THEGAYUK

Day: 21 May 2016

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Sins of Jack Saul

    ★★★★ | The Sins Of Jack Saul

    The Above the Stag Theatre is now presenting the new musical ‘The Sins of Jack Saul.’ Well who is Jack Saul you might ask?

    Jack Saul was a male prostitute in London who went by the name ‘Dublin Jack,’ because he was from Dublin. He left for London at the age of 22 and wasn’t sure what to find there. He eventually fell into prostitution and was involved in two major homosexual scandals. For it being the late 1800s, homosexuality was scandalous and even criminal behaviour.

    But what made Jack Saul famous (or infamous if you will) was his involvement with a lieutenant in the Irish army, and working in a male brothel in London – at 19 Cleveland Street (which in itself was a musical at the Stag called ‘Cleveland Street – The Musical‘) . So ‘The Sins of Jack Saul’ tell his interesting and scandalous life through song and a bit of dance, and a helpful narration by the devil (provided by the handsome yet evil looking Michael Gonsalves).

    It’s a typical production for Above the Stag, and through this production we get to learn who Saul is and what were his sins.

    ‘The Sins of Jack Saul’ is based on the book ’The Sins of Jack Saul – the True Story of Dublin Jack and The Cleveland Street Scandal’ by Scottish playwright Glenn Chandler.

    Saul is played by Jack McCann, who is very good and believable. We get to relive his life, his life back home in Ireland with his mother (Felicity Duncan, who also plays other roles, including a French Prostitute) and his disapproving brother (Ciaran Bowling – who also geniously plays Lieutenant KIrwan – the army officer Saul gets involved with).

    We see Saul become an in-demand call boy – sleeping with very important people, including Lord Euston (David Mullen), a relationship that would eventually be the catalyst for the downfall of the brothel, and for Jack. ‘The Sins of Jack Saul’ is set to music, with appropriate songs to match the plot (‘I Always Wanted a Man in Uniform’ and ‘Pornography’) being a couple of the standouts.

    ‘The Sins of Jack Saul’ is a satirical romp through the eyes of one of London’s most notorious rent boys.

    The Sins Of Jack Saul plays at Above The Stag until 12 th June 2016

  • THEATRE REVIEW | This Is Living

    ★★★★ | This Is Living

    Alice and Michael are soaking wet and alone in a field by a river at night. Alice can’t remember what bought them there and wants to go home. The problem is that Alice can’t go back again and the big question is what bought them to this point.

    CREDIT: Alex Harvey-Brown

     

    Liam Borrett’s exploration of grief and loss is very impressive. The real achievement isn’t the story itself or the dissection of the aftermath of tragedy but in the characterisation. Alice and Michael are a couple in their late twenties, married with a young daughter. You almost certainly know them. Alice is outspoken, wilful and brimming with unrealised ambition. Michael is a little gauche and awkward and completely in awe of Alice. Michael Socha (E4’s Aliens, This Is England, Being Human) and Tamla Kari (The Inbetweener’s Movie, The Musketeers) are remarkably good and both give robust and forceful performances.

    We see their lives together through a series of potent and cleverly inter-cut flashbacks: their clumsy first meeting on a bus via drunken nights and bad dancing after a lot of Echo Falls, through to the news that Alice is carrying the baby that Michael so desperately wanted. The beauty of the characters is how familiar and ordinary they feel and the celebration of how seemingly ordinary people have extraordinary traits and fascinating stories within the routine of daily life. Sarah Beaton’s waterlogged set leaves the viewer feeling cold and damp and clever sound and lighting design allows for the brisk flow back and forth between past and present.

    The play has a lot of funny moments and Kari’s depiction of Alice’s seemingly brash Northern charm complements Socha’s devastating but understated portrayal of Michael’s ungainliness. The script is tight with a few minor slack moments. The painful subject matter is depicted with charm and grace and rarely feels unbearable but is still devastating and painful to watch.

    The play seemed to initially lose focus slightly after the interval but soon regained the mood and may perhaps have been carried better as a one-act piece. Nevertheless, this is an incredibly powerful piece of theatre and a chance to see two very talented actors realise the potential of a beautiful script. This is also Socha’s West End debut. He stated in a recent interview that he was feeling nervous. He needn’t have worried.

    This Is Living plays at The Trafalgar Studios until 11th June

     

    @chrisb715

  • Prince Harry’s Cheeky Nipple Tweak

    Prince Harry’s Cheeky Nipple Tweak

    To be honest we didn’t have Prince Harry down as a nipple man, but the camera doesn’t lie!

    Prince Harry, has an interesting way of giving luck to athletes – tweaking their nipples.

    Okay we don’t know if that’s an on-going thing, but it’s definitely the way that he interacted with sportsman Ashley Coles.

    Ashley Coles was about to compete in a Volleyball match for the UK against Afghanistan, in the  2016 Invictus Games, earlier this month, when he unexpectedly lifted his shirt to show the Prince his tattoo.

    That’s when the 24-year-old Prince took his chance and tweaked the right nipple of the athlete.

    Cole looks shocked by the interaction but both men laughed off the interaction. The tweaking was caught by the world’s media.

  • Colton Haynes Shares Naked Pic

    TV Star Colton Haynes shares a cheeky snap of himself completely naked.

    The newly out TV star has shared a picture of himself completely naked apart from just a couple well-placed emojis. Dam them emojis.

    The 27-year-old Teen Wolf actor was posting the picture for NationalSendANudeDay which happened on Friday.

