THEGAYUK

Category: Entertainment

  • THEATRE REVIEW | La Soiree

    THEATRE REVIEW | La Soiree

    16-la-soiree-leicester-square-jarred-dewey-credit-brinkhoff-moegenburg-435-jpg
    PR Supplied

    ★★★★ | La Soiree

    The best show in Central London is now playing for a limited time only in Leicester Square – it’s La Soiree!

    Back in London for a 7th time, La Soiree is a theatrical experience that will wow and shock you – it’s circus, vaudeville and burlesque all rolled up into one in a show that’s funny, mesmerising, and very enjoyable. In the especially-built venue that is the Spiegeltent right in the middle of Leicester Square, it’s a show in the round, in a velvet-draped salon of carved wood, polished mirrors and the feeling of having stepped into another world, and where every seat has a good view of the shenanigans the performers get up to. Grab a drink at the bar and have fun watching these amazing performers:

    -Denis Lock is a bubble-making master. He makes bubbles in all sorts of shapes and sizes, including a carousel – he really needs to be seen to be seen!
    -Songstress Acantha Lang, from New Orleans, sings intermittently throughout the show – her vocals are large and high octane! She’s a diva and she owns it!
    -Captain Frodo is a hilarious comedian who is able to put his whole body through two small tennis racquets – it’s contortionism at it’s very best!
    -The very naughty and funny Ursula Martinez – she finds hankies in the most unusual places – enough said!
    -Daredevil Chicken is a man and woman duo who do incredible costume changes and are able to toss bits and pieces of bananas into theirs (and audience members) mouths. They are side-splittingly funny!
    -Jarred Dewey likes to swing, on a swing (he’s a trapeze artist)! And he does it with very little clothes on.
    -Hamish McCann, while shirtless, performs a jaw-dropping pole act that makes it look like he’s literally walking up a light pole. He makes it look easy.

    For two hours you will be entertained, and your jaw will drop, not only at the amazing feats these performers accomplish, but also because it is all very hilarious and raucous.

    So step away from the busy and blustery streets of London into this plush cabaret venue where you will have a really good time!

     

    Christmas in Leicester Square run until 8th January 2017, 0207 492 9942

     

  • FILM REVIEW | Doctor Strange

    FILM REVIEW | Doctor Strange

    DOCTOR STRANGE – The 96th superhero film of the year probably. What can Benedict Cumberbatch do in spandex and with this never ending genre.

    Benedict Cumberbatch Doctor Strange
    Photo Credit: Jay Maidment..©2016 Marvel. All Rights Reserved.

    Nutshell – A surgeon loses his hands in a horrific car accident and goes on a voyage of discovery to the Himalaya’s where he finds superpowers in magic form meanwhile a mystical bad guy attacks two of the three entry sanctums in Honk Kong and London and it’s New York next and then the World is f***ed .

    Running Time – 115 minutes; Certificate – 12A

    Tagline – ‘The impossibilities are endless’

    The Gay UK Factor – Either you think Benedict is the sexiest man alive in which case you will love him in action mode or otherwise you will just enjoy his superb acting chops as usual. No other eye candy or gay sexiness here except the main henchman Scott Adkins who looks as though he would be a great lay… so bring on the fight and chase sequences.

    Cast – Benedict Cumberbatch, Rachel McAdams, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Tilda Swinton, Benjamin Bratt and Mads Mikkelson doing the same bad guy thing he did so well in Hannibal and Casino Royale he is the new Alan Rickman of baddies.

    Key Player – Marvel of course who seem to produce an endless supply of new superheroes many of which we have never heard of before and they all hit. They also a clever at creating new angles each time and twists in the story but keeping to the winning formula. This is the 14th movie in the Marvel Universe.

    Budget – $165 Million which is big but already made that back; now on for some serious profit and a bunch of sequels.

    Best Bit – 1.15 mins; When the hero discovers what will become his trademark cloak which turns out to have a life of its own. It becomes its own character and starts stealing scenes from this point on.

    Worst Bit – 0.35 mins; This is an origin film so we know there will be some discovery and a training montage but this one does drag a bit and makes your feet start to shuffle. It is not helped here with the learning curve being about mystical planes and alternate realities basically, out and out bollocks tbh.

