THEGAYUK

Category: Entertainment

  • Olly Alexander to lead the cast of Russell T Davies’ next TV drama

    Olly Alexander to lead the cast of Russell T Davies’ next TV drama

    The Years and Years singer is set to join a host of other stars for Russell T. Davies’ next TV drama.

    Olly will be joining Keeley Hawes, Stephen Fry, Neil Patrick Harris, Tracy Ann Oberman, Shaun Dooley, Omari Douglas, Callum Scott Howells and Lydia West for a 5-part series charting the joy and heartbreak of four friends during a decade in which everything changed

    Casting has been announced on multi-BAFTA Award-winning writer Russell T Davies’ (Queer As Folk, A Very English Scandal, Years and Years, Doctor Who) brand new 5-part drama for Channel 4, Boys (working title) which will be produced by RED Production Company (a STUDIOCANAL company).

    It’s 1981, the start of a new decade and Ritchie, Roscoe and Colin begin a new life in London. Strangers at first, these young gay lads, and their best friend Jill, find themselves thrown together, and soon share each other’s adventures. But a new virus is on the rise, and soon their lives will be tested in ways they never imagined. As the decade passes, and they grow up in the shadow of AIDS, they’re determined to live and love more fiercely than ever.

    http://gty.im/1171437854

    Olly Alexander, from the band Years & Years, plays 18-year-old Ritchie Tozer, the family’s golden boy, though he’s determined to keep his secrets from them.

    Newcomer Omari Douglas plays London-born 17-year-old Roscoe Babatunde, a wild, brittle party boy, always on the run.

    Newcomer Callum Scott Howells plays Colin Morris-Jones, a quiet, unassuming, boy from Wales, about to become an apprentice on Savile Row.

    Lydia West (Years and Years) plays Jill Baxter, Ritchie’s friend from college, straight-talking, funny, and the rock on which they rely.

    Nathaniel Curtis plays Ash, a faithful friend through thick and thin.

    The cast also includes Keeley Hawes (Honour, Bodyguard, The Durrells, Line of Duty), who plays Valerie, Ritchie’s mum, Shaun Dooley (Gentleman Jack, Broadchurch, Woman in Black) who plays Clive, his dad, Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, Gone Girl, A Series of Unfortunate Events) as Henry Coltrane, Stephen Fry (Wilde, Gosford Park, Bones) as MP Arthur Garrison, and Tracy Ann Oberman (Friday Night Dinner, Toast of London, After Life) as Carol Carter.

    Olly Alexander says, “I feel like the luckiest boy in the world to be a part of this project, I’ve been a fan of Russell T Davies ever since I watched Queer As Folk in secret at 14 years old. His work helped shape my identity as a gay person so I’m absolutely over the moon we’ll be working together. The script was amazing to read, I laughed and I cried a lot, it’s a privilege to be helping to tell this story and I’m so excited.”

    http://gty.im/1174898250

    Neil Patrick Harris says: “I’m so pleased, and incredibly proud, to be a part of Russell T Davies’ new series. This drama, Boys, is two things: it is an irresistible, funny, jubilant story of young people discovering their true identities and the unalloyed joy of living life to the fullest, it is also a deeply resonant exploration of a decade when so many of these lives were cut short by the devastating effects of the nascent AIDS pandemic. Russell’s scripts chart the highs and lows of this time so beautifully and deftly, it’s an honour to help tell this story.”

    Filming begins next week and the series will air on Channel 4 in 2020. The series is overseen at Channel 4 by Lee Mason, Commissioning Editor and Caroline Hollick, Head of Drama. The series will be produced by RED Production Company (a STUDIOCANAL company) and executive produced by Nicola Shindler (Years and Years, Safe, Happy Valley, Queer As Folk, Cucumber) and Russell T Davies (Years and Years, Queer As Folk, A Very English Scandal, Doctor Who, Cucumber). Phil Collinson (Gentleman Jack, Good Omens, Doctor Who) is the producer. The series is directed by Peter Hoar (Umbrella Academy, The Last Kingdom, Da Vinci’s Demons).

