Panto season’s over? “Oh No It Isn’t”! Following on from last year’s hugely successful run of Sleeping Beauty, Bournemouth’s first ever alternative panto, the cast are at it again only this time they’re getting to grips with Jack’s Stalk.
Jack ‘N His Big Stalk
The wonderful Bourne Free (Bournemouth Pride) team in association with Over The Rainbow charity, who help with all sexual health issues, are pleased to see the return of some of their beloved stars from last year, including: Lucinda Lashes (Ben), Paul Lawrence Thomas (Cosmic), Cassie (Lea Martin), Cassidy Connors (Wesley Sebastian), Richard Facer and Jason Burch.
It seems the stalk is not the only thing getting bigger though down in Bournemouth as two new stars, Sheila Tackya (Xchange Club Hostess) and Vielida Moppe (UK Drag Idol winner 2016), will be joining the panto family who, due to popular demand last year, will be offering a much longer run.
We advise you BOOK NOW as tickets will sell out fast for this guaranteed night of hilarity and innuendo! Over 16’s recommended.
The show runs from the 18th – 22nd January 2017 at the Shelley Theatre, Bournemouth. Tickets can be purchased from shelleytheatre.admit-one.eu
Bourne Free Pride takes place the weekend of 30th June – 2nd July 2017.
You know the Disney film now watch Aladdin live on stage at the Prince Edward Theatre in the heart of London’s theatreland. The show runs for 2 hours and 30 minutes. It includes one interval.
Christmas wouldn’t be Christmas without a couple of cut-price synthetic-fibre-clad drag queens, a Eurovision medley, and a huge sack full of festive double entendres and innuendos – we at THEGAYUK can’t wait for Kris Kringle to cum down our chimney – falalalala la la la la.
Producer Catia Ciarico and The Royal Vauxhall Tavern’s production of Charming Dick has more puns than letters to Santa requesting penis pumps. If you’ve a penchant for musical theatre, know your way around a winklepicker-tapping Dolly Parton number and the melody to ‘Money Money Money’ sends your baubles into a figgy-pudding frenzy, then this should be right up your North Pole.
Charming Dick is a posing-pouch-packed with everything an adult yuletide panto should be, audience participation – “oh yes there is”. A Twankey (Tim McArthur), a wicked witch (Matthew Floyd), a prince (Stewart Briggs) a Little Red Riding Hood/blind mouse/chem-sex party fag-hag (Abigail Carter-Simpson) and of course, a Big Dick (Ali Frederick). Imagine Westminster City Council as the witch, then you’ve got the Noel narrative.
Not every scene was like skating around the rink at Somerset House, a few of the lines took the same route as the lemon does with the Turkey on the nut-cracking day, and the ‘Twelve Day Of Christmas’ almost got lost in a snow-hole – but it all added to the jingle-belling jollity. Any mince pie indulgence from the derrieres-on-seats would have been worked off with the continuous guffaws.
This is a stuffer for your stocking, a trimming for your tree, full of festive vulgarity – head to the Cockpit Theatre and we hope you ‘Oh Cum All Ye Faithful’.
If we gave halves – we’d give three-and-half.
The Cockpit Theatre, Gateforth Street, London NW8 8EH 6 – 23 December 2016 | Doors at 7pm, show at 8pm £16 (adv), £18 (on the door), £12 (conc) | www.thecockpit.org.uk | | 020 7258 2925
If you want to see Ed Harris sitting on a couch for close to three hours, then Buried Child is the show for you.
Harris, film and television star, is excellent as Dodge, the father of two sons (dysfunctional doesn’t even come close to describing them). He lives in an old, ram shackled dilapidated house in Illinois with his wife Halie (Harris’ real-life wife Amy Madigan), who pops up in the first and third acts. Yes, this play has three acts, with two very quick ten-minute intervals between the acts. The last show I saw that had three acts, (The Intelligent Homosexual’s Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures), was very painful to sit through and felt a bit like Chinese water torture. Buried Child, playing at Trafalgar Studios, is not that bad but it still feels like a long show.