    Little Secret – Benedict was the first choice for the role but had to turn it down due to his stage schedule in Hamlet. Joachim Phoenix was then cast but he went AWOL, so back to Cumberbatch it went. Casting Tilda Swinton as a Tibetan guru is seen as whitewashing the film in a partially racist way by many to placate the vitally important Chinese market who are touchy about anything Tibetan.

    Further Viewing – Surely you can work this out for yourself – every X-men, Iron Man, Captain America, Spiderman, Batman, Deadpool, Antman, Guardians, ad infin..effing..nitum.

    Any Good – Very good indeed there are two major action beats where reality is truly skewed in a sort of Inception/Matrix fashion that makes it unlike any other Superhero movie around. Having a truly great actor in the lead makes it all so believable and he is on top form here. So great characterization, humour, action and a cool story with a better bad guy and evil plan this could be really jumping onto everyone’s fave superhero film lists. The sequel could be incredible but he is in the new Thor next.

    Rating – 21/100 (21st out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being Gay UK filmatic heaven and 100 being a dud).

  • Film Review | SHARED ROOMS

    Film Review | SHARED ROOMS

    ★★★★ | Shared Rooms

     

    Shared Rooms gay film review
    CREDIT: Rico MJPublicity

    The story of a set of three couples grappling with life, love, and children is told in the new gay comedy ‘Shared Rooms.’

    Set in Los Angeles, these three couples are all somehow connected to each other. There’s married couple Laslo (Christopher Grant Pearson) and Cal (Alec Manley Wilson) who live in a very cosy home and make fun of their friends with children – always telling themselves that ‘they are not that couple’ who ‘always have to arrange play dates for their children.’ And then there are roommates Julian (Daniel Lipshutz) and Dylan (Robert Werner). Dylan travels 36 weeks out of the year for work, so Julian rents his room out to strangers on LGBTQBnB while he’s away. But Dylan comes home early from a business trip to find a stranger named Frank Turner (David Vaughn) in his bedroom, so he has to share Julian’s bed, a thought, and fantasy, Dylan has had for two years! And finally third couple Sid (Justin Xavier) and Gray (Alexander Neil Miller), who casually meet up on an app called Manfinder. They instantly connect, while Sid shares with Gray a deep dark secret about his past, and lucky for us, they spend all of their time together naked.

    These men all happily share their lives, and their rooms, with other men, during Christmas, however, there is drama lurking in the background. Houseguest Frank Turner is in town to look for his long-lost kidnapped brother, and Cal’s gay nephew Blake (a very good and natural Eric Allen Smith) arrives after having been kicked out of his parent’s house.

    Shared Rooms, by writer and director Rob Williams, is cleverly written and very cute and funny. It’s like watching a gay version of Modern Family – everyone is a bit dysfunctional yet sweet and charming in their own way. Everything wraps up a bit too easily at the end, culminating in a New Years Eve Party where everyone has found what they were looking for (if only life were that easy), but it’s a funny and cute journey to get there.

    Available on Amazon and iTunes

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Commitments – Sheffield Theatres and National Tour

    ★★★ | Set in Dublin in 1986, The Commitments charts the rise and fall of an unlikely group of misfit musicians who are brought together by young music entrepreneur Jimmy Rabbitte. The hardest working soul band in Dublin start out as friends and skirt on the edge of greatness, but as egos clash, band members squabble, fights break out and passions get in the way, the backstage harmony couldn’t be more different from the harmonies on stage.

    Based on the novel by Roddy Doyle and building on the success of the 1991 film, The Commitments is a story of empowerment through music and of the hopes and aspirations of a group of youngsters trying to break away from the mid-eighties urban decay and from their dead end lives.  Adapted for the stage by Doyle himself, the show is on tour after a successful run in the West End; and with over 20 soul classics in the show, including “Mustang Sally”, “River Deep, Mountain High”, “Mr Pitiful” and “Try a Little Tenderness”, it’s a production that really does have soul music at its heart.

    “There is a story behind every song”, says Jimmy Rabbitt at one of the band’s rehearsals, but ironically this adaptation is fairly light on both plot and social commentary. The narrative skims the surface of the story of the band’s rise to the top and limits the development of the characters in exchange for lively performances of the songs that the audience clearly came to hear. The show, wisely, keeps the ballads to an absolute minimum, and instead employs a set-list of upbeat numbers, blasting open the show with an upbeat rendition of “Proud Mary” and maintaining the energy levels cranked up throughout the duration.