    Boys is the 10th collaboration between Russell T Davies and RED Production Company. The partnership is known for producing relevant, timely and emotionally charged dramas having previously created hit series including Queer As Folk, Casanova, Cucumber, Banana, Bob & Rose and The Second Coming.

    All3media International are global partner.

  • Drag Race UK fans have noticed this one HUGE difference between the US and the UK version

    Drag Race UK fans have noticed this one HUGE difference between the US and the UK version

    (C) BBC – Photographer: Leigh Keily

    Eagle-eyed fans spotted a huge difference between the UK and the US version and here’s why that is.

    Fans of the US version of RuPaul’s Drag Race are used to hearing the names of various sponsors during the show. However, the UK version was devoid of any sponsor names.

    When a contestant wins a challenge or the runway, a sponsor usually backs a gift or a cash prize, however, last night’s show was devoid of a sponsored-back prize.

    In fact, the main prize for the eventual winner of Drag Race UK isn’t even a cash-prize unlike the US version.

    (C) BBC/World of Wonder – Photographer: Guy Levy

    In the US, winners can look forward to a $100,000 payday, however, the winner of the UK version will star in their own “digital tv series” according to Ru, which will be filmed in Hollywood.

    One of the reasons why there are no sponsors mentioned on the show is because the broadcaster of this year’s series is BBC Three and as the BBC aren’t allowed to have sponsors or advertisers attached to their programming.

    Even the small prizes aren’t backed by a company – this week’s catwalk winner won a “RuPeter Badge” rather than a luxury or cash prize.

  • Corvyx: Planet 9

    Corvyx: Planet 9

    Since I first interviewed Corvyx 2 years ago, he has gone from strength to strength, Jumping from under 20,000 subscribers to over 63,000 now and while also headlining the 2017 Frightfest in Six Flags Amusement Park.

    So I was excited when he got in contact with me again recently to have an exclusive listen to his new original single Planet 9, due for release on October 4th.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B2fecH6FYow/

    Lauded for his brilliant cover songs, and recently being awarded as the 2019 winner of the Fandemonium award for Unsigned artists, Corvyx is releasing original material for the first time in 4 years. His last foray into original music, Become the Night has made way for a wildly different yet still very much with the aesthetic of a Corvyx music piece that will be a great listen for anyone who likes music to be a little more out there

    Describing his newest venture into original music, and named for the relegated ninth planet Pluto, in this sonic and visual body of work Corvyx parallels the barren wasteland of a forgotten planet to the aftermath of losing ‘star-crossed’ love. Recreating sound-waves sampled from Pluto, Corvyx found solace and companionship in the mournful cries of the ice planet using them to inspire ethereal and minimalistic verses paired with gut-wrenching, unorthodox lyrics. Anthemic in its nature, “Planet 9” is a record equal parts pain and power.
    Earthshaking cinematic drums engulf the Corvyx signature powerhouse vocals while juxtaposing the vulnerability of lyrics like “When planets aligned, it was you and I”. Known for his visionary prowess, Corvyx innovated a record that will rival the visuals of anything he has released prior. From Cloud 9 to Planet 9, we are all a little less human after we
    lose love of astronomical proportions. But we are not alone in this Universe and Corvyx’s newest single speaks the cosmic language that makes us certain there’s something greater than us all. Music.

    https://www.instagram.com/p/B3F8PLrAKBM/

    The Corvyx style is very much present, and I for one am looking forward to the accompanying music video that is sure to maintain the wonderfully visual and artistic vision that Corvyx is known for. So I would highly recommend checking out Planet 9 as soon as it’s released on digital download on October 4th.

    You can follow Corvyx on Instagram & Twitter and also subscribe to his YouTube channel to listen to his other music. You won’t be disappointed

  • These are the gay/LGBT films you need to catch at this year’s BFI Film Festival

    These are the gay/LGBT films you need to catch at this year’s BFI Film Festival

    The BFI London Film Festival has started and us here at THEGAYUK.com want to highlight the LGBT films that will be shown during the festival. It’s best to book earlier rather than later as some of these films will surely be sold out.

