THEGAYUK

Day: 3 September 2020

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Sleepless – Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre – This is what theatre is all about!

    THEATRE REVIEW | Sleepless – Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre – This is what theatre is all about!

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    The West End is back, and it’s in Wembley!

    Sleepless the first major stage productions to open up in London in 6 months (Regent’s Park Open Air Theatre opened in Mid-August with Jesus Christ Superstar). Originally scheduled to open on April 1st, it was sidelined, like all other productions, until further notice. But now it is here, and it’s a fun and lively show that will keep you entertained and emotional, not just because of the romantic plot but also because it’s a real live show that you’ll be watching, and not a taped show on your laptop!

    Playing at the Troubadour Wembley Park Theatre, in, yes Wembley (not quite the West End), Sleepless is based on the 1993 hit film Sleepless in Seattle (which starred Meg Ryan and Tom Hanks). And while stars Jay McGuiness and Kimberly Walsh are no Hanks and Ryan, they make a fantastic pair as a man and woman who are destined to be together.

    If you don’t know the plot, McGuiness is single father Sam. His wife passed away a year ago and he is left with young son Jonah. Jonah calls into a radio station to announce that his father is available to meet someone new, very much to Sam’s dismay. Enter Walsh’s Annie, a journalist about to be married to the dull but romantic Walter (Daniel Casey). When Annie hears about Jonah’s plea, she somehow feels that for her it’s a true calling, and she decides on a rendevous time and place in the hopes that Sam will be there and then. Of course, Sleepless ends on a happy note, and without giving too much away it’s happily ever after, with toe-tapping songs and a very good supporting cast to get us to the happy ending. While it’s not quite award-winning stuff, it gets my award for bringing a smile to people’s faces, and for ambitiously opening up.

    The seating capacity at this very large and very new theatre has been reduced from 1,300 to 400. Masks are required to wear while inside the auditorium (including the bar area), temperature checks and track and trace are there as you walk into the compound, and the cast and crew are subject to daily testing. But it’s a magnificent theatre with a bar outside and inside and plenty of space to move around.

    But here’s to producers Michael Rose and Damien Sanders for getting this show, a brand new one never been done before, up and running. Kudos to Michael Burdette for the book, Robert Scott and Brendan Cull (new British writers) for the music and lyrics, and the 12 piece orchestra. And kudos to the people you see on stage – they all make it look so seamless and easy, making us forget, temporarily, the events of the past 6 months.

    This is what theatre is all about.

    SLEEPLESS, plays at Wembley Park until 27th September 2020. Book tickets here.

  • Nine men accused of holding a “gay party” in Indonesia are facing 15 years in jail

    Nine men accused of holding a “gay party” in Indonesia are facing 15 years in jail

    Things for LGBT+ people in Indonesia are going from bad to worse after nine men arrested in Jakarta are arrested for what the police are calling a “gay party”.

    Nine men have been arrested in Indonesia after police say they were holding a “gay party”, this is despite that homosexuality is not illegal except in the Aceh region. There were apparently 12 men at the party, nine of them were detained as the “organisers”.

    The nine were charged under article 296 of the Criminal Code Law that says “Any person who commits or facilitates obscene act with another person, shall be punished by a maximum one year and four months imprisonment and a maximum fine of IDR15.000″

    The police also charged them with article 33 in conjunction with article 7 and or article 36 in conjunction with article 10 of the Pornography Law. 

    Amnesty International Indonesia Executive Director Usman Hamid says that there is no legal justification for criminalising these men and that raids like these were sending “a terrifying message to LGBTI people”.

    In a statement, Hamind said, “There is no legal justification for criminalising the behaviour these men are accused of. Such a gathering would pose no threat to anyone. The authorities are being discriminatory and violating the human rights to privacy and family life, freedom of expression, and the freedom of assembly and association. 

    “Raids like these send a terrifying message to LGBTI people. We call on the authorities to release all people arrested in the party and drop all charges against them. They must also stop these arbitrary and humiliating raids and stop misusing laws against loitering or public nuisance to harass and arrest people accused of same-sex activity. 