     

    A photo posted by Colton Haynes (@coltonlhaynes) on

     

    ALSO READ: Ever wondered why Tom Daley’s trunks are so small?

  • Remember Frankie Cocozza From X FACTOR

    Remember Frankie Cocozza From X FACTOR

    It’s incredible what five years can do, but Frankie Cocozza is barely recognisable.

    CREDIT: Frankie Cocozza / Instagram

    CREDIT: Frankie Cocozza/ youTube

    Known for his cheeky chappie behaviour Frankie Cocozza, 23, won a legion of fans during his appearance on the X Factor five years ago and then went on to appear in Celebrity Big Brother, but he’s had a bit of an image change and now is hardly recognisable.

    You might remember Frankie as the guy who flashed the judges his bum tattoos during his audition, but it was his alleged drug habit which catapulted him into the tabloid press.

    The reality star recently reflected on his past behaviour and the drug scandal following his appearance on TV and hit out a X Factor bosses who promised him that news about his reported drug use wouldn’t be released to the press.

    Speaking on ITV’s This Morning Cocozza said,

    “The whole cocaine thing, there was no proof or anything. I don’t know why they decided to release that. They said they wouldn’t, in the last meeting we had when they said ‘Look we’ve heard that you have done it and stuff’, and all it was, was me admitting it, there was no proof. I said there was no proof and asked if it was going to come out and they said no. And then on the way home it was just all over the papers and that.”

  • Tom Daley’s Junk Must Stay In Place During Diving

    Tom Daley’s Junk Must Stay In Place During Diving

    If you’ve ever wondered why Tom Daley’s trunks are so small the diver has revealed why…

    CREDIT: sportsphotographer.eu-Bigstock

    CREDIT: sportsphotographer.eu-Bigstock

    During an interview on Graham Norton’s show, diver Tom Daley revealed why his trucks are so darn small.

    “They have to be small because everything has to stay in place,”

    The diver who will be heading to Rio for this summer’s Olympics continued to explain that unless his trunks are tight – parts of his anatomy “flap” around and hurt.

    Tighter trunks eliminate the flapping.

    “If you’re spinning around the last thing, you want to do is have something come out of place!

    “And when you hit the water you don’t want things flapping about because it would hurt.”

    So there you go.. It’s all about keeping Little Tom where he’s suppose to be.

    ALSO READ: Which former X FACTOR star has been hitting the gym?

  • WATCH | XTina Tries To Teach Chelsea Handler To Sing

    WATCH | XTina Tries To Teach Chelsea Handler To Sing

    Song goddess Christina Aguilera has her work cut out for her it seems as Chelsea Handler asks her for some vocal tips.

    photo by Adam Rose/Netflix)

    Dirrty singer Christina Aguilera is known for her powerhouse vocals and her ability to hit some whopper notes – but can she make Chelsea Handler a Platinim Disk selling star?

    Xtina was recently invited on Chelsea’s brand new show, Chelsea, which is now live streaming on Netflix, to give the host a vocal lesson. The song – Happy Birthday – pretty easy right?  Well as Xtina said, as soon as Chelsea started to sing,

    “I’ve got my work cut out for me!”

    Take a look

    Christina Aguilera tries to teach Chelsea… by TheGayUK

    Chelsea’s new show Chelsea live streams on Netflix on Wednesday, Thursday and Friday at 8:00 AM

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Northern Ballet’s Jane Eyre

    ★★★ |  Northern Ballet’s Jane Eyre

    In an adaptation of Charlotte Bronte’s iconic novel, Jane Eyre is an orphan who is treated cruelly by her Aunt and sent to an institute for young girls. From there, she moves to work at Thornfield Manor as a governess and swiftly falls in love with her employer, Mr Rochester. But the Manor House harbours dark secrets, and as their love grows, Jane’s independence and fiery temperament surfaces as those secrets are revealed.

    Trying to cram the complex and multi-layered classic novel into a 100 minute ballet was always going to be a difficult challenge, and one which choreographer Cathy Marson takes on with confidence.  The staging of the ballet itself is inventive, with the use of curtains which are moved and positioned across the stage to effectively and cleverly convey both the confines of Thornfield Manor House and the sweeping moors.

    At times the choreography was beautifully done, leaning far more towards the contemporary rather than the traditional, with a lot of delicate lifts, floor work and precise movement, contrasting moments of tender intimacy with complex ensemble pieces. Both Dreda Blow and Javier Torres’ performances were more than noteworthy and displayed their professional competence; whilst overall, the supporting company’s movements were of their usual high quality.

    Whilst the technical excellence of the company meant foot sure and stumble-free performances, the production did falter slightly over the issues of narrative and characterisation. The novel itself portrays so many aspects of Jane’s life, and the ballet hits most of the significant events, but with so much to cover within so little time, the narrative felt rushed, superficial and unclear; whereas the characterisations were not as clearly defined as one would hope, leading to further confusion.

    Overall, adapting Jaye Eyre is a huge task and one which is beautifully staged and performed, but the juxtaposition of the contemporary dance and the period setting, coupled with the rushed narrative amounts to a production which is enjoyable, but doesn’t quite come together to be more than the sum of its parts.

    Jane Eyre had its world premiere at CAST Theatre, Doncaster; who hosts a varied range of performances. Visit their website at www.castindoncaster.com for full details. Northern Ballet is currently touring Jane Eyre, with productions of 1984, Romeo & Juliet, Wuthering Heights and Beauty and the Beast to follow later on this year. Visit www.northernballet.com for details.