If you’re a fan of farce, then this genius gem will slap you round the head, crack your ribs from laughter and leave you with a weaken bladder.
The Mischief Theatre Company are changing the face of comedy in the West End. They already have The Play That Goes Wrong and The Comedy About A Bank Robbery and now they’ve brought back their Christmas pudding, Peter Pan Goes Wrong. They’ve tapped into something that the West End has been missing for a long time. They’re giving us what we need. A laugh and lots of them.
In these politically trying times of neverending referendum headlines, a plummeting currency, a US Presidency election that makes even EastEnders look dull, and don’t even get us started with how Brexit is going to affect us in Eurovision, this theatre company is like a lit candle next to a flammable costume. On Fire.
The Cornley Polytechnic Drama Society are about to put on their Panto (oh no it’s not) and they’re nearly ready, but the audience has arrived for the first night and the show must go on, regardless if all the necessary health and safety checks have been made. The set has been improved for 2016, thanks to a cast buy in of £40,000 and they’ve splashed out on a revolving stage. All is set to be an incredible, critically acclaimed am-dram performance of the evergreen favourite of Peter Pan… Or is it?
The theatre’s electrics are on the blink, the sound recording cues are all wrong, the revolving stage has gone haywire, lines have not been learned, but that’s no barrier to this well-meaning band of merry actors. It’s hilarious.
Christmas has never been so funny. Even that time Dad tried to play charades in a full body cast.
If you’ve ever heard of the concept of ‘six degrees of separation’ then you’ll already know the theme of Arthur Schnitzel’s classic 1897 play Le Ronde. Couples copulate and the circle goes round with one-half of each couple appearing in the next scene with a new partner and the half of the first couple seen on stage appearing as one-half of the final shagging couple. Joe DiPietro’s updated version of his 2015 play features men f***ing. Lots of them. The three actors take on various roles including a rent boy, a soldier, a Hollywood actor, a married couple and a porn star. It’s a great concept and it actually works.
The dialogue is sharp and witty and the play is by turns grimy, tender and darkly comedic as well as at times, erotic. Men fumble, fellate and f*** (you’d want your money back if they didn’t, wouldn’t you?). The situations are sometimes familiar, sometimes exotic and DiPietro manages to cover a lot of pertinent issues without being dull or preachy. From the young soldier pretending to himself that having his cock sucked doesn’t make him gay to the couple with intricate rules attached to their open relationship (which, of course, they aren’t abiding to); these are situations that are bound to resonate with a gay audience.
A couple of the scenes jar slightly and there’s the odd discordant character but mostly these people feel spot on. The three actors are as talented as they’re hot. This is a feast for the intellect as well as the eyes and it’s a thought provoking and wise piece.
I’d highly recommend getting down to The Vaults at Waterloo to catch this play. David Hare’s 1998 version of La Ronde (The Blue Room which starred a naked Nicole Kidman) was famously described as ‘pure theatrical Viagra’. This is a triple dose of Viagra in a tunnel at Waterloo. Now that’s not something you get offered every day.
Usually, when we hear about the extravagant purchases of today’s celebrities they seem so selfish and utterly pointless especially when they don’t even use them, but BB’s Sam Giffen just melted our hearts with his most expensive purchase. We asked the reality star what the most expensive thing he had ever bought apart from cars and houses, but never used, and what he said surprised us…
He bought his Mum an all expenses paid holiday for her 50th Birthday this year, but because Sam was in the Big Bro house on his Mam’s birthday, he sent her on her way anyway – all the way to gay Paris! How lovely.
He told THEGAYUK.com
“I didn’t go on it. I paid for it but didn’t go on it. I sent her to Paris for her 50th birthday this year. I couldn’t go because obviously, I was in the (Big Brother) house.”
And it turns out that our Sam isn’t a big spender, he continued,
“I’m not a big spender at all. I’ve got no designer clothes. I’m a high street shopper. I’m not materialistic whatsoever.
“Over the years people have prejudged me from the way I come across on social media, the places I party, the people I go out with. The kinda scene I’m around – people think I love myself or that I’m up my own arse.”
Well, Sam’s Mum – we commend you, you’ve brought up a right gentleman!