    “No one should be targeted and arrested because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation and gender identity. The police should be keeping everyone safe, not stoking more discrimination.”

    Homosexuality is not illegal, but authorities are finding other ways to criminalise gay people

    Consensual same-sex relations are not crimes under the Indonesian Criminal Code. However, the Pornography Law has been widely applied and doesn’t relate to any of the actions or behaviours actually carried out by the people arrested or harassed under this law. 

    In Indonesia, LGBTI people are frequently harassed, intimidated, criminalized, and even killed, simply because of their sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, according to Amnesty International.

    Increase intimidation and attacks

    In the last few years, intimidation, attacks and discrimination against LGBT+ people in Indonesia has increased after several public officials made inaccurate or misleading statements on the grounds of “defending the country’s public morality and public security.”  

  • Matt Hancock won’t condemn homophobia because Tony Abbott is a trade expert

    Matt Hancock won’t condemn homophobia because Tony Abbott is a trade expert

    In an awkward exchange with Sky‘s Kay Burley, Health Secretary Matt Hancock seemingly excused homophobic and misogynistic comments by the former Australian PM, Tony Abbott, because he is an “expert on trade”.

    The former PM is reportedly being eyed up to be the joint president of the UK’s Board of Trade as the UK prepares its trade deals upon leaving the EU.

    Previously Abbott opposed gay marriage before it became legal in Australia and said that he feels a “bit threatened by homosexuality”.

    “I don’t believe that’s true”

    Hancock firstly argued that he didn’t believe Tony Abbott to be a homophobe or a misogynist, saying, “I don’t believe that’s true, I haven’t seen any of his (comments)”

    When Burley replied, “I just told you what he said, I’m sure you don’t support some of his comments, he’s a homophobe and a misogynist”, Hancock’s response was. “He’s also an expert on trade”.

    Pressing the point, Burley went on to ask, “So one plays off each other? Really? Is that what you’re really saying, Health Secretary? Come on!”

    Hancock responded, “No, what I’m saying is that we need experts in different areas and the former Prime Minister of Australia is obviously an enormous expert in the area of trade. it doesn’t change my views.

    So forgive because he’s good at trade?

    Embed from Getty Images

    Burley continued, “So we can forgive his comments about women and about letting the elderly die of Covid-19 and his views on the gay community, even though his sister is gay. We can forgive all of that because he’s good at trade?”

    Hancock didn’t answer the question and went back to form, by saying, “I’m doing everything in my power to prevent a second wave and protect people from coronavirus

    At which Burley butted in and remonstrated the Health Secretary, by pointing out “That was not my question”, she asked, “Is he a fit and proper person to represent us?”

    “Mr Abbott is very good and very experienced in trade”, responded Hancock, “It is clearly a very important decision that the Prime Minister (Boris Johnson) and the Trade Secretary are across, because we do want experts… and have huge experience”

  • Can exercise help with erection problems?

    Can exercise help with erection problems?

    Seems like a valid question right? We posted an article recently about the exercises that can help you to last longer in bed (aka Sexercises), but probably the most important thing to an all-nighter is the ability of your penis to maintain its erection for several hours.

    Now without giggling, let’s look at some of the research and theories that suggest that a stallion-strength boner could be yours with just a little bit of exercise worked into your weekly routine.

    Hopping on the treadmill isn’t likely to have the same effect on your johnson as popping a viagra. However, it’s often helpful in preventing many types of erectile dysfunction (ED) from developing. And more than that, the strength of a man’s erection-his hardness-is the true barometer of his overall health.

    1. Improve circulation = improve erections

    So according to the science, when a man becomes aroused, the brain sends signals to your junk that leads to the relaxation of smooth muscles with blood vessel walls in the penis. This allows for increased blood inflow inside the erectile tissues of the penis. Blood then fills two “inflatable” chambers inside the shaft known as corpora cavernosa. And there you have it, instant boner.