    There is an air of organised chaos to the proceedings, with enough raucous energy to help cover the slightly cumbersome scenery changes, and to keep the pace as enthusiastic as the young cast. There is plenty to like about those on stage. Andrew Linnie’s optimistic and happy-go-lucky portrayal of Jimmy Rabbitte is easy to warm to, whilst Brian Gilligan belts out the songs with aplomb as lead singer, Deco. As an ensemble, the cast really do give it their all, in a fusion of talented musicians and soulful singers who are well cast and who, unlike the fictional band, work well together, and it is during those 20 or so musical numbers scattered over the show’s two hour duration where the show really comes alive.

    Bringing the audience to its feet in the finale with a mini-concert of some soul standards, the music is infectious and the definite strength of the production. There is little effort to weave the songs into the narrative; but quite frankly, this doesn’t matter when the songbook is so toe-tappingly good.

    The Commitments is currently on national tour until April 2017 and details can be found at www.thecommitmentsontour.co.uk . The show was reviewed at Sheffield Theatres, who will soon be launching their new musical Everyone’s Talking About Jamie (www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/whats-on/everybodystalking-jamie)

     

     

     

  • When We Rise first look

    When We Rise first look

    In February a new seven-part mini series premieres in America about the early gay rights movement.

    When We Rise
    CREDIT: ABC/YouTube

    I’ve written about the Stonewall riots before, and this new series focuses on that time period. Written by Tom Daley’s fiance, Oscar-winning screenwriter Dustin Lance Black (who also directed two of the episodes) it is based on true stories of the brave LGBT community members who fought tooth and nail to be heard, and to be accepted. There’s also some big names involved as well, Whoopi Goldberg, Rosie O’Donnell, Guy Pierce, Michael K Williams David Hyde Pierce, and Mary Louise Parker, to name just a few.

    Dustin Lance Black has always been a strong vocal advocate for the gay rights movement, and it appears with this series he is showing how far we’ve come, and how far we still have to go. I for one will be watching it when I can, and I hope with it being on the TV station ABC that it will also appear on Netflix soon after it’s release so UK viewers will have a chance to watch it.

    The first trailer has just been released, and I must say I was actually quite choked up after watching it. It really hit home that people had to, and are still going through hell just to be accepted for who they are, and with the divisive US election still fresh in people’s minds, this series is coming at a time when a fresh struggle for our community is upon us. I hope that the younger generation of LGBT folks, will watch the show, and know that the type of freedom they have today is thanks to a generation that endured violence, seething hated and brutality, and who cried out that they had had enough and fought back. I don’t want to waffle on with a big piece so I’ll let the trailer speak for itself, and hope it touches you in the way it touched me.

     

     

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Tonight with Donny Stixx, The Bunker

    THEATRE REVIEW | Tonight with Donny Stixx, The Bunker

    ★★★★ | Tonight with Donny Stixx, The Bunker

    CREDIT: Savannah Photographic
    CREDIT: Savannah Photographic

    Donny Stixx is a boy with problems. He’s the product of a troubled background but he’s putting all that behind him for one night of audience questions and answers as he jokes with the audience, winking cheekily and tells us all about his rise to fame and his magic act. Sadly, Donny isn’t as famous for his dated magic show as he is for other things and he’s not known as the most hated boy in England for nothing. His cheesy ‘end of the pier show’ facade soon drops and despite his rage at the questions about the shootings, he’s going to tell us all about it.

    Multi award-winning playwright Philip Ridley is a master at capturing the darker side of the human condition and the story of Donny Stixx is a fine example of his work. Like its companion piece Dark Vanilla Jungle this is a one person show that features a troubled teenager. The script is witty and fast paced and almost dizzying as Donny bombards the audience with his repartee. There’s a cosy and domestic theme to his rambling that draws you in but soon falls apart as a much scarier and uncontained Donny breaks through.

    Director David Mercatali has a fine pedigree of presenting Ridley’s works and this is no exception. Sean Michael Verey (Pramface) hits all the right notes as Donny. He manages to convey both an endearing vulnerability and a truly chilling rage as he interacts with an imaginary audience (don’t worry, there’s a fourth wall). It’s not hard to see why he won awards for this performance at The Edinburgh Fringe. The new space of The Bunker at Southwark is a fine home for a piece like this. It’s an intimate new 110 seat venue in an old underground car park (you may want to take a warm coat) next to The Menier Chocolate Factory (a short walk from London Bridge Station). The sparse staging helps to centre attention on Verey’s powerful performance.