    Portrait of a Lady on Fire

    At the end of the eighteenth century Marianne, a young painter, is commissioned to paint a portrait of a young woman to be used to elicit marriage proposals. Knowing that the woman, Héloïse, has previously refused to sit for portraits as she does not want to be married, Marianne disguises herself as a lady’s maid in order to gain her subject’s trust only to find herself inadvertently falling in love with her. Starring Noémie Merlant and Adèle Haenel.

    And Then we Danced

    Merab has been training from a young age at the National Georgian Ensemble with his dance partner Mary. His world turns upside down when the carefree Irakli arrives and becomes both his strongest rival and desire in this film that is a Swedish-Georgian production. 

    Death Will Come

    Two women are face-to-face with mortality when one of them is diagnosed with a terminal illness. Refusing treatment, they move to a small house in the woods where they rediscover a love lost to routine; all the while death waits outside the cabin’s walls. This Chilean stars Julieta Figueroa and Amparo Noguera. 

    End of the Century

    Two men meet in Barcelona and after spending a day together they realize that they have already met twenty years ago. From Argentina, and with male frontal nudity we are told. 

    Matthias & Maxime (pictured above)

    A kiss between two childhood friends has dramatic repercussions in the eighth film from Xavier Dolan. He also stars – with his character having an ugly scar on his face.

    Walking with Shadows 

    A man has to come to terms with his dark secret and choose between keeping his family or accepting a life of possible loneliness and rejection. Made in Nigeria.

    This is not Berlin

    In the 1980s, an outsider gets invited to a mythical nightclub where he’s unleashed to punk, sexual liberty and drugs. This Mexican film has yet to have a UK release date. 

    Yves Saint Laurent: The Last Collections

    A documentary on Yves Saint-Laurent and the legendary fashion designer’s final show.

    Mystify: Michael Hutchence

    A documentary about the troubled heart and soul of Michael Hutchence, lead singer and songwriter of INXS, and overall wild man who died at the young age of 37. 

    For information on these, and other films at the film festival, and to buy tickets, please go to:

    https://whatson.bfi.org.uk/lff/Online/default.asp

  • FILM REVIEW | Fahrenheit 11/9

    ★★★ |Fahrenheit 11/9

    There’s a lot to take away from Michael Moore’s brand new documentary Fahrenheit 11/9 from the Flint Water Crisis, school gun violence the rise of Trump and how maybe the democrats aren’t as people-friendly as you might hope.

    It’s the day after watching Fahrenheit 11/9 and my mind is still whirling. Michael asks (of Trump’s presidency) at the beginning of the film, “How the fuck did we get here?” and it’s a question many are asking.

    But Moore’s troubling documentary takes us through history lessons and finds a way to link a number of big button issues and it doesn’t quite work, but you’ll be left with an uneasy feeling in the pit of your stomach.

    In the two hour and a bit film, Moore manages to squeeze in the water crisis in Flint Michigan, the Parkland School shooting, the Bernie Sander’s vote scandal, the teachers’ strike, President Obama’s undermining of US citizens, Bill Clinton’s republicifcation, The New York Times‘ political bubble and of course, the rise and rise of Donald Trump.

    It’s pretty full-on and you may be left with a sense of foreboding for the future of civilisation, but Moore doesn’t disappoint with the breadth of research undertaken for this documentary.

    Available to stream on Netflix.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Mamma Mia! The Party, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Mamma Mia! The Party, London

    ★★★★ | Mamma Mia! The Party, The 02

    ★★★★ | Mamma Mia! The Party, The 02

    Enter the world of ABBA, and Greece, by attending MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY at The O2 London – it’s the best in immersive theatre. And what a great idea!

    Yes, it’s the 02, but once you enter you are transported to a Greek-style courtyard (on the Greek island of Skopelos no less) where it will make you forget the horrific Jubilee Line ride that took you there.

    It’s a romantic courtyard that seats over 200 people with tables scattered on top of balconies, lower levels, stage level and the ground floor – surrounded by Greek-style leaves hanging down from the walls. And at the centrepiece of all this is the water fountain in the middle of the room. You have to see it to believe it – it literally stops you dead in your tracks when you enter the room where you automatically want to start snapping photos and selfies with you and your friends.