    So it stands to reason that better circulation leads to a stronger and even larger erect penis (in terms of length and girth). This is why when men have heart problems and poor circulation they tend to suffer from ED as well.

    Cardio, and exercise in general, causes the blood vessels to dilate and capillaries to open so that blood can flow more effectively, moving to where it needs to be, including your genitals.

    They’ll even have improved circulation even when your body is at rest. Fun side-note: the increased blood flow to the skin brings with it the extra benefit of greater sensitivity.

    Win-win!

    2. Psychological health

    Free-Photos / Pixabay

    Exercise is well documented at elevating your mood. The release of endorphins during exercise is often connected with an improvement in a sense of wellbeing, often increasing your libido as well as a result.

    Tackling some of the underlying issues such as low self-esteem and body image can help prevent forms of sexual dysfunction developing.

    3. NEVER skip leg day

    fit athlete during training on running track
    Photo by Andrea Piacquadio on Pexels.com

    You’ll have heard that you should never skip leg day. As some of the biggest muscles in your body, training your legs burns calories, releases hormones to help your other muscles grow, and can help relax and expand blood vessels in the penis contributing to fuller and harder erections… yup.

    4. Boost your Testosterone

    adventure athlete athletic daylight
    Photo by Pixabay on Pexels.com

    Testosterone has an important role in both central and peripheral contributors to an erection. Testosterone and Growth Hormone (GH) release is proportional to the amount of muscle tissue working; therefore boost your testosterone by making sure you don’t neglect those large leg and back muscles.

    Cortisol (the ‘stress’ hormone) also has a suppressive effect on testosterone and the effect is more pronounced at night. Cortisol increases if we overtrain (spend more than 90 minutes training hard in the gym) and when we perform steady state cardio (like 10k running and long distance cycling). Therefore, keep your workouts on the shorter, more intense side of the scale (even two 30 minute sessions a day will boost GH and testosterone more than a single 60-90 minute session) and opt for HIIT and interval training instead of the traditional steady state cardio.

    Minimising stress via meditation, relaxation and improving sleep quality and length, will also have a significant impact on your testosterone and therefore boner levels.

    Get help with your exercise

    If you need help with you exercise we can help; getting erections, however, is still your responsibility.

    Speak to one of our gay personal trainers about devising a personalised fitness and nutrition program to help you “firm up”.

    This article was brought you by our partner, GayFitnessUK.com and first published in Feb 2014.

     
  • Best Drag Queen content on Netflix

    Best Drag Queen content on Netflix

    Here at THEGAYUK.com it has to be said we love drag. It’s an art form that when done well is beyond sublime – some of the best drag roles, however, have been witnessed on film.

    UPDATED SEPTEMBER 2020

    Here are all the latest drag shows and films that Netflix has to offer for streaming in the UK.

    AJ And The Queen

    AJ AND THE QUEEN

    Netflix decided to put RuPaul in front of the camera, not as a judge of her famous show, but as an actor in AJ And The Queen, it was met with mix reactions – while it garnered a fan base, it ultimately only got one series from Netflix.

    Dancing Queen

    Drag Race star Alyssa Edwards rules the dance school and the night clubs in this warts and all, fly on the wall reality series. Reality TV at its cattiest.

    The Death and Life Of Marsha P Johnson, Documentary

    Marsha was known as one of the fearless faces of the gay-rights movement. The cops ruled her death a suicide, but her friends aren’t so sure and demand answers.

    Hurricane Bianca, From Russia With Hate, Comedy

    Bianca Del Rio returns for another filmic outing when she is lured to Russia under false pretences. She soon turns the country up-side-down.

    Paris Is Burning, Documentary
    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VVueHRtpBbg

    This Sundance prize-winning documentary is an intimate portrait of 1980’s Harlem drag balls: a world of fierce competition, sustenance, and survival.

