton Boone who becomes the object of Whale’s lust and an unlikely player in the final drama of his life.

    Whale’s life is told in a series of flashbacks that happen alongside the on-going drama; portraying the story of his childhood in a working-class family in Dudley through his horrific World War One experiences to his Hollywood career.

    The play is based on the 1995 novel Father of Frankenstein written by Christopher Bram. The the same source material was used for the 1998 Oscar-winning film, “Gods And Monsters”, starring Ian McKellen, Lynn Redgrave and Brendan Fraser. The story works as well as a stage play also.

    In terms of script, performance and production values this is a triumphant piece of theatre. Seasoned actor, Ian Gelder is magnificent as Whale. His performance hits a fine balance between comedy and tragedy and is subtly nuanced. The script is tight and in spite of the intensity of the subject matter the play never drags and is filled with finely written comedic moments. Excessively muscled newcomer Will Austin takes on the role of Boone with a surprisingly fine performance. He manages to portray a man with unexpected depths with gentle empathy and sensitivity.

    The intimate space of Southwark Playhouse and the cunning lighting, sound and set design add extra dimensions to the performance also. I must also mention that the play contains male nudity (if the fine acting and script doesn’t grab your attention then three different male nudes might).

    This really is a stand out production in London theatre and a must see.

    Buy tickets here: http://southwarkplayhouse.co.uk/the-large/gods-and-monsters/

  • Australia To Enter 60th Eurovision Competition

    Although its many thousands of miles away from Europe, Australia will be allowed to participate in this year’s Eurovision competition.

    For the first time in its 60 years, Eurovision will allow Australia to enter the competition – and will a free pass to the final in Vienna, Austria, meaning that it will not have to go through the various heat stages.

    Organisers of Eurovision, the theme for which this year is “Building Bridges”, decided to offer a place to Australia after Jessica Mauboy performed as the interval act at one of heats in last year’s competition. It now has until 16th March to decide whom it’s going to send; already reports of Dame Edna Everage have been put forward to represent the Australian entry.

    Jon Ola Sand, executive supervisor of the contest on behalf of the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), said, “It’s a daring and at the same time incredibly exciting move.

    “It’s our way of saying; let’s celebrate this party together!”

    Michael Ebeid, managing director of broadcaster SBS which airs the competition in Australia, said, “We are very excited to have secured this historic opportunity for Australia to be represented on the world’s biggest stage at the 60th anniversary of the Eurovision Song Contest and are honoured that the European Broadcasting Union has supported us to achieve this ambition.

    “SBS has been broadcasting Eurovision for over 30 years and we have seen how Australians’ love of the song contest has grown during those years.”

    If Australia wins the competition the show will remain in Europe.

  • The Queen Is Happy For Us (Queens)

    According to newly-wed STEPHEN FRY who revealed when he was a guest on THE JONATHAN ROSS SHOW, Her Majesty is delighted with the fact that we can now get married.

    (more…)

  • FILM REVIEW | Last Straight Man

    But will he remain one, if Lewis gets his own way?

    It may be every gay man’s dream to sleep with a straight man and it’s even hotter when he happens to be your best friend too. Closeted Lewis has always had a secret crush on his best friend Cooper but has never ever let on until the night before Cooper is about to marry his girlfriend and the two-man have just drunk a wee too much at the stag party and their conversation turns to sex. All the other guys have left and as Lewis and Cooper start to clear up the hotel room where the party had been held, the talk gets dirty and personal. Well-endowed Lewis is keen and Cooper is curious and so the two end up in bed together after discovering that they both love blowjobs.

    Next day Cooper gets up and goes and gets married and lives happily ever after with his wife. Until the same time next year that is, and the two men meet up back in the same hotel room and take up where they left off. This anniversary tryst becomes an annual date in their calendar and for one night a year Lewis, previously self-identified as bi-sexual, transitions into gay, and straight Cooper still refuses to accept that he is anything else even though he lets Lewis penetrate him as he insists that they never kiss.

    What is clear though is over the next 12 years that they are both very much in love. With each other that is. One year Cooper tries to fight his feelings and refuses to show up for their date, claiming he doesn’t want to put his marriage at risk, and then in a later year when he has not only overcome his resistance, is imploring Lewis to f**k him as hard as he can. It just so happens that he may have left it too late as perpetual bachelor Lewis finally has a boyfriend and is anxious not to do anything that may jeopardise his new relationship.

    In this very likeable boy-lit movie it is interesting that although this may have started out as Lewis’s crush, it is, in fact, Cooper who is living out his fantasy. As their relationship develops it makes both men question their feelings and emotions and they learn that they cannot be easily defined in a conventional way as they accept their love for each other. It’s helped with very convincing performances from the two handsome leads Scott Selland Mark Cirillo who look comfortable in and out of the clothes.

    Be warned though before you get to the scenes of these two hunks thrashing around naked, you have to sit through the scary opening moments of the movie when the stag party stripper insists on pushing her mammoth naked breasts way to close to the camera. And I won’t even tell you about her party trick where she can pick a coin up by her … well, you can imagine.

    This cute wee drama is entertaining and amusing, although trust me, Cooper really is anything but ‘the last straight man’.

     

    by Roger Walker-Dack

  • The Week In Cars – Ferrari or Porsche?

    Porsche have shown us the hottest Cayman yet, the GT4. As suggested by spy shots, it gains a much more aggressive body kit with a fixed rear wing along with 20 inch wheels.

    (more…)