THEGAYUK

Category: Entertainment

  • All-Stars are announced for RuPaul’s Drag Race

    It’s here, queer and happening… All-Stars 3 of RuPaul’s Drag Race has announced who’s going to star in the new series.

    And there’s a lot of gold lamé.

    Ru recently revealed who the queens are for the next series of RuPaul’s Drag Race – All Stars – but only 9 of the ten – which makes us wonder what’s happened to the 10th! She said, “For ‘All Stars‘ season three, the expectations are high, and these mighty queens do not disappoint. These girls are talented, hungry, and ready to do whatever it takes.”

    The Queens have been Ruvealed as:

    Morgan McMichaels (Season 2)

    Shangela (Seasons 2 and 3)

    Milk (Season 6)

    BenDelaCreme (Season 6)

    Kennedy Davenport (Season 7)

    Trixie Mattel (Season 7)

    Chi Chi Devayne (Season 8)

    Thorgy Thor (Season 8)

    Aja (Season 9)

     

    FIERCE…

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Of Kith And Kin, Bush Theatre, London

    ★★★ | Of Kith And Kin, Bush Theatre, London

    After a run in Sheffield Theatres’ studio, gay surrogacy themed comedy-drama Of Kith and Kin hits London at The Bush Theatre. Oliver and Daniel are 21st-century gays married with good jobs and a flat. Now it’s time to take the natural next step, start a family with Oliver’s best girl-friend acting as surrogate.

    Chris Thompson’s play is a three-act drama and is mixed in tone and effectiveness. Starting out as a light sitcom with a twist, it morphs into a courtroom drama and ends with a more emotionally intelligent third act. There’s something distinctly dated about the first act in spite of the modern update. There’s all the classic sit-com ingredients: happy couple, monstrous mother-in-law descending, waters about to break and high camp. The difference, of course, being that there are two fathers and one mother. The humour is tired at times and whilst it has wryly amusing moments it’s never uproariously funny. Joanna Bacon does a good job as the brash mum from Woolwich but it still feels limp. Speaking of limp: James Lance has some unfortunate mannerisms. He’s playing a 46-year-old gay man with a mischievous sense of camp but to me, he didn’t quite nail this and it felt like an unfortunate and unintentional misfire. His swishy hips and flapping wrists didn’t convince me and it felt like a straight man’s imperfect attempt at portraying a slightly effeminate gay man which was grating rather than being entirely offensive.

    Act two moves on to the courtroom and again misses the mark. The key ingredient to a courtroom drama is a sense of tension but this felt slack in spite of strong performances from Donna Berlin as an improbably wisecracking judge. Finally, the third act is a more moving piece of drama and the play feels like it finds its feet but still, there’s a lot of holes and moments where the characters’ motivations feel unconvincing.

    On the positive side: James Lance is a nuanced performer (in spite of his poorly pitched 1970s style interpretation of a gay man’s mannerisms). Equally strong in supporting his work are Joshua Silver and Chetna Pandya. There’s also an interesting and well-thought set of themes to the play. Thompson looks at intergenerational differences in the expectations of his character. Oliver at 46, was kicked out of home for being gay and has difficult family relationships, never expecting that monogamy, marriage and children would be on the horizon. Conversely, Daniel who is over a decade younger has every expectation that these things are part of his agenda and in spite of all this progress, Priya’s teenage son doesn’t seem to be having an easy time of ‘having it all’. The confrontations of the final act are genuinely moving and raise interesting questions.

    It’s good to see a thought-provoking drama with some strong performances and emotive scenes. Whilst not excellent it has merits and is worth a look at the refurbished and plush Bush Theatre.

    Of Kith and Kin plays at the Bush Theatre until 25th November 2017

  • 10 totally homoerotic horror movies that aren’t suppose to be gay

    10 totally homoerotic horror movies that aren’t suppose to be gay

    With Halloween just around the corner, we thought we’d look through the campest, gayest most homoerotic movies ever to grace this planet.

    The way-to-good looking heartthrob, who incidentally always has great hair, teeth and wears Daz white Ts only to eventually get ripped and shredded by an ugly monster, it’s a bit like Saturday nights out in town.

    10. Jeepers Creepers 2


    First in our list of homoerotic horror movies is the 2005 flick Jeepers Creepers. The first time we see the winged monster from Jeepers Creepers (in the first movie) he’s preying after some boy in a cornfield, clearly, after tasting boy fear, he can’t help himself but go after an entire busload of jocks. It’s a bit like Bait Bus but messier, a bit like HazeHim.com but deadlier. So after the bus, they are all travelling on, suffers a flat tyre, the boys proceed to lie on top of the bus half naked basking in the sunshine as well as taking extended urinating breaks together.