For the past six years, I’ve been touring a performance called ‘Walking:Holding’ where one person at a time is taken on a walk through the town and invited to hold hands with a range of local participants along the way. Next week I will be presenting this work in Leeds as part of Compass Festival with Live Art Bistro.
CREDIT: Rosanna Cade
The impetus for the performance came from my own experience of holding hands in same-sex couples and the complexity I discovered in this seemingly simple action. Across six years of touring the work to various towns across Europe, there have been many different experiences and reactions to the piece and the idea of holding hands with strangers. More often than not, there has been a lot of fear and tension around the action of two men holding hands in public.
Recently there have been two incidents of male audience members attending the performance and then refusing to hold hands with the men on the walk. In two other instances in the past two months, male/male couples have been called names or laughed at while taking part in the performance.
We have had many discussion around how our culture affects the way in which we view acceptable forms of intimacy in public, and also what we consider to be natural traits for men or women. I’ve worked with men from Nigeria and India, who talk about holding hands between male friends being common as a form of brotherly love. In western society, it seems that physical contact such as holding hands has been framed as feminine and therefore, perhaps, weak.
Sadly there are many gay men who I talk to as part of the project who don’t feel safe enough to hold hands with other men in public. Ultimately, though, the performance is about challenging the idea that anyone should have to hide who they are, and hopefully inspiring those who haven’t felt confident enough before to change their behaviour.
We toured to Dublin in 2013, and I felt that there was an accepted sense of homophobia in the city. Two gay men had been beaten up in the city centre about a week before I arrived, and there was a palpable tension in the air following this. A lot of the gay people that I spoke to said they would never feel comfortable expressing their sexuality in public, and carried a certain resignation and acceptance of that. However, for some of them the experience of taking part in Walking:Holding was transformative. Firstly, it broke a threshold – they held hands with another man and nothing bad happened. It also gave them a sense that they should be able to hold hands, that it shouldn’t be a privilege. They said they the experience had given them a whole new perspective.
CREDIT: Rosanna Cade
Here is an account from a recent participant:
“I suffer with social anxiety and agoraphobia meaning that I find it hard to leave the house without a purpose. I took part in Walking:Holding in Leith this summer. In the workshop, I was asked to walk outside and hold hands with one of the other male participants. He was the first man I have ever held hands with in daylight since being a child. There may have been some late night occasions when I’ve been drunk, but never in the broad light of day.
“It’s amazing how daylight illuminates things. It felt like there was a spotlight on us, and everything was heightened. I identify as being a-gendered so don’t feel like a man but I’m aware of what I present. To the outside world, we looked like two big beardy men holding hands. We spoke about how we felt like we were doing something wrong. We both felt frightened but we also felt protected by each other, at the same time as realising we were protecting the other one. This experience was intense but through holding multiple people’s hands across the week of doing the performance it became much less extraordinary and I felt braver with every new hand that I held.
“The thing that made me the most emotional was that it changed my perception of myself. It gave me more confidence because both men and women were saying we look like we could be in a relationship. It doesn’t mean that now I can just go out and find a partner, but it gave me a kind of confidence that people don’t mind being seen with me – I’m not as bad as I thought I was. They were proud of me of those few moments.
And from the male artist Laurie Brown who has collaborated with me on the project many times:
“I’ve been involved with Walking:Holding now for over 5 years, so naturally I’ve held countless strangers hands of all kinds of backgrounds. Being involved with this piece has allowed me to empathise with others on a totally new level. It has challenged every prejudice I had and continue to have, and it reminds me of how massively different people’s experiences are of the same world. It is also a reminder of the immense joy vulnerability can bring. Holding someone’s hand can be really revealing, both of the other person, but also about yourself. When you hold someone’s hand and really focus on that experience it’s impossible to be bored, it’s never simple, and it is never the same.
X Factor fans think that Simon Cowell has just outed Louis Walsh.
Simon Cowell and his gay jokes… Whatever next? Some X Factor fans think that the music mogul outed Louis Walsh as gay on Saturday’s episode of the show.
During Louis’s criticism of show favourite Matt Terry, the ex-Jedward manager said that he found the performance of Wham!’s “I’m Your Man”, to be a little bit karaoke.
When it was Simon’s turn to make comment on the performance, he aimed his critique at Louis saying, “This is the first time Louis has said I don’t like I’m Your Man.”
