THEGAYUK

Category: Entertainment

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Rock The Ballet, Peacock Theatre, London

    The Bad Boys of Dance’s new show “Rock the Ballet” bills itself as “a high-octane intersection of classical and contemporary set to a soundtrack of popular music”, so you wouldn’t be expecting much poetry or lyricism, and you’d be right. These dancers twist and turn and gyrate in a display of virtuososity, which is both breath-taking and exhausting to watch.

    That said, it got off to a rather slow start. The first act, labelled Beautiful Day, with the boys in casual jeans and polo shirts, tried, somewhat unsuccessfully, to meld a boy meets girl, falls in love with girl, falls out and falls back in again storyline to a pop soundtrack of U2, Coldplay and Donny Hathaway.

    Choreographed by Adrienne Cantera, who also brilliantly danced the central female role, this first act didn’t really coalesce until the final U2 “Beautiful Day”, when finally Cantera and all the boys came together in a dazzling whirl of energy. It was here too that the choreography most matched the music it was set to. Till then there had been bursts of invention, punctuated by too many moments of what I can only describe as mark till ready filling in. I also rather unkindly w ondered if we got a bit too much of Canterra, superb though she is. After all it was the guys we had come to see, and this first act harked back to old fashioned glorification of the prima ballerina. Apart from a few thrilling sequences from James Boyd, the boys took something of a back seat.

    All this was put to rights in the second act, when all the boys were at last given their chance to shine, and there was no doubting it was the boys the audience had come to see. It opened with a darkly atmospheric rendering of Brotzjor’s “Olafur Ornald”, and I had rather hoped that this more lyrical opening was an indication of how things were to go. However it wasn’t long before we were back to the energetic, pumping pop of the first act, only this time it was sexier, the boys in tight black pants and white vests. In particular, Blake Zelesnikar, who had caught my eye in the first half, was finally given his moment, first in a sexy duet with Canterra and then on his own. Judging from the audience reception, and the screams of delight from some of the girls (and no doubt some of the boys), I wasn’t the only one to notice him. This boy has sexual charisma in spades. James Boyd too got some amazing solo work in this half, and was the first one to show off his rippling torso. When all the guys finally got their shirts off and danced topless, there was no doubting that this is what the audience had come to see. It was also at this point my critical faculties deserted me. So who cares if it’s not exactly artistic? When Zelesnikar is flexing his muscular torso, nothing else seems to matter. Putting their jackets back on, they came out for an encore of (fittingly) “Sexy and I know it”, one by one stripping off their jackets again and flirting with the audience. By this time everyone was screaming for more, and I couldn’t really blame them.

    It’s not a show that’s likely to appeal to dance purists, and in all honesty it’s a bit safe, especially when you consider what Michael Clark was doing to pop music twenty odd years ago. But if you want to see some sexy boys, strutting their stuff and showing off their virtuosity (and let’s face it, who doesn’t?) then this is the show for you.

    Rock the Ballet runs until June 28th at the Peacock Theatre.

    3 stars for the show (that’s the critic in me)
    5 stars for Zelesnikar (OK, so I can be shallow.)

  • FILM REVIEW | Getting Go, The Go Doc Project

    ★★★★★ | Getting Go, The Go Doc Project

    For three weeks in the summer of 2012 filmmakers Cory James Krueckeberg and Tom Gustafson (the producer/director behind the cute ‘MARIACHI GRINGO’ and the gay cult film ‘WERE THE WORLD MINE’) followed two guys all over New York with a camera and a script and nothing else.

    Tanner, a slightly nerdy recent College Grad had devised a plan to shoot a documentary about the NYC nightlife scene in order to meet a really hot go-go guy that he has cyber-obsessed with. And this is the film about their film.

    They followed the couple filming each other all over the city in cafes and bars, rooftops, dance clubs, their own living rooms and bathrooms and eventually into their bedrooms too. As the story developed and the relationship between ‘Go’ and ‘Doc’ evolved in front of us, there is a very definite, and somewhat unexpected, shift in the power axis between the two men.