    After doing away with the grown-ups on the trip the Monster starts picking on the jocks, leaving the first victim half naked and provocatively draped on the ground for the remainder of the film. Hot and Homoerotic.

    Gay Rating 60%  BUY DVD FROM AMAZON

    9. Hostel

    Clean freak, misogynist, Christian Bale naked. Gay. The way in which he kills his female callers, hookers and models suggest a certain, I dunno, hatred of women. I’m not sure, but it’s a theory and I’m putting it out there. However, he does put an axe in Jared Leto’s face and let’s face it if that isn’t a euphemism I’m not sure what is…

    Gay Rating 75%  BUY DVD FROM AMAZON

    Nightmare On Elm Street

    Johnny Depp in a tiny, itty bitty crop top, with TV on his crotch, being pulled through a bed. Gay. End Of.

    Gay Rating 83%  BUY DVD FROM AMAZON

    NEXT: More Nightmare On Elm Street

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  • THEATRE REVIEW | Albion, Almeida Theatre, London

    ★★★★★ |  Albion, Almeida Theatre

    Mike Bartlett is riding on a high at the moment after the success of the second season of woman-scorned drama ‘Dr Foster’. As well as the much acclaimed TV drama he’s also a versatile and witty playwright with a string of theatre hits including the stellar “King Charles II” (what Prince Charlie did next), “Game” (the privileged classes shoot chavs for fun) and the epic “Earthquakes in London” (I think you can work that one out for yourself).

    His new play Albion is a sprawling three-hour epic concerning a successful businesswoman who uproots and plonks herself and her family down in a rural idyll with a dream of restoring an historic garden. Audrey is a bit of an uber bitch on one level. Suffering from profound grief following the death of her son in armed combat, she’s prickly and caustic, riding roughshod over her wet second husband and her disaffected daughter. Not to mention her guilt ridden middle class angst about the help, her strained relationship with her lesbian novelist best friend as well as her less than sympathetic views towards the local villagers who soon come to despise her. She’s also a strangely sympathetic character and is painfully real. It’s a tight script with echoes of Chekov (think disaffected people knowingly lurching towards disaster). Watching this feels a bit like settling down with a long but enthralling novel. It’s more than just a story. There’s a heavy layer of allegory and Bartlett turns his razor sharp gaze on to the people of England and their conflicted feelings towards their country.

    It’s a cracking play with multiple layers and is both thought provoking and emotionally involving without being preachy or patronising. The cast are universally strong, none more so than the fantastic Victoria Hamilton who plays Audrey. She’s been all over the TV of late as the put upon neighbour in Doctor Foster, The Queen Mum in Netfilx’s The Crown and the double crossing spy in the BBC2’s The Game. She’s magnetic and more than strong enough to carry this strong central role of a difficult but ultimately likeable woman.

    The stage set is absorbing and convincing. A huge tree dominates a long garden which the audience sit around in a horseshoe shape and it’s hard not to be taken in and feel like you’re out in an English country garden watching the human wild life fight it out.

    This is a rare treat. Go and see it while you can.

    Albion plays at the Almeida Theatre  24th of November 2017

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Venus In Fur, Theatre Royal Haymarket

    ★★★ | Venus In Fur, Theatre Royal Haymarket

    THEATRE REVIEW | Venus In Fur, Theatre Royal Haymarket

    A playwright/director bemoans the lack of female acting talent after a long day auditioning for the female lead in his new play. In walks Vanda, a ditzy and frenetic actress who’s turned up late but is determined that she’s going to audition for the part whether he wants her to or not.

    David Ives 2010 play is a twisting sexual and gender power play and a play within a play. The piece that Vonda is auditioning for is based around the 1870 novella of almost the same name (add an ‘s’ to the ‘fur’) by Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch. The clue is in the name: masochism was named after Sacher-Masoch and his desire to serve and be punished. The two characters read from the play and the roles they play both in reality and fantasy are in a state of constant flux. Thomas is a man who once stated that working in theatre was a great way to get laid but Vanda is more than prepared to take him on.

    It’s a slight play in some ways and is uneven at times with occasional absurd moments Whilst it has timely themes with the current Weinstein scandal, it’s not exactly searing. That doesn’t really matter here, though. It’s an OK play and is an entertaining 90 minutes but there’s an odd phenomena going on. The actress is far greater than the play. Nathalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones) is totally hypnotising. Her co-star, David Oakes (currently on TV in Victoria), is more than adequate and is also easy on the eye but whatever your persuasion, I suspect you’re eyes will be drawn to every move, intonation and expression from the magnificent Nathalie Dormer. It’s sometimes hard to concentrate on anything but her central performance.