Natch, Twitter went into overdrive with speculation sending thousands of people to THEGAYUK.com to search whether Louis Walsh was gay or now. In fact, searches for Louis Walsh surged 3029 per cent on Saturday night.
Louis Walsh has remained, famously, tight-lipped over the rumours of his sexuality. In 2013 in an interview with the Sunday Times, when asked whether he was gay or straight he replied, “I can’t… Don’t go there. I can’t. I think your private life is your private life…I’m happy. Happy as Larry!”
Remember Johnny Robinson from X Factor? Well, you won’t believe what he looks like now!
CREDIT: Johnny Robinson / YouTube
Well, Johnny Robinson, or should we say, Sarah Lee is looking rather fabulous as he talked to the Loose Women in October to promote his new single “Deliver Me”.
CREDIT: ITV/YouTube
Johnny appeared in the same series of X Factor as Kitty Brucknell. The series eventually crowned girl group, Little Mix as the winners.
Speaking to the Loose Women panel, he quipped that he hadn’t had a “sex-change” but that Sarah was his drag self, which had been locked up in the closet along with all the wigs and frocks.
He revealed that his alter ego had existed before his appearance in the 20011 series of the X Factor and had, in fact, auditioned for Britain’s Got Talent as his drag self, but didn’t get through.
The production team from BGT suggested that he go for X Factor instead.
CREDIT: ITV / YouTube
CREDIT: ITV / YouTube
Johnny/ Sarah rocked blonde locks and heavy eye makeup on set with the Loose Women panel.
His follow-on single from “Eaten Alive” is called “Deliver Me” and is a high energy dance track and we have to say his vocals are AWESOME.
★★★★ | Comprising of a trio of pieces, this mixed programme from Ballet Black combines abstract dance, drama, passion and narrative storytelling in a triple bill of short pieces which amounts to a stunning evening of dance.
Photo Credit – Bill Cooper
The piece opened with Cristaux, an abstract piece centring on the beauty of crystals and how mesmerising they can be. The piece was performed by Cira Robinson and Mthbuthuzeli November, who both carried precision, synchronicity and poise in their movement. Robinson’s costume was beautifully decorated with 1500 Swarovski crystals, which glistened in the light as the pair traversed the stage. Despite the quality of the choreography and performance, this was the weakest of the three pieces, primarily as a result of its soundtrack comprising of tinny bells ringing in a mish-mash of patterns. Despite sitting well with the theme of the piece, the composition held the piece back, which is unfortunate for something which otherwise had a lot for it.
The second piece, To Begin, Begin was choreographed by Christopher Marney, a former performer with Matthew Bourne’s New Adventures. Warming the stage with subtle lighting comprising of hues of blue and orange; and accompanied by gentile compositions of swathing strings and piano, this piece had a warm, dreamlike quality to it which felt comforting and familiar. The second abstract piece of the evening had a more contemporary slant to it, and knitted together both the traditional and modern movements beautifully; and kept building the momentum with the music and movement. To Begin, Begin was evocative, atmospheric and utterly absorbing.
Rounding off the programme was Storyville, a narrative driven piece choreographed by Christopher Hampson. Set in 1915, the ballet tells the tale of a young girl who finds herself working in an infamous dancehall in the red light district in New Orleans. Taken advantage of because of her youth and innocence, her spiral into self-destruction cannot be halted, even by a young sailor that she falls in love with. Brimming with passion and sadness, this piece had a clear narrative relayed by well-defined characters. Added into that was a collection of music which was evocative of the time period of the setting and a subtle undertone of fears of voodoo and black magic, reflective of the culture of New Orleans; which both added gravitas to the piece. Storyville rounded off the evening perfectly.
Having never seen this company before, for me, the triple bill was a fascinating insight into the company and an impressive taster of what Ballet Black has to offer, leaving me keen to see more from them. With a consistency of quality, precision and emotion running through the three pieces and with their impressive choreography and presentation, Ballet Black is thoroughly recommended.
Ballet Black is currently on tour across the UK. Details of the company can be found at www.balletblack.co.uk . Ballet Black were seen at CAST Theatre, Doncaster, who have a variety of art, dance, performance and shows, from West End shows to world premieres, in their upcoming season. Details can be found at www.castindoncaster.com