    Donny Stixx raises interesting issues about the nature of the lost and lonely teenager and how society can fail them. If you want an evening that’s funny but as far away from the saccharine highs of a West End musical as can be then this is a must see.

    Tonight with Donny Stixx plays at The Bunker Theatre until 3rd December

     

    Follow Chris Bridges on Twitter

  • Simon knows what he’s doing with Honey G!

    Apparently, Simon Cowell knows what’s he’s doing with Honey G in this year’s X Factor!

    Speaking in an exclusive interview with THEGAYUK.com former X Factor star Danyl Johnson spoke about how Honey G is just part of the fabric of X Factor and how acts like hers are all part of the excitement of the show.

    Honey G is probably one of the most controversial stars of recent years and her name regularly trends worldwide since she started to appear on the live shows and not everyone is happy about her inclusion in the show.

    Danyl told us,

    “The thing is, everyone gets really uptight about these, the enjoyable acts, but they’ve always been in the thread of X Factor. They have always been there. From Chico to Jedward, to Wagner to Honey G right now.

    “They’ve always been there. The X Factor is not just about singing, it’s about having something that people are talking about. Undeniably, every single person is talking about Honey G.

    Danyl who appeared in the 2009 series of the show and came fourth, knows how the juggernaut of the show works. He remarked,

    “Simon understands what she is.”

     

    Danyl Johnson’s full interview can be read in the latest issue of THEGAYUK.com subscribe now for FREE and you’ll never miss another issue.

  • People are noticing Simon Cowell’s gay jibes at Louis Walsh

    People are noticing Simon Cowell’s gay jibes at Louis Walsh

    Another week, another gay jibe at Louis Walsh.

    Simon Cowell
    ©Thames / Syco

    It seems as though “casual homophobia” is the new thing for Saturday night TV. Last night Peter Kay, whilst on the BBC, was blasted on social media for a joke some decided was homophobic and over on ITV Simon Cowell, once again, made a comment alluding to Louis Walsh‘s sexuality and viewers are starting to notice the frequency at which it happens.

    In Saturday’s (19th Nov) broadcast of the X Factor, Simon Cowell questions why Louis might like Matt Terry over Ryan Lawrie, after the 64-year-old judge told Ryan that Matt was better than him. Simon’s response, it seems, was done in such a way that many people took to Twitter to call him out on his “gay jibes”.

     

    https://twitter.com/PhoenicianDido/status/800072912900386817

    https://twitter.com/tomstoneman/status/800070259873116160

    A couple of weeks ago another comment by Simon prompted huge speculation over Louis’s sexuality. During the critique of Matt Terry’s performance of “I’m Your Man”, which Louis thought was “a bit karaoke”, Simon aimed his critique at Louis saying, “This is the first time Louis has said I don’t like I’m Your Man.”

    This isn’t the first time Simon has made jokes with someone’s sexuality as the butt of the joke (pun intended). During a live Xtra Factor broadcast, Simon asked Rylan Clark-Neal whether he liked the backdoor.

  • FILM REVIEW | Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

    FILM REVIEW | Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

    ★★★★ | Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them

    FANTASTIC BEASTS AND WHERE TO FIND THEM review
    Courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

    You cannot help but wonder how J.K Rowling’s Wizarding World (writing her first original screenplay) will work without Harry Potter and his crew.

    Well, given that it is based in another country and about 54 years before Harry Potter was born, it was pretty easy to forget about him within the first 20 mins because you fall completely in love with Newt Scamander, the socially awkward and shy wizard, played by Eddie Redmayne, and his No-Maj friend (the new American term for a Muggle) Jacob Kowalski, played by Dan Fogler.

    But all is not as shiny as a bag of Galleons; some of the editing with the action scenes leaves them loud, aggressive and hard to follow. I Imagine seeing this in the IMAX or/and in 3D could be pretty intense, but not in a good way.

    The real screen stealer is Samantha Morton, who plays Mary Lou, a leader of the New Salem Philanthropic Society, an extremist group that exposed and eradicated witchcraft in the 1920. Her performance echoed the recent rise of the right wing in the USA, characterised by fear of  change and their perceptions of ungodliness.