    Pose

    Set in 1987, this drama series follows Blanca as she starts her own house. Starring Billy Porter and Evan Peters. Created by Ryan Murphy, Brad Falchuck and Steven Canals.

    RuPaul’s Drag Race

    This has pretty much become a staple for Netflix and has helped cement RuPaul as the world’s most bankable Drag Queen. It currently has 12 seasons of the show available to stream. Catch up with all your favourite DQs from Bianca Del Rio to Trixie Mattel.

    RuPaul’s Drag Race Untucked

    Next from the RuPaul treasure trove of content is Untucked. Although there’s only one season of this, but the reality show gives you the chance to go “backstage” and get all the juicy gossip.

    RuPaul’s Drag Race All-Stars

    A chance to catch up with your favourite queens from past seasons. Netflix only carries season 4 of the show, but if you need more RuPaul – then you can always watch RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular.

    RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular

    What’s camper than Christmas? RuPaul’s Drag Race Holi-Slay Spectacular is. Watch as Latrice Royale, Shangela and Kim Chi battle it out to become the number 1 Christmas queen.

    Super Drags

    Campy, adult animated series with drag queens saving the gay community for an evil nemesis.

    Trixie Mattel Moving Parts

    Drag Queen superstar Trixie Mattel allows the cameras into her life to document the highs and lows, post-RPDR in this intimate film.

  • The best Lesbian films on Netflix

    The best Lesbian films on Netflix

    Netflix has quite a good number of films where, lesbian, bi and curious women are at the heart of the story. Here’s some of the best available to stream.

    Good Kisser

    My Days Of Mercy

    A powerful and heart-wrenching tale of finding love in the least likely of places. Academy Award nominee Ellen Page (Inception, The Umbrella Academy) and Kate Mara (House of Cards) star in the highly compelling and moving romantic drama, My Days of Mercy. Two young women from opposite sides of fierce protests over the death penalty meet on the picket lines and form an unlikely friendship. While both deal with their respective personal issues they grow ever closer, leading to dramatic personal revelations, passion and life-changing romance.

    Elisa & Marcela

    A forbidden love story, based on true events. In 1901, set in Galicia, Spain, Elisa Sánchez Loriga adopted a male identity to marry another woman, Marcela Gracia Ibeas, making this the first same-sex marriage in Spain.

    The Feels

    Andi (Constance Wu) and Lu (Angela Trimbur) are excited to celebrate their upcoming wedding with a joint bachelorette weekend in wine country. On the first night, things go awry when one of the brides admits she’s never had an orgasm

    Gypsy

    Are your temptations too intoxicating to resist? The cast and creators of Netflix Original Series Gypsy discuss Jean’s perfect life, Diane’s deception and her weakness for her desires. Gypsy is now streaming, only on Netflix.

    The Miseducation on Cameron Post

    After being caught with another girl in the back seat of a car on prom night, Cameron is shipped off to a conversion therapy centre that treats teens. This is her story going against the grain and trusting her inner voice.

    Duck Butter

    Dissatisfied with the dishonesty they see in dating, strangers Naima (Alia Shawkat) and Sergio (Laia Costa) make a pact to spend 24 straight hours together in an attempt to fast forward their relationship.

    You Me Her

    The Perfection

    It’s time to face the music. Watch The Perfection only on Netflix on May 24, 2019. A troubled musical prodigy (Allison Williams) seeks out the new star pupil of her former school (Logan Browning) with shocking consequences in this elegant and terrifying suspense ride, the most buzzed-about movie at last year’s Fantastic Fest.

    The Half Of It

    Shy, straight-A student Ellie is hired by sweet but inarticulate jock Paul, who needs help winning over a popular girl. But their new and unlikely friendship gets complicated when Ellie discovers she has feelings for the same girl. From Writer/Director Alice Wu.

    Un Freedom

    Unfreedom is an indie film which is unique and very different from main stream Indian cinema. As banned in India this film is scheduled to release in various cities of North America on 29th of May, 2015. Directed and written by Raj Amit Kumar this film shows two parallel stories about religious fundamentalism and intolerance; shifting between New York and New Delhi the film Unfreedom is absolutely thought provoking.