Harris does spend the whole time on centre stage, on the sofa, and he’s even on the sofa before the show even starts. Dodge and Halie share their home, unwillingly, with their two grown up sons. They’ve obviously missed the financial gravy train and are unfortunately tethered to their poor lot in life. One son, Bradley (Gary Shelford), never left home, and who continues to bring into the house freshly dug up vegetables from no one knows where because there’s not a garden anywhere near the house. Tilden (Barnaby Kay), who used to live in New Mexico, has returned to the family homestead because of an incident that happened there. It’s up to Halie to be the sane member of the family, this is until their grandson Vince (Jeremy Irvine), son of Tilden, arrives in town with his girlfriend Shelly (Charlotte Hope). Immediately Shelly is uncomfortable in the house full of Vince’s miserable and depressed and sick grandfather, father and uncle. But there is a family secret that’s slightly mentioned which peaks Charlotte’s curiosity, and she wants to find out more. Meanwhile, Vince goes to the grocery store to buy booze for his grandfather because the bottle he had under the couch is missing, and while Charlotte is speaking to Bradley and wanting to know more about this secret and starts nagging a bit too much, he puts his hand into her mouth (at this point if I were her I would’ve run out of that house). But the secret that has doomed this troubled family is literally, and eventually, out of the bag, but not before Vince goes missing for the rest of the night and Halie returns home with the family pastor who’s just as uncomfortable in the house as Charlotte is. But it’s not until the final scene that leaves you with an image that you won’t soon forget.
Buried Child is a very wordy play. perhaps a bit too wordy, but it being a Sam Shepard play, there is lots that is over dramatic, over the top, and bordering close to the unbelievable. Surely cutting out one act would’ve made this play more biting, sharper and dramatic instead of long-winded, but director Scott Elliott is able, just, to keep the drama and tension up, while maintaining, until the very end, the mystery of this family’s tragic existence on earth.
Buried Child is now playing at Trafalgar Studios until February 18, 2017.
★★★★| Hunky dance champion, Scott Hastings throws the uptight world of the Australian Ballroom Federation into disarray when he strays from tradition and introduces his own steps onto the dance floor of the competition. Horrifying his mother, his coach, his friends and, most importantly, the federation’s chairman, his new moves ignite a spark in Fran, the dance school’s ugly duckling. As Scott rejects his potential new partners and routines, he secretly practices with Fran, falling in love as they do. But as they head to the Pan-Pacific Grand Prix Finals, not everything on the judging panel is ‘strictly ballroom’, and Scott is forced to choose between dancing from the approved moves and dancing from his heart.
In 1992, Baz Luhrmann opened his Red Curtain Trilogy of films with this offbeat satire on the world of ballroom dancing and the film quickly garnered critical praise and cult status. The show has come full circle, moving from stage to screen and back to stage in a production which is wildly vivacious, colourful and as camp as they come. Featuring songs from the film along with a number of new musical numbers, the camp factor is ramped up to the max, with the whole thing swishing around in a swirl of sequins, feathers, 80’s pastel shades and deliberately dodgy wigs.
Broadway veteran Sam Lips makes his UK theatre debut in the role of Scott, with his strengths primarily in his voice and his dancing; whilst Gemma Sutton relishes in a believable transformation from shy wall flower to leading lady, as Fran. Richard Grieve steals every scene he is in with his portrayal of the flamboyant Les Kendall and there are brilliantly understated performances from Tasmin Carroll and Stephen Matthews as Scott’s parents. Flesh out the cast with an ensemble of excellent dancers, including a plethora of perfect pecs and bulging biceps and you have a top notch cast who are clearly enjoying themselves as much as the audience.
The ingenious set design by Soutra Gilmour opened out into the key locations with remarkable versatility and comfortably accommodates Drew McOnie’s steady direction and thoroughly enjoyable choreography. The first act focuses primarily on the narrative, which never strays too far from the familiar film, whilst the second act opens up into a barrage of musical numbers which are unyielding from the opening number right up until the curtain falls, bringing the crown to their feet in thunderous approval.
With Strictly Come Dancing riding high in the public consciousness, the UK premiere of Strictly Ballroom is well timed, and proves just as undemanding but far more enjoyable than its nearest television counterpart. Whilst underneath the glitz, glam and gayness of it all, there is a rather corny Pygmalion-eque love story, this is one evening at the theatre that is more about the joy of the journey rather than the destination. Cheesy, tongue in cheek and with a distinct flavour of both irony and homage to the art form, it’s a smile inducing spectacle, and one can only hope that a national tour will follow.