    But as it’s a party, there is food and drink involved, as well as great singing and dancing, performed by a cast that belongs in the West End! But it’s the East End – far from the West End, but never mind – for three hours you will forget this and suddenly Greek language will spew forth from your mouth.

    And the show that is performed right before your very eyes is the story of Nikos and his wife Kate who run this exotic and wonderful restaurant together with their family and friends. Told through dialogue and ABBA songs, it’s a warm, romantic and funny story which evolves and unfolds during the evening, taking place around the guests as they sit at their tables enjoying a delicious Greek meal. The evening ends with the main floor bring transformed into a 1970’s disco where audience members are welcome to stay and dance.

    On arrival, you’ll be greeted with a smile and a complimentary welcome cocktail, after which you are welcome to purchase drinks from the several taverna bars.

    The London cast includes Fed Zanni as Nikos, Steph Parry as Kate, Joanna Monro as Debbie, AJ Bentley as Adam, Julia Imbach as Konstantina, Elin König Andersson as Bella, Kimberly Powell as Nina, Pauline Stringer as Grandma, Gregor Stewart as Fernando, with Linda John-Pierre playing Debbie at certain performances and Allie Ho Chee playing Bella at certain performances.

    In between all this are yummy starters such a mezze selection followed by succulent meat dishes paired with tempting sides, and it all ends on a deliciously sweet note with authentic Greek desserts.

    Ticket prices start from £135 per person including VAT.

    This includes a welcome drink, a set four-course meal, a show and an ABBA disco at the end of the evening.

    There are different types of tickets to choose from: Premium, Band A, Band B, Band C (on some performances) and Band D. Premium and Band A ticket holders are seated at tables on the ground floor in the Courtyard and on the Terrace levels, and Band B and C ticket holders are seated at tables in the Terrace levels and Balcony. Band D seats, which offer a partially restricted view, are located in the Terrace levels.

    MAMMA MIA! THE PARTY has music and lyrics by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus (some songs with Stig Anderson), and a story by Calle Norlén, Roine Söderlundh and Björn Ulvaeus, adapted for the UK by writer, comedian and broadcaster Sandi Toksvig.

    However, there are three things that could be improved.
    1.) The queue. Arrive early as you will be waiting at least 30 minutes to get inside. Doors open at 18:30 (12:00 for daytime shows) but you definitely want to be seated sooner rather than later and before the food starts to arrive. Any later and you might miss the first course. Get there at 6 so you can be one of the first in, and then you can soak up the room before it fills up.
    2.) The heat inside the venue. We were very warm the whole night and didn’t feel any air. It could be cooler in the venue – perhaps they can create a nice beach breeze to make the too a bit more bearable and comfortable temperature-wise.
    3.) The food. We were a table of 4 and received the same portions of food as the single guy sitting at the next table (and he had the best seat in the house). If they can proportion the food according to the table size that would make much more sense.

    These quibbles are valid quibbles, but they won’t ruin your night. And while the show is not cheap (prices from £130 to £218) you will get your money’s worth, whether or not you like/love ABBA. ‘You are my Dancing Queen…..’.

  • Adam Lambert “followed instincts and intuition” for brand new music

    Adam Lambert “followed instincts and intuition” for brand new music

    Global star Adam Lambert has released some epic new music… and we’re so here for it.

    The 6 track EP opens with his glam-funk hit, “Superpower”, which was released as a single earlier this month and has already amassed over a million plays on Spotify.

     Of the EP, he said: “I’ve followed my instincts and intuition more than ever with Velvet, leaning into truly musical influences from the 70s, early 80s and contemporary pop. It honors what made me want to be a musician in the first place.”

    Tomorrow (28th September), Adam will perform with Queen headlining Global Citizen Festival. After completing a huge sold out North American tour with the band, it was recently announced that Queen + Adam Lambert will embark on a colossal UK and European tour in the spring/summer of 2020, to include five dates at London’s’ O2 Arena.