    This really is guerrilla filmmaking at its best. No crew, a kickstarter budget of $10K, one actor and one real life go-go boy in an innovative hybrid of documentary, narrative and art film that is such a delight. Following hot on the heels of movies such as ‘WEEKEND’ ‘KEEP THE LIGHTS ON’ and ‘HORS LES MURS’ this wee drama is part of a very welcome new movement of edgy queer cinema.

    By no means perfect (like the editing!) but it has many things to really love… such as a rather brilliant soundtrack of new music from gay musicians… not to forget the acting of these two young leads who are not exactly tough on the eye to watch even with their clothes on. It also packs an energy and excitement that is quite infectious.

    The future of gay cinema looks very promising indeed when new work like this is being made… and finding the audience it deserves.

  • FILM REVIEW | Grace Of Monaco

    This story of the beautiful Oscar Winning movie star who swapped being Hollywood royalty for her own real life Prince Charming who swept her off her feet, starts almost at the beginning. It’s the final day on the Set of ‘High Society’ the last movie that Grace Kelly will ever make, and the very next day she and her entire family set sail across the ocean. There she will have the fairytale wedding that every little girl dreams about after which she will naturally live happily ever after.

    We then fast forward a few years and the new Princess’s two children are already school age but the magic of living in her own palace is wearing thin, especially as she rarely sees the Prince who is always so busy with affairs of state. She is tempted then when the director Alfred Hitchcock turns up one day clutching a new script of his next movie with a role of a lifetime for her and a paycheck of $1 million.

    However the offer has come at a most inappropriate time as the Monaco Treasury is broke and the country is in the middle of a big row with France. It is essentially about money, but in reality it is also more about which leader can shout loudest: De Gaulle or Rainier. The spat is littered with threats and scaremongering and as it escalates the two neighbors edge closer to the real possibility of war.

    The French media, fed by their Government, are stressing that Grace is the real problem for both Rainier and Monaco which causes more friction between the Prince and his Princess. Listening to the wise old priest that she runs to every time she is upset (she’s there quite a lot…) and taking his advice, Grace launches an all-out charm offensive to not only turn herself into the most perfect Consort the Principality has ever seen, but also to turn the tide of media coverage to her favor.

    Her idea of stopping the impending hostilities is to throw a Grand Ball and invite tout society and world leaders, including De Gaulle, to attend. Naturally they all show up and the Princess all glowing in her white ballgown, and bedecked with the crown jewels, addresses the guests with a simpering speech about how love conquers all. There is naturally not a dry eye in the house during the standing ovation. Amongst the crowd is Robert McNamara the US Secretary of Defense who turns to the President of France and literally says ‘Well, you won’t be dropping any bombs on Grace now will you Charlie?’

    De Gaulle is speechless, as we are too, although having sat through almost 90 minutes of this drama that is funny in all the wrong places, we are now quite used to howlers like this. Despite an ‘A’ list cast led by Nicole Kidman playing Grace who is playing Nicole Kidman, and being directed by the respected award-winning Olivier Dahan, this is one of the worst biopics I have sat through in ages. How Miss Kidman kept a straight face saying lines like ‘Colonialism is SO last century’ I will never know. Or hearing Frank Langella as the Priest churn out ‘You have come to Monaco to play the greatest role of your career.’

    And Rainier (played by Tim Roth) didn’t look that amused when his wife trying to cheer him up when she blurted out ‘who wants this old throne anyway?’ Well evidently he and the Grimaldi family who had been hanging on to it for centuries. If only they had turned up the heart-tugging overly-dramatic soundtrack just a tad more, they could simply have drowned all of this out.

    Billed as a fictional account of real events, the movie strived so hard to be light and frothy that even in the deeper moments an immaculately coiffured Grace still radiates like she didn’t have a skin care in the world. Pretty to look at, this travelogue for the Monaco Tourist Board however was very careful not to include many of the poor people that Grace kept pleading she cared so much for.