Musicals really don’t come any gayer than this, and the show is a piece of unadulterated, joyous, feel-good theatre.
Strictly Ballroom is currently playing at West Yorkshire Playhouse, Leeds until 21st January 2017. For tickets, further information and details of their new season, visit their website at www.wyp.org.uk or call the box office on 0113 213 7700
Our fascination with murder shows no sign of waning. Crime fiction, newspaper headlines and ‘true life’ series like Making a Murderer and Serial present tales that are still as grimly compelling to us as the story of Oedipus murdering his father was to the ancient Greeks. ‘Thebes Land’ promises us the story of Martin, a young man who has committed a particularly grisly act of patricide. Not only is documentary maker ‘T’ going to tell us about the story of how he met Martin in order to write this play but he’s also going to present the real Martin on stage. The audience are safe, though. Martin is contained in a 3-metre high wire cage, as per Home Office regulations. Or is he up on the balcony under armed guard? Or is he watching us watching him via video-link?
Daniel Goldman’s cleverly adapted version of this South American piece is a wily beast of a play. It beguiles, tricks and twists until the audience aren’t quite sure what to believe at any point. It starts innocuously enough and promises to be a slightly dry but nonetheless intriguing academic discourse on the nature of theatre-making and storytelling. That’s the first trick of many. It’s a whole lot more than that. What evolves is multifaceted with reflections on multiple issues including the father/son relationship, truth and ego.
It’s a lot more than that too. It’s a grisly crime story, it’s titillating (whilst making you feel perturbed that it’s titillating) and it has a disturbing undertone of sexual tension that crops up between the two men. Hell, it even has a weird little segment where there’s a Whitney Houston number. There’s so much contained here that it leaves you reeling at points and not sure what to think about next.
There is the odd discordant moment where the self-mocking misses the mark but these are few and far between and the two actors are entirely credible. There’s something impish, attractive and likeable about Trevor White’s ‘T’ and Alex Austin gives good vulnerable but terrifying disaffected youth. If you like to be toyed with and want an unconventional night at the theatre then head down to The Arcola and take a cage-side seat. You won’t regret it.
Thebes Land plays at the Arcola Theatre until 23rd December
It’s Panto season in case you’ve been hiding under a rock, and with that comes shows that are silly and campy, some good and more than a few not so good. But does it really matter?
This year’s panto at Above the Stag is Beauty on the Piste, a reimagining of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast, and it’s exactly what you would expect, but perhaps a bit less.
This is the plot, in a nutshell: Morag (David Moss) and her son Mac (an adorable Ross Tucker) own a tea house high up in the mountains in a town called Les De Nice (Les Dennis – cue laugh here).
Passing by the tea house is the young lithe and blond boy Beau (Joshua Oakes-Rogers) and his father Gustav (Andrew Truluck). Beau is eternally horny and always on Grindr (we’re getting tired of Grindr being in almost every gay play nowadays). But nearby is where The Beast (Jamie Coles) lives, behind huge gates in an old mansion, and he’s hardly ever seen.
One night Morag and Gustav decide to take a walk to get to know each other better, but they are kidnapped by The Beast, and it’s up to Morag and Beau to go looking for them. They find them in The Beast’s home, and Beau trades places with his father to let him free, and it’s only a matter of time before sparks fly between Beau and The Beast. But trouble lies on the horizon; the gay Sebastian St. Moritz (Simon Burr), who owns lots of the property in Les De Nice, wants to raise the rent of the tea house, so what’s the newly rescued Morag and her son going to do? Throw in Mabel the Fairy (a cute Briony Rawie), and The Beasts housekeeper – Heidi (Ellen Butler) – who keeps morphing into various items one finds in the house- and what you’ve got is a show, with a sing-a-long, that’s full of glitter and glee.
Does it matter that the songs are awful? No!
Does it matter that this production is not one of the Stag’s better shows? No!
And does it matter that most (if not all) of the cast can’t sing? Of course not!
Why?