    ‘VELVET: Side A’ comes four years after the release of Adam Lambert’s last album ‘The Original High’, which reached the Top 3 in the US and Top 10 in the UK and took his overall worldwide sales to over 3 million units. His previous album ‘Trespassing’ was the first album by an OUT artist to hit number 1 on the US Billboard chart. Adam has been touring as the lead singer of Queen (Queen + Adam Lambert) since 2012, including two huge world arena tours which sold out in minutes and gained critical acclaim. In between touring the world with Queen, Adam has been exploring the world of film and TV with a cameo in Oscar-winning film Bohemian Rhapsody as well as voicing character ‘Emperor Maximus’ in animated-live action hybrid movie Playmobil: The Movie.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Big the Musical, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Big the Musical, London

    ★★★★ | Big the Musical, Dominion  Theatre

    Big the movie was such a hit when it was released in 1988 as it brought out the inner child in all of us. Big the Musical, which just opened at London’s Dominion Theatre, doesn’t quite do the same.
     
    Playing for a short 9-week run, Big the Musical doesn’t bring the films magic to the stage, but it is, nonetheless, a show of pure fun where the audience is expected to believe there is an actual boy on stage in a man’s body who wants to be a boy again.
     
    The man, played by a charming Jay McGuiness (last seen in the awful Rip it Up). He wishes he was grown up so one day he encounters a Zoltar machine who grants him his wish, and he then finds himself trapped inside a man’s body. He is no longer recognised by his mom (Wendi Peters), nor by his next-door neighbour and best friend Billy.
     
    By sheer luck, and by being at the right place at the right time, he gets a job at a toy company where he has to act like an adult but still maintain his childlike innocence. He charms people at the office, including co-worker Susan (Kimberly Walsh) and his boss Mr McMillan (Matthew Kelly), where he is expected, along with the rest of the employees, to come up with a new Christmas toy. The Zoltar has given him 40 days to remain a man. Will that give him enough time to develop the toy and perhaps a grown-up relationship with Susan? Or does he long for his simple boyhood days?
     
    While there is not one memorable song in the show (not very good for a musical as big as Big), the actors all do their best and ultimately succeed.
     
    McGuiness is well-cast as Baskin (while several very good actors briefly play the young Josh and Billy), and Walsh is perfectly cast as the co-worker/love interest. With music by David Shire and lyrics by Richard Maltby, and a book by John Weidman and direction and choreography by Morgan Young, they all have a huge stage to fill at the Dominion Theatre, and they do.
     
    And the art and set directors successfully manage to fill it with carefully erected sets which include Josh and Billy’s homes (including Josh’s bedroom), the office, the carnival and a ballroom for the company party. But don’t expect to be humming any memorable tunes after it’s over. But you will have memories of a fun and good night out, but not necessarily a ‘big’ night out. 
     
    Big The Musical plays at the Dominion Theatre until 2nd November 2019. Book tickets here.
     
  • Theatre Review | Northern Ballet’s Cinderella – National Tour

    Theatre Review | Northern Ballet’s Cinderella – National Tour

    Northern Ballet dancer Hironao Takahashi in David Nixon OBE’s Cinderella. Photo Emma Kauldhar

    ★★★★ |Northern Ballet’s Cinderella

    Northern Ballet continues to delight with a charming retelling of a classic fairy story. Cinderella leads a life of servitude to her wicked stepmother but escapes her life by sneaking out, where she encounters a magician who is more than meets the eye. When Cinderella is left home alone on the night of the Prince’s ball, the Magician appears to transform her into a princess; as she and the Prince meet and fall in love, the clock strikes twelve and Cinderella flees, leaving only a glass slipper behind.  

    Sometimes, such familiar stories can feel laboured and over-familiar but Northern Ballet injects new life into the traditional fairy tale by putting in enough fresh ideas to add something new, without ever detracting from the familiar narrative.  Transporting the story to Russia whilst adding in an expanded narrative and a scattering of magic tricks and circus skills, the company presents something just a little different, but with its roots firmly planted in well-known story.

    Mlindi Kulashe delighted the audience with a comedic performance as the magician, and Abigail Prudames charmed as the titular heroine; both of whom stood out from a company who gave universally solid performances.

