After homosexuality was legalised 50 years ago, this is the story of how it was pop music that won the battle for hearts and minds, and made it OK to be gay.
While politicians and protestors focused on legal reform, another struggle was going on – the battle for hearts and minds. The fight to win mainstream status for queer culture was waged, and won, by a group of pioneers who used popular music as the stage for a revolution. Put simply: it was pop music that made it OK to be gay. Channel 4 marks this momentous anniversary with the story of the fearless & flamboyant artists– from global icons to hidden heroes – who used pop music as gay culture’s Trojan Horse, seducing us all with a soundtrack to die for.
Rupert Everett charts the changes in gay life and culture over the last fifty years, from men in their eighties who cottaged with palace guards, to young transgender people coming out as the ‘only trans in the village’ in rural Britain. Since 1967 much has been achieved in terms of openness and acceptance, but have some of the things that Rupert most wants to celebrate about gay culture – its rebelliousness and outsiderness, for example – faded in the process of assimilation into the mainstream?
Epidemic(w/t) This landmark film tells the uplifting story of how an unlikely coalition of Tory politicians, pioneering doctors and gay men came together to fight a deadly disease with no cure – and how Britain was changed forever by the battle against AIDS in the 1980s. Together they overcame a homophobic press, the ignorance of the medical establishment, and the outright hostility of Margaret Thatcher, in order to create a campaign that would change hearts and minds about AIDS – and gay men. Not only did their effort stem the tide of the AIDS plague – but by making us talk publicly about sex in a new way, they helped to create a more liberal Britain – that has lasted until today.
Not Guilty tells the stories of some of the 15,000 British men living with criminal records for offences committed under long-defunct anti-homosexuality laws. On 1st February 2017 the government passed a new ‘Alan Turing law’ granting pardons for those convicted – but some are refusing to accept a pardon, demanding instead a full apology. At the heart of the film are emotional testimonies of persecution long after the 1967 Act first began to decriminalise homosexuality in Britain.
Adapted by Ayub Khan-din for Birmingham, To Sir, With Love had its natural charm and appeal to the audience of The Rep. The local, ‘banterous’ fun was well appreciated and received for many laughs were heard in the auditorium. What also impressed me, and I found highly commendable, was the extent to which The Birmingham Rep invested their efforts into nurturing young, new and home-grown talent via The Young Rep Company.
Every young person shone and were utterly convincing in the roles they played, conveying a variety of emotions with much maturity. Charlie Mills who played Denham, stood out for his aggressive demeanour at the start, and the 360 degree turn at the end. His transition from delinquent to amicable was very warming to witness. Alice McGowan portraying Pamela performed with delicateness but fierceness too and, though her part was smaller, Alice really invested her time to move elegantly and speak with natural flair in-line with the character’s traits. Eden Peppercorn, who played Monica, did really well in contributing to the chaos and challenge of Mr Braithwaite’s initial classes. Her subtle change of heart was well developed and endearing too. Phillip Morris, local actor who trained at Birmingham School of Acting, did a sterling job, to the point of gripping the audience all the way through while fully harnessing the moments and challenges in which his character found himself in. Phillip Morris was a star of the play, and I believe this opportunity granted by The Rep will no doubt further his career in the theatre industry.
I really loved the thorny fun had between the characters of Mr Weston and Clinty, played by Matt Crosby and Polly Lister respectively. Polly really embodied the locality of the adaption through her West Midlands accent, and she was much joyful to watch, with exquisite comedic timing. Matt was a treat to watch too, and he must have channelled a teacher he knew, because his portrayal of Mr West really made me, and I’m sure others, reminisce, not very fondly, teachers from our pasts; or for those in the profession, education staff would probably relate too.
Plays are instrumental to teach people their own history. To Sir, With Love did just that. It gave us flavours of the past mixed with contemporary seasoning. It was a feast to be lapped up! Using young talent really made the production special and very memorable, and I hope to see the young actors on stage again soon, as they so deserve it!
One of the most buzzed-about films at London’s recent Flare LGBT Film Festival is getting released this Friday.
Handsome Devil played to sell-out crowds at the festival (though at one screening there was a power outage so all the attendees were invited back to another screening). Irish movie Handsome Devil is the charming story of an out and proud young gay man who is attending a boarding school for the first time. Fionn O’Shea plays Ned and shares a room with jock and star of the rugby team Conor (Nicholas Galitzine). The rest of the school doesn’t quite know what to make of Ned, he’s a bit of an outcast, yet he and Ned form a special bond, after a rocky start between them, they realise they have more in common with each other than being roommates. Ned’s school life is made much easier with the help of teacher Dan (Andrew Scott in a very winning and sexy performance), who also happens to be gay. But it doesn’t help Ned (and teacher Dan) that the rugby coach is on to both of them – he’s full of prejudice and lets everyone know it. And it’s just a matter of time until the rest of the school comes around and accepts Ned for who he is, especially just in time for the school’s big upcoming rugby match.