    There were some odd casting decisions too with Parker Posey really misplaced as an officious straight-laced Aide, and an unrecognizable Robert Lindsay who seemed so uncomfortable trying to play the arrogant shipping magnate Onassis. Sir Derek Jacobi couldn’t have been more outrageous as the Chief of Protocol, and he made me think if only the whole movie had been as odd as he, it could well have turned into a fun piece of camp.

    The present Grimaldi family have objected to this movie in very strong language ostensibly because they vehemently hate the way that they have been portrayed, but probably also because they loathe bad Lifetime TV biopics too. Harvey Weinstein the American distributor has disowned the movie too now that it hasn’t a chance in hell of getting a single one of those Oscars he loves to collect. If he does relent and actually releases the movie in the US, he’ll be lucky to get his costs back.

    The last word goes to Peter Bradshaw, Film Critic of the UK’s The Guardian Newspaper who wrote that a new level of mediocrity in biopics had been established with the recent appalling ‘Diana’ about the Princess of Wales. Now there is a new critique term he has coined which is ‘it’s worse than Diana’ and Grace is the first one to achieve that and set the bar for mediocrity even lower.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Roof

    ★★★ | The Roof

    A door opens and an immaculate figure steps out onto a roof. Knives are sharpened and the game begins. Set within the suspended reality of a brutal and unforgiving game, this mix of intimate three-dimensional sound and free running aims to transport the audience into the body of a reluctant hero, desperate to stay alive.

    Following Electric Hotel and Motor Show, The Roof is Requardt and Rosenberg’s third production and takes place in a purpose-built arena designed by Jon Bausor, set designer for the London 2012 Paralympic Opening Ceremony.

    The Roof is a blend of dance, free-running inspired moves and surreal fragments of disconnected stories. Staged in a car park at the back of The National Theatre, the set is a multi-level 360-degree panoramic creation. A figure emerges and begins trying to complete levels on a game, aiming to rescue a D.J. trapped in a small box representing her brashly decorated bedroom. The game is one that the audience, standing watching, are immersed in via headphones and witty sound design. The opening moment where a heavy breathing figure appears to run across the gravel, approach you from the back and whisper into your ear was inspired and left the audience all looking round in alarm.

    It all sounded really exciting. The rain held off, the audience stood poised for a unique and immersive experience but sadly, the show failed to deliver. The free-running element felt tired and relentless and lacked thrill. I’ve definitely seen better examples of free running. The narrative felt slightly contrived and weak with a script that didn’t always work and the dance moves, although imaginative, failed to glue the piece together. The costumes were inventive and wouldn’t have looked out of place on a t-shirt designed by a hipster from Hackney (women in 70s suits with rabbit faces with no eyes, surreal drum majorettes and people with triangular heads).

    I liked elements of the show (mainly the really clever and immersive sound design and the occasional glimpses of humour) but on the whole the show left me a bit cold, in spite of it being a warm night. Looking round at the rest of the audience and a lot of slightly bored expressions, I could see I wasn’t alone in this.

    The Roof runs until 28th of June 2014

    Buy tickets here: www.liftfestival.com

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Buddy Holly Story – Sheffield Lyceum and National Tour

    ★★★★ | The Buddy Holly Story – Sheffield Lyceum and National Tour

    In this rock ‘n’ roll spectacular, the greatest hits of Holly’s all to short career are featured, including Rave On, Peggy Sue, Heartbeat, Every day, Raining in My Heart and True Love Ways and it was wholly refreshing to see a show based on the songs of one artist which wasn’t just a run of the mill jukebox musical, as the songs actually formed part of the story as opposed to just being shoehorned into a flimsy narrative. Pleasingly, the show focussed generally on the more upbeat numbers, as opposed to the slower ballads, which gave the show a real energy.