    A Secret Love

    Amid shifting times, two women kept their decades-long love a secret. But coming out later in life comes with its own set of challenges.

    What Keeps You Alive

    On the eve of their one-year wedding anniversary, Jules and Jackie become embroiled in a merciless fight for their lives when they find themselves pitted against the most unexpected of adversaries: each other. As violence rains down upon their idyllic forest getaway, the women engage in a frenzied psychological and vicious battle that will test the very limits of their instinct to survive. From the mind of Colin Minihan, director of GRAVE ENCOUNTERS and IT STAINS THE SANDS RED, WHAT KEEPS YOU ALIVE is a knife to the throat of 21st century genre cinema.

    The Tree Of Blood

    Jewel’s Catch One

    Jewel’s Catch One’s documents the oldest Black owned disco in America and establishes the legacy of businesswoman, activist, and healer, Jewel Thais-Williams, who stood up against hate and discrimination for 42 years. The story of Jewel and “The Catch” celebrates four decades of music, fashion, celebrity, and activism that helped change the course of our country by breaking down racial, social, and cultural barriers. One of the original safe spaces for both the LGBT and Black communities, The Catch also served as a refuge for many during the AIDS crisis. As her club grew to become known as the “unofficial Studio 54 of the West Coast,” Jewel became a national model for how to discrimination and serve the less fortunate.

    Four Minutes

    Jenny, a musical prodigy, finds herself behind bars for murder, but one person wants to help her out — Traude, the 80-year-old piano instructor who has taught at the prison for years. Traude plans to enter Jenny in a prestigious competition, but will the headstrong Jenny waste her one chance for redemption?

    Let It Snow

    When a snowstorm hits a small town on Christmas Eve, a group of high school seniors finds their friendships and love lives unexpectedly colliding.

    Other Genres: BIOPICS | CRIME | COMEDY | DRAG | DRAMA | DOCUMENTARY | LESBIAN | ROMANTIC | TRANS | SPORTS | ALL LGBT FILMS ON NETFLIX

  • All the transgender movies available to stream on Netflix

    All the transgender movies available to stream on Netflix

    There are a number of films on Netflix which follow the stories of transgender people.

    Updated September 2020

    New to the Netflix list of transgender films is Disclosure, a thoughtful insight into the way in which transgender characters have been used in the past to generate fear and loathing and how transgender actors have historically been shunned from authentic roles.

    What transgender films does Netflix currently have on offer?

    Born Beautiful

    Campy fun. Barbs attempts to rediscover herself until love leaves her true identity and heart in question.

    The Death and Life Of Marsha P Johnson, Biography /Documentary

    This film reexamines the death of a beloved icon of the trans world while celebrating the story of two landmark pioneers of the trans-rights movement, Marsha P. Johnson and Sylvia Rivera.

    Disclosure, Documentary

    A brilliant and thought-provoking documentary film into the portrayal of trans people in film and television. From executive producer Laverne Cox and director Sam Feder comes Disclosure, a documentary that chronicles over 100 years of trans representation on screen, from silent film to Dog Day Afternoon, The 40-Year-Old Virgin to Pose.

    Girl, Biography, Drama

    Fifteen-year-old ballet dancer Lara faces physical and emotional hurdles as she prepares for gender confirmation surgery. Inspired by a true story.

    Laerte-Se, Documentary

    After living as a man for nearly 60 years, Laerte Coutinho, one of Brazil’s most brilliant cartoonists, introduces herself to the world

    Paris Is Burning, Documentary

    This Sundance prize-winning documentary is an intimate portrait of 1980s Harlem drag balls: a world of fierce competition, sustenance, and survival.

    Super Deluxe, Drama

    Sex, stigma and spirituality merge in these eccentric stories of an angsty teenager, an unfaithful wife and a transgender woman returning to her past.