    Ignore the flimsiness of the play, although if S and M is your thing or you’ve ever contemplated this as a pastime then all the better. The main pleasure for most is the chance to watch such a virtuoso performance. Well worth seeing.

    Venue In Fur plays at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until 9th December 2018

  • FILM REVIEW | Double Date

    ★★★ | Double Date

    Two men get tricked by two very attractive women and it’s a ‘Double Date’ from hell!

    Jim (Danny Morgan) and Alex (Michael Socha) are typical 20-something men. All they want to do is drink and get laid, however, there’s one problem. Jim, fast approaching 30, is a virgin. Yes, he’s never gotten laid. He’s not all that bad. He’s nice and all, but good-looking Alex gets most of the attention and the girls. But when two women coincidentally seek out Jim by making an easy play for him, not all is what it seems. You see, these two women Lulu (Georgia Groome) and Kitty (Kelly Wenham), who happen to be sisters, are looking for a male virgin as a sacrificial lamb for their sick father (boy is he sick – and skeletal!), and Jim has stupidly posted his profile on a virgin dating site. It’s not too long before the girls lure the men into their home (a huge mansion) where they reveal their dark and sinister sides, and the boys will definitely not be getting laid on this double date!

    Double date is an amusing enough movie that doesn’t really take itself too seriously. The cast are all in good, scary and bloody form, and Morgan brings a bit of warmth and cuteness to his role (especially when he takes Kitty to his parents’ house for a brief birthday party). It’s all in good fun, and properly executed thanks to director Benjamin Barfoot. And while some of the fighting scenes forge on the unbelievable, at 90 minutes it’s not much of an investment in your time. And why yes, it’s the perfect double date movie!

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Hair, The Vaults, London

    ★★★ | Hair The Musical, The Vaults

    Hair, the original naked musical, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in a new production at The Vaults in London. Is the message that it sent in the hippie lovin’ 60s still relevant today? You betcha.

    When Hair was originally produced off-Broadway in New York City in 1967, its message of anti-establishment and free love, anti-war, and its display of full frontal nudity shocked audiences back then, leading to more publicity and packed houses. Now that we have Donald Trump in the most powerful office in the world, and with the UK ready to break off from the EU, and not to mention the political and socioeconomic changes happening around the world, Hair’s message is perhaps more relevant than ever before. But is it actually a good show?

    In the tiny, cosy and very hot theatre that is The Vaults under Waterloo station, 14 actors playing hippies sing and dance and sway their young lithe bodies all over the dirt floor that is the stage, and for one brief moment at the very end of the first half, they all get naked. And before and after in the second half, we are sung and spoken to by these youngsters as they tell their anti-war tales and burn their draft cards and the unlucky ones who are sent to fight in a war but come back with limbs, and emotions, gone.

    Yet all the favourite songs are here, songs that include ‘Aquarius,’ ‘Good Morning Starshine,’ and ‘Let the Sunshine In,’ songs that make this show famous, more so than the script. So if you’ve never actually seen Hair performed, go and see it now as this might be your last opportunity, but don’t expect to be wowed and awed in this production, though it might help if you take some stimulants to get you through the evening as this show is as mellow as can be.

    Hair plays at the Vaults Theatre, London until 3rd December 2017

  • TV REVIEW | Red Dwarf XII Siliconia

    You’d be forgiven for wondering why so many Sci-Fi shows have such high budgets when you see what Red Dwarf pulls off this week on a far lower one.

    The much announced and high awaited “Siliconia”, aka “The One Where Everyone is Kryten” has it all: questions about obedience, sides and morality, an epic fight scene and oh such feels! Yes, hidden behind his android mask and by own admission feeling rather ill because of it, Chris Barrie delivers a heartbreaking speech that will stick with you for quite some time.

    Meanwhile, Danny John-Jules gets the laughs this week with several zingers while Craig Charles makes a meal of Lister’s battle against his new android mind taking over.

    In other scenes, Robert Llewellyn shows off the humanised traits of the original Kryten very well as the android questions where his loyalties lay.
    An almost cinematic effort by Doug Naylor who by now is clearly a seasoned writer/director.

    Red Dwarf XII is tonight (19th October) 21.00 – Dave

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Kite Runner, Sheffield Theatres

    ★★★ | The Kite Runner 

    THEATRE REVIEW | The Kite Runner, Sheffield Theatres

    Set against the historical backdrop of social and political change in Afghanistan, The Kite Runner tells the story of Amir and Hassan, who are best friends despite their difference in religion, class and social standing. The pair are inseparable, until Amir stands by as a shocking event tears apart their world and their friendship. But as the years pass, Amir has the opportunity to redeem himself and redress his guilt in a way which he would have never imagined possible.