    The actors and musicians were wholly impressive, with a relatively small cast filling out a number of roles. Their musical ability was second to none, with many of the performers playing a number of musical instruments and undertaking absolutely cracking renditions of the classic songs, all played live on stage. Glen Joseph, in the title role, really came to life in the musical numbers, especially in the latter half of the second act, when his confidence and talent shone through. Lydia Fraser sang spectacularly, and Will Pearce impressed as Ritchie Valens with his performance of La Bamba

    In terms of its presentation, the show is very basic, with a largely static set and a lack of spectacular song and dance numbers. But the show is not so much about the visuals, but all about the music, and the onstage cast simply couldn’t be faulted in terms of their musical prowess. The first half of each act was narrative driven; and the latter half was more focussed on the musical performances. With the musical numbers performed either as scenes in the recording studio or as concert performances, the songs flowed naturally through the story and still sounded absolutely superb, despite them being written nearly 60 years ago. Those who are not so familiar with Holly’s music will be surprised at the number of songs they will recognise.

    The show could have done with a slightly more dynamic set and staging, and the volume of the music far outweighed the vocals during some of the numbers, but those quibbles aside, the show was tremendously entertaining and infectious with the temptation to tap your feet and sing along proving absolutely impossible to resist. The whole theatre was up on their feet during the closing scenes and encore; and the standing ovation that the cast received was well deserved.

    As a rock ‘n’ roll musical, Buddy is hard to beat.

    Buddy – The Buddy Holly Story is currently playing at the Sheffield Lyceum until the 14th June (http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/event/buddy-14/ ) before continuing on its national tour (http://www.buddythemusical.com/ )

  • Drag Queens Finale Tonight Episode 8

    The country’s most fierce drag competition, Tranny Shack Academy, comes to a climax as one aspiring drag queen wins the coveted title in a tense finale at Madame JoJo’s in Soho.

    But as one career is born the stage doors close on The Drag Queens of London as we see The Buffalo Girls and Vicki Vivacious pull off high profile gigs and a debut professional performance by Rosie Beaver’s best friend Nick as Violet Sparks.

    Hightlight quotes of the episodes:

    And quotes
    · “Poor Silver she has to put up with some shit, I tell you…sorry girl” – Lady Lloyd reflects on Silver’s tolerance.

    ·”I’m going to punch her in the f**king face when she gets here” – Silver is angry about Baga’s lack of punctuality

    · “There no party like a buffalo party” – Baga on The Buffalo Girls

    ·”I don’t actually think I’ve ever performed in a venue this Butch” – Vicki Vivacious on the prospect of performing at a straight pub in Watford.

    ·”They can’t spell cocktail let alone make one” – Vicki isn’t convinced of the sophistication of the clientele in the Watford pub.

    ·”No one or nothing is going to stop me from doing what I want to do” – Vicki gets fighting spirit.

    · “I don’t want to sit there and watch this, I want to be them – Ruby Wednesday is eager to break out in the drag scene.

    ·”Coming into the Familyyy Fierce, made me feel like I belonged to somewhere” – Ruby Wednesday on what the Familyyy Fierce means to him

    ·”You better be f**king ready because were coming to get you” – Ruby Wednesday on a new wave of drag.

    Drag Queens of London is on tonight on London Live at 10:00PM

  • TV: Beckham Into The Unknown

    We love a bit of Beckham, well in fact, if pushed, we love all of him…

    (more…)

  • Big Brother’s Danielle McMahon Talks About Gay Marriage

    We knew it wouldn’t take long before something would be said about same-sex marriage…

    The lingerie model and devout Catholic from Glasgow, Danielle McMahon, 25, who is currently appearing in Big Brother 2014 has spoken out against same-sex marriage during a conversation with Kimberley.

    Kimberley was recalling a story in which she had experienced some anti-gay sentiments at a church, saying, ‘I went to church with my sister, close to my house… we have a lot of friends who are gay and we walked in there and they were absolutely slating gay people… [saying] they’re in hell and all this sort of stuff and I just walked out. How could someone be so horrible… I find it so crazy.”

    Danielle countered,

    “That’s too much. I don’t agree with that. I’m not in favour of same-sex marriage but I’d never turn around and say, you’re going to hell… God still loves you regardless. I just don’t agree with it in the church of God.

    ‘The Catholic church don’t believe in same-sex marriage in the church and I go by what the Pope says.”

    When Kimberley made the point about marriage being a legal document and that the Church was not needed to get married, Danielle replied, ‘The only point I see in marriage is through God in the Catholic church… or else, to me, it’s not marriage really.’