    Overall this is a great entry into this magical world and shows that Rowling and David Yates (director of the final four Harry Potter Films as well as Fantastic Beasts) are Hollywood gold.

  • FILM REVIEW | Lazy Eye

    FILM REVIEW | Lazy Eye

    ✭✭✭✭ | Lazy Eye

    lazyeye_bed_000197

    An L.A. graphic designer is contacted by a flame from his past that puts into doubt the relationship he has with his husband in the new film Lazy Eye.

    FIfteen years ago Dean (Lucas Near-Verbrugghe) and Alex (Aaron Costa Ganis) were boyfriends in New York City. But after their breakup, Dean moved to Los Angeles to start a new life. But out of the blue Dean receives an email from Alex, and Dean, after working up the courage and giving it a bit of thought, invites Alex to come visit him in California. Dean still has feelings for Alex (now both in their late 30s), feelings that actually never went away, and Dean gets excited with the thought of seeing Alex again. Dean tells Alex to come and spend the weekend with him at his house in the desert near Joshua Tree.

    So when Alex arrives him and Dean pick up right where they left off, jumping right into bed. But fifteen years is a long time for them to have last seen each other, and unfortunately sex is the only thing they have in common. And you see Dean forgot to tell Alex that he is in a long-term relationship with another man, who happens to be in Australia for work. This puts a strain on their weekend, but then there’s more drama when Alex suggests him and Dean get back together again, permanently.

    Lazy Eye ( a really poor name for a film this good – the name comes from the beginning of the film when Dean has to get bi-focals because he’s got a lazy eye) is a gentle, easygoing and lovely story about two men who were, or were not, meant to be with each other (we’ve all been there!). Subtle and quiet direction by Tim Kirkman (who also wrote the clever screenplay) and great music by Steven Argila (and great scenery of the Joshua Tree area of the California desert) make Lazy Eye a nice crystal clear viewing, perhaps on your own or with an ex.

    lazyeye_bed_000197

    Now available on DVD and VOD

     

  • POWWOW | 7 real responses to coming out as gay

    POWWOW | 7 real responses to coming out as gay

    We asked our readers and writers “Who was the first person you came out to and what was the response?” Their responses may bring heart into your life.

    what are typical coming out as gay responses in the UK
    ©-Ruslan117-Depositphotos

     

    FINE… but I’m not…

    DANIEL –

    I told my best mate that I’m gay when I was 15. He said, “that’s fine, but I’m not” and that was the end of the discussion. We’re still great mates today. The best reaction I had to coming out was from a friend who shrugged her shoulders and said, “and…?” as if it was no big deal and she couldn’t care less. Really it shouldn’t be a big deal and we shouldn’t need to come out. Perhaps one day people won’t need to.

     

    Out of my first day of a new job

    ANDY

    I told the woman I was working with on my first day at a new job. It was a fresh start and she had no preconceptions about me so it was easier to tell a stranger. I was 21 so kinda old to be coming out really. She wasn’t bothered so it was nice to be finally open about how I had been feeling for years.

     

    My girlfriend did not take it well..

    SEBASTIAN

    My girlfriend – she destroyed her own bathroom.

     

    Mother’s always know part 1

    GLEN

    I told my mum when I was 17 years old. Her response was , “I’m your Mother and I already know you are gay, any decent Mother would know her child”.

     

    Mother’s always know part 2…

    DARREN

    My mum asked me. “Are you gay?” when I was 19. But I think most mothers already know.

     

    I’ve been to paradise, but I’ve never been to me.

    GRAHAM

    I guess the first person was myself. It took a while for me to be comfortable with that. The first people I then told was in the middle of an acting class whilst training at Drama School. The lesson was about getting your message across to an audience and the lecture was making people stand up and tell everyone something. He picked on me and so I stood up and came out with not too much thought about it. The room went quiet with little eye contact and I thought ‘what the hell have I just done’, but afterwards everyone kept coming up to say well done and that they were all proud of me. My sexuality wasn’t an issue for any of them and I’d never felt so free to be myself…

     

    See Mothers do know…

    MICHELLE

    Trust me, mothers know, it’s the torture of waiting for your child to tell you that’s di cult, watching all that angst is heartbreaking.