Writer and Director John Butler’s coming of age story is a winning combination of great performances and a story that’s time and tested and that never gets old. Winning lead performances from O’Shea and Galitzine make this one to remember, but it’s Scott as the supportive English teacher that will tingle your loins. His sympathetic teacher is handsome and oh so sexy, especially when he brings his boyfriend to the rugby match outing himself on the spot to the principal. More of these kinds of roles please Mr Scott. Though at times some of the accents are a bit hard to understand, Handsome Devil is very charming and memorable.
FAST AND FURIOUS 8 – This record breaking, epic edition to the turbo boosted car based action franchise is the most entertaining movie of the last twelve months by a speeding mile.
Nutshell – Dom (Vin Diesel) goes rogue, for unknown reasons, forcing the rest of our favourite car wrecking posse to chase across the world from Cuba to Iceland via Germany and New York to find out why he has dissed his extended ‘family’, save the world and defeat tech badass Charlize Theron. Jason Statham is now a good guy and there are two megastar surprise appearances that push this over the top to be one of the greatest popcorn movies of all time.
Running Time – 136 minutes; Certificate – 12A; The ultimate guys movie but with something for everyone really.
Tagline – ‘Family No More: The Ride Isn’t Over’ – It should be, ‘The best fun you can have with your clothes on’.
TheGayUK Factor – So, so many hunks, bulging shirts and even bigger trouser bulges. Vin Diesel, The Rock and Jason Statham are three huge gay icons but you get so many other big studs including the hottest piece of new man flesh Scott Eastwood (Clint’s son) who is a pure 11 out of 10 in anyones book. So much testosterone and you just know that there is some ass action between all the motorised mayhem.
Cast – Vin Diesel, Jason Statham, Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, Charlize Theron, Scott Eastwood, Michelle Rodriguez, Kurt Russell and loads more big names plus those two great megastar cameos in the third act that will make your chin drop to the floor and get you whooping with delight.
Key Player – Vin Diesel took over this dying franchise after the appalling number 3 and turned it into a James Bond crossed Heist huge star juggernaut which is starting to look like the most successful franchise of all time. With two more already in the works it should now surpass Harry Potter and The Lord of the Rings in the all time earning stakes – taking it third behind Bond and Star Wars in a fraction of the time and without having to change its stars, style and look along the way.
Budget – $250 Million. One of the biggest budgets in movie history and it went into profit in just 4 days flat – not so much a gamble as the surest bet for your cash the world has ever seen. Yes, it beat Titanic, Avatar, Jurassic World & every Star Wars in its opening week and we expect it will run and run for months.
Best Bit – 1.02 mins. So many to choose from but one never before seen set of car stunts invoked by Theron’s bad girl Cypher who remotely takes control of hundreds of cars and makes them speed around corners in unison and then causes it to start raining automobiles from above – sensational stuff.
Worst Bit – 0.00 mins. For the first time in TheGayUK annals we have great pleasure in saying their truly isn’t a bad bit here.
Little Secret – Star & Exec Producer Vin Diesel had a massive bust up on set with Dwayne Johnson which resulted in an extremely pointed public tweet where Johnson said he was finished with the series for good. He called Diesel out for being a chicken shit, unprofessional and a candy ass – an urgent 6 hour meeting was called to patch things up… for now.
Further Viewing – Fast 1’s through 7, all the Bournes, all the Bonds, Ocean’s 11 through 13, Cannonball Run, Monte Carlo Or Bust, Ronin and 25 series of Top Gear plus Clarkson’s new The Grand Tour.
Any Good – This is a magnificently fun film. When you look up Friday night popcorn entertainment in the dictionary from now on you will see 4 words, Fast & Furious 8. Five was incredible, Seven was off the hook and this is way better, funny, exciting, jaw dropping and so much more. Yes, we are going over the top, but we cannot remember the last time we threw our hands up in the air in the movie theatre and here we did twice, there was even a round of applause at the end. This is the movie of the year period and it’s only April yet.
Shirley Bradshaw is a bored housewife from Liverpool, who has brought up her children, is trapped in a loveless marriage; and who spends her days talking to the kitchen wall and dreaming about Shirley Valentine, the girl she used to be before she was married. So when her best friend offers her the chance to head to Greece for a holiday, Shirley reluctantly takes it, and over the course of her holiday, she rediscovers her zest for life, falls in love with the idea of living and realises that it’s never too late to be yourself.