    New housemate Marlon also got involved in the conversation adding, ‘ think, if you want to get married, get married to who the hell you want to get married to. It’s as simple as that.’

  • BIG BROTHER nominations are in: Who will be the first to go

    The Big Brother house mates have nominated for the first time and the results are in.

    The housemates with the most votes and will face the public vote are: Danielle McMahon, Jale Karaturp and Tamara Stewart-Wood.

    Jale received 5 nominations, while Danielle and Tamara both got four. Pauline Bennett was immune from eviction due to her being a Power Housemate, however she will be casting a ‘Killer Nomination’ which will put who ever she chooses up for eviction every week they are in the game.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Sex With Animals

    ★★★★★ |Sex With Animals

    ‘Sex with Animals’ is a must see for those who like one-man shows, information about animal mating habits or just want a fun filled hour. Ryan Good will keep you spellbound and leave you wanting more.

    I don’t often recommend theatre productions because watching performers is very personal and what I like may not be what you would. But Ryan Good’s ‘Sex with Animals’ is a powerful, educating and entertaining hour-long, one lion (man) show.

    Go see it. Ryan holds the audience with humour and personal insights. He has cleverly put animal sex (including humans) under the microscope. Intertwined is the story of his love life which is different to the norm but the way he explains it makes it intriguing not embarrassing.

    This is an intimate theatre but at no point did Ryan make us feel uncomfortable. In fact he got one member of the audience (I’m not saying who) to admit he had tried sucking his own penis. Well, ignoring my women readers, who hasn’t?

    Ryan’s hilarious examination of the sexual habits of the animal kingdom encourages the audience to the think about their sexual habits. At the same time he gave us a snap shot of potential different techniques.

    We got to hear of females who lick their partner’s penis whilst they are copulating (obviously not humans) and penguins who do what some religious fundamentalists think we shouldn’t do.

    Go see him tonight. If it’s midweek you’ll have time to watch his production, grab a fish and chip supper in a trendy Highbury and Islington restaurant and still be home by 10pm. If it’s the weekend you’ll feel energised to try out your chat-up lines at whatever pub or club you end up in.

    It’s just a pity about the name which I feel may put some people off. The production has nothing to do with bestiality despite what the title suggests.

    Ryan may have thought that courting controversy would help him with publicity but I feel it puts potential audiences off googling to find out what others thought of the production. Something like ‘Animal Sex’ would have served him better.
    ‘Sex with Animals’ is at the ‘Hope Theatre’, 207 Upper Street, Islington, N1 1R1 until the 21 June, starting at 7.30pm. Well worth the £10 price. For booking visit www.thehopetheatre.com

  • THEATRE REVIEW | A Simple Space, Udderbelly: London

    How long can you hold your breath for? How many back flips can you do in one go? Can you stand on your head…or even somebody else’s?

    In the London premiere of the show that has captivated sell-out festival audiences around the world, seven young acrobats compete for your laughter, gasps and applause with non-stop, mind-boggling feats of breath-taking acrobatics. Spend a riveting hour with one of Australia’s hottest young circus ensembles, Gravity & Other Myths, as they push themselves to their physical limits and beyond in a captivating show of physicality, skill and daring.

    I have to confess that I can barely stand up without falling over so these young (and rather lithe and good looking) Australian acrobats were always going to impress me. The show is a stripped back, pure acrobatics show that manages to captivate and entertain with aplomb for an exhilarating hour. The show ranges from human pyramids, death defying aerial manoeuvres and feats of strength through to tongue in cheek comedy, absurdity and joyful physicality. Part circus, part gymnastics and part contemporary dance, this show had the audience on its’ feet with a loud and boisterous standing ovation at the end of the show.

    Did I mention the men too? It’s worth the price of the ticket alone just to see them. They’re muscular lithe and not afraid to take off their tops (and at one point trousers too).

    The show runs at the Udderbelly on the South Bank until the 6th of July.

    Buy tickets here: https://www.underbelly.co.uk/node/5325256