    The play is based on the best-selling book by Khaled Hosseini and is a heart-breaking tale of friendship, betrayal, divided loyalties, family acceptance and social pressure. It also touches on themes of culture, religion, terrorism and of the life experienced by a country faced with invasion, dictatorship and war. Whilst the central the themes are numerous and remain relevant, the staging is stripped back and straightforward; and the whole show is presented with no fuss or spectacle, which allows the writing, script and narrative to shine through. The play’s strength lies in its flowing language which reflects the source material and, as you listen to the actors, you feel like you are reading a book. The addition of traditional Afghan instruments providing an atmospheric, minimalist soundtrack which enhances the uncluttered approach and provides a real atmosphere to the proceedings.

    In terms of performances, David Ahmad was broadly engaging in his performance as the narrator and protagonist, Amir, although never fully convinced in terms of his emotions; whilst Jo Ben Ayed provided a subtle turn as the meek and withdrawn Hassan. Standing out from the ensemble cast was Emilio Doorgasingh as Baba, Amir’s father, with a commanding and intimidating stage presence befitting of his character.

    It is an ambitious play which encompasses many themes and many key aspects of the character’s lives over a number of years, meaning that there is a lot to get through, and the second act does feel slightly crammed and borders on being a little overlong towards the end; but the story overall remains absorbing and holds the attention.

    The Kite Runner is a visually restrained production which provides for a thought-provoking, relevant and touching story which carries with it a lot of emotion.

    The Kite Runner is at Sheffield Theatres until 21st October 2017 before continuing on its national tour.

  • Could George Michael be Christmas number 1?

    Last Chrisssstmassss….

    Could George Michael be Christmas number 1?

    So could George Michael and WHAM! finally get to number 1 this Christmas with their hit “Last Christmas”?

    Fans of the late superstar have vowed to get WHAM! to number 1 in 2017. Despite its success as a Yuletide favourite,  the WHAM! superhit has never been Number 1 in the UK. In the year it was released, 1984, Band Aids’ “Do They Know It’s Christmas” knocked them off the top spot.

    “Last Christmas” has sold over 2 million copies as of January 2017 and is the biggest-selling single in UK chart history not to reach number one.

    Betway has now placed WHAM’s chances of getting to number 1 at 4/6.

    Betway’s Alan Alger, said: “We’ve seen some interesting early money for Wham! to be this year’s Christmas No.1 and have had to cut our offering from 11/4 to 4/6.

    “Considering we don’t know which tunes will be launched ahead of the festive season, 4/6 is a short price and could get even shorter as we approach the festive countdown.

    “The X Factor was once a safe bet for Christmas No.1, with Shayne Ward and Alexandra Burke bookending four years of chart-toppers from 2005 to 2008, but this year’s winning act is as big as 6/1 to return to the top.”

    So who else is in the running, well, there’s the usual suspects, including Cliff Richard (50/1), Slade (100/1), The Pogues (100/1) and Wizzard (100/1).

  • Star Trek had not one but two franchise firsts in the last episode

    Star Trek Discovery is pretty groundbreaking…

    Not just because the ship looks incredible, the strong female lead and a gay couple – with a storyline… but now they’ve gone into the final frontier – the f-bomb and beyond.

    Yes, some fans were left stunned after Monday night’s episode (episode 5) when not one but two F-bombs were dropped, by two characters. Cadet Tily (Mary Wiseman) was the first person to ever say the word, followed by Lt. Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp).

    Rapp told Indiewire that it was “f**king cool” to say f**k… saying, “We were aware of it, and we embraced it, and we had a blast with it” .

    Too right.

    The other first was the scene between Lt Stamets and his partner, Doctor Hugh Culber (Wilson Cruz) having a normal, but cute, conversation in their living quarters. Previously there has only been snatches of gay couples in the Star Trek universe, but they got a full scene, being normal, brushing their teeth together…

    Speaking about his character, Rapp said,

    “I’m really excited and happy when a gay character is a part of a story — especially when a gay character is created in a complex and human and non-stereotypical, interesting way, and that has certainly been the case with Stamets,

    “And you get to see his relationship. There was a little glimpse with Sulu in Beyond, and it was a nice nod.

    “But in this case, we actually get to see me with my partner in conversation, in our living quarters, you get to see our relationship over time, treated as any other relationship would be treated.”
    The couple even got a nod from George Takei, Star Trek’s original, Sulu

    Bravo Discovery!

     

    You can catch up with Star Trek Discovery on Netflix in the UK.