    Where Cinderella really succeeds is in its simplicity. The choreography is so clear in delivering the narrative, it allows you to simply sit back and enjoy the performances. There are sufficient magical moments to maintain its fairy tale status whilst allowing the dance to take centre stage, and the lavish new costumes, some new sets and the live orchestra only adds to the atmosphere of this production.

    Whether you are looking for a family orientated evening at the theatre, or for something to start to get you in the festive mood, Cinderella is an engaging ballet which works its magic on you by radiating a feel-good warmth and familiarity.

    Northern Ballet’s Cinderella is playing at Sheffield Theatres until 28th September 2019 before continuing on its national tour; whilst their production of Dracula will be beamed live into selected cinemas on Halloween

  • FILM REVIEW | Hotel Mumbai

    FILM REVIEW | Hotel Mumbai

    ★★★★★ | Hotel Mumbai

    The true story of the Mumbai 2008 terror attacks is told in the gripping film ‘Hotel Mumbai.’

    I guarantee you you won’t exhale until the film is over. ‘Hotel Mumbai’ is heart racing – when 10 members of Lashkar-e-Taiba, an Islamic terrorist organisation based in Pakistan, carried out 12 coordinated shooting and bombing attacks that lasted four days across Mumbai. People were going about their daily business while the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, which was hit the hardest, was getting ready for another workday. Then bam, 18 terrorists took to the streets of Mumbai and indiscriminately started shooting at people. Hotel Mumbai re-enacts these chains of events and is as realistic as it gets.
    Dev Patel stars as Arjun who works at the hotel as a waiter in order to feed and take care of his young family. Armie Hammer plays David, married to British-Muslim heiress Zahra (Nazanin Boniadi). They, along with a few hundred other people, are trapped in the hotel while terrorists roam the hallways looking for more westerners to kill, and this is after they shot up the train station as well as a cafe killing most of its patrons. These scenes are harrowing – you know what’s coming but don’t really expect it when it does. And when the film moves to the hotel and the terror the people are going through it feels very palpable and very real. While David and Zahra’s nanny (Tilda Cobham-Hervey) hides in a closet in their suite with their newborn baby (the only unrealistic scene in the film as the baby is not quite quiet and it’s strange two of the terrorists don’t hear the baby), many other hotel guests are hiding in several secure pockets in the hotel, not knowing what is going on and why no authorities have entered the hotel to rescue them.
    Directed by Anthony Maras and co-written by Maras and John Collee, ‘Hotel Mumbai’ vividly tells the tragic story when 174 people were murdered, hundreds more wounded, in the worst terror attack ever in India.
  • THEATRE REVIEW | Now And Then, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Now And Then, London

    ★★★★ | Now & Then, Above the Stag Theatre

    Above the Stag’s current show has lots of great songs with very good performances and a plot that is so unique and different.

    Now & Then tells the story of a gay couple through three different times in their lives. And in order to do this, they need six different actors to play these six parts, and every one of them is wonderful in their own way.

    We get Daniel 1 and Greg 1 (Dylan Wynford and Freddie Woodyatt) are when the couple first meet, at a young and tender age – where both are smitten with each other. Then in middle age, we see Taylor Rettke and Rhys Taylor, while Richard Costello and Leo Andrew play them in their older age.

    Greg was always the sensible one, while Daniel was the dreamer – he’s a country and western singer (a very good one at that) who actually never really made it big.

    So, as the title reflects, it’s ‘Now & Then’ – time to reflect on the past and to accept the present. Of course, regrets linger as the couple gets older, and Daniel’s drinking problem nearly causes them to break up, but it’s their true love for each other that gets them to older age and still a couple. Without singling any of the actors out, kudos go to Costello as the older Daniel- he sings beautifully, and when he sings at the end with the song ’Solitary Man’ he is just as perfect as it gets.

    Go see Now & Then – not just for the unique storyline but also for the very good songs, all in harmony with each other, with the show, and the actors. It’s just beautiful.

    Book tickets to see Now & Then at Above The Stag