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Jodie Prenger, who is perhaps best known for winning the role of Nancy in BBC’s I’d Do Anything, is impressive in this one-woman show, where she delivers the monologue beautifully; injecting life into the script and forming a believable and likeable take on the character. Her delivery is natural and enjoyable and her comic timing is surprisingly good. It is a formidable task to hold the attention of the audience when you are the only person on stage for the best part of two hours, but Prenger manages it with ease and displays the underlying vulnerabilities hidden beneath the bold veneer of the housewife in a performance which makes you feel like you are catching up with an old friend.
That said, even with such a good performance from Prenger, the real star here is Russell’s writing itself. Shirley Valentine is a heart-warming story of self-empowerment and a show which remains as beautifully crafted, witty, funny and well observed as it ever was. Throughout this monologue, what Russell creates is an instantly familiar character that you simply can’t help but warm to immediately, as her straightforward look on life is presented via a series of genuine laugh out loud moments which seamlessly flow into moments of calm reflection and sadness as Shirley takes stock of her life.
But the most surprising thing is how a script about a bored middle-aged housewife written in the mid 1980’s can so easily relate to today’s gay community. What Shirley Valentine realises is that there is an abundance of joy in living your life for yourself, not for others; and that that it is never too late to be yourself or to be the person that you want to be – a theme that many gay men and women will undoubtedly recognise.
Shirley Valentine is an engaging and enjoyable piece of theatre and, despite the shifting political and social landscape in the 30 years since the play was written, its message still resonates today; and you can’t help but leave the theatre with a warm glow.
Shirley Valentine is currently at Sheffield Theatres (www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk) until 29th April 2017 before continuing on its national tour up until 23rd September 2017. Visit http://shirley-valentine.com/ for full details
The RSC is set to stage Oscar Wilde’s play Salomé through what it calls a “gay lens” to mark 50 years of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales.
Staged to mark 50 years since the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, the Royal Shakespeare Company is staging Oscar Wilde’s lyrical one-act play, Salomé. Originally banned in Britain, this new production, performed with an almost all male cast, explores sexual ambiguity in the contemporary world. The production is directed by Owen Horsley, and Matthew Tennyson will take on the role of Salomé, a part usually played by a female actor.
Gay Seattle-based artist, Perfume Genius, will provide the music for the production. Material from his album, Too Bright, will be performed live by the RSC band.
Salomé also features Andro Cowperthwaite, or simply Andro, who is also a singer, and has just released a new music track, Afterlife, which challenges the listener to rethink their perceptions of what masculinity and femininity is.
Director Owen Horsley said,
“For me Oscar Wilde’s Salomé is one of the greatest plays about unfulfilled desire. It was written by gay man who was expressing his desires at a time – in the 19th Century – when it was illegal for him to do so. In this year, the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of homosexuality in England and Wales, I felt it was important to view this play through a gay lens – to look back at the gay experience 50 years ago and now.
“This production will paint the play afresh by casting a male actor – Matthew Tennyson – in the title role, a part that is usually played by a female actor. This portrayal will explore the ambiguity of gender and sexuality, and the anger, anxiety, mystery and chaos it can cause in the world.
“Using the music of Perfume Genius, a musician who explores the dangers faced by gay men in contemporary society, the iconic dance of Salomé will be filled with a brute force that reinforces her symbolic status of undying desire.”
“I want to celebrate a world where you now don’t go to prison because you are gay, but I also feel that it’s important to acknowledge that being a gay man is still complex, especially in the context of gender. There is still a sense of shame, an element of vulnerability and this requirement for male and female to be defined terms. And we still live in a world where in the first two months of this year seven transgender Americans were murdered, and less than a year ago 49 people were murdered in a hate crime at a gay nightclub in Orlando.”
Andro Cowperthwaite, or simply Andro is a member of the Salomé cast. As well as being an actor, Andro is a singer who smashes the stereotype of what it means to be a Black/Mixed Race artist in this era of social norm and expectancy.
Talking about Salomé and Afterlife, Andro says,
“In terms of Salomé, I think that audiences and artists alike should be sensitive and open in our judgement to the fluidity of how we can portray characters of the opposite sex on stage, and even more so in the outside world. And with Afterlife what I’m saying is that we as people need to rethink our perception of what masculinity and femininity is.”
“Salomé” by Oscar Wilde
Swan Theatre, Stratford-upon-Avon
2 June – 6 September 2017
Tickets www.rsc.org.uk/salome or 01789 403493
Crimes of Passion, a double-bill of Joe Orton plays (The Erpingham Camp and The Ruffian on the Stair) will be recorded in front of an audience in the Radio Theatre to mark the 50th anniversary of Orton’s death.
Victim traces the bravery and pragmatism behind the development of the eponymous 1961 British film, which was the first to seriously address homosexuality. The film was written by a woman (Janet Green), made by refugees from Ealing Studios and starred matinee idol Dirk Bogarde in the gamble of his career. It is often credited with helping to break the taboo and change public attitudes to the law.