Because you’re not going to see Beauty on the Piste because it is sold out for the rest of it’s run! So perhaps console (or congratulate) yourself and buy a ticket to their next production – Bitches Ahoy – a show that bills itself as a “gay holiday hilarity” – hopefully it’s a return to the Stag’s better quality shows. Just one month to go until Panto season ends, whew!
Just one month to go until Panto season ends, whew!
Beauty On the Piste plays at Above The Stag until 14th January 2017
★★| Andy Dufresne, a quiet and mild mannered banker, arrives at Shawshank Prison after being convicted for the murder of his wife and her lover. As he settles into his new life, he befriends old timer, Red, the prisoner fixer and a man who is known to “acquire certain items from time to time”. Andy splits his time between maintaining his innocence, carving rocks, avoiding the violent “sisters” (a predatory gang of sexually violent inmates) and trying to improve the lives of those around him. But when Andy overhears a conversation between two of the guards, he is provided with opportunity which he simply cannot pass up.
Picture Credit – Mark Yeoman
The Shawshank Redemption is based on the Stephen King novella, and the 1994 film of the same name. The film has gone on to become one of the nation’s favourites, and with this in mind, the stage show has some big prison-issue boots to fill. The static set is reflective of the prison setting, with its tall, oppressive walls towering over the proceedings; and it’s bland, dreary appearance is being quite befitting for the fictional prison. In the book and the film, the story of Dufresne’s time in Shawshank is one which is filled with optimism and hope; and it is the contrast of that emotional warmth juxtaposed with the cold starkness of the confines of the prison walls which works so well.
Paul Nicholls (Eastenders) leads the cast as Andy Dufresne, with TV stalwart Ben Onwukwe (Eastenders, London’s Burning, Coronation Street) playing Red, both of whom gave functional performances without ever really capturing the refinement of the two lead characters or their relationship. The remainder of the cast, sadly, seemed to replace acting with shouting, leading to some rather unsubtle performances; with only Jack Ellis in his portrayal of the Warden and Nicolas Banks as Tommy ever really finding their feet.
Adapted by Owen O’Neill and Dave Johns, the script is choppy and never seems to gather momentum or develop into having any natural flow, with somewhat clunky transitions from one plot development to the next. Rather than allowing the drama to play out on stage, comedic moments are added to scenes of tension, which had the audience laughing when they should have been on the edge of their seats, lessoning the impact of the story and the events portrayed. Whilst the story does not shy away from the harsh reality of prison life, David Esbjornson’s direction is as bland as the prison walls and as heavy handed as the prison guards themselves, often leaving much to the imagination and hinting at the acts of violence rather than portraying them.
The show is a bold attempt to bring to life something which is so well loved, but as much as it pains me to say it, the writing, acting and direction all had their own issues which meant that they never really came together; and whilst some of the audience clearly enjoyed the show, for me personally, it simply didn’t work.
The Shawshank Redemption is currently winding up its national tour. The show was reviewed at Sheffield Theatres (www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk ), who are soon hosting the world premiere of a new musical based on the BBC3 show “Jamie: Drag Queen at 16” Search #TalkingAboutJamie.
Kit Redstone – a female to male transgender actor – explains what it’s like to enter a men’s locker room for the first time in the new play Testosterone.
The play, at the New Diorama Theatre near Warren Street tube station, is a semi-autobiographical look at Redstone’s coming out as a man and what it’s like to do so in such a testosterone-heavy environment as the locker room. The show also briefly delves into Kit’s previous life as a woman, as well as the first time he received testosterone – at the doctor’s office.
Told with a bit of drama, and humour, it’s a story that Kit is brave enough to have written and again to tell on stage. But Kit doesn’t just tell his story, he relives it, cleverly, with the locker room as a device to explain the whole male-heavy environment that he now belongs to.
The show, successfully, looks at how masculinity is so prevalent in a locker room environment, and questions whether it is real or is it a facade? Alongside thirty-something Kit are three other actors who display their manliness (not literally), and masculinity; two jocks (Matthew Wells and Julian Spooner) and the fabulous singer/drag queen Daniel Jacob (also known as Vinegar Strokes). They help Kit to tell his story as well as perform in fantasy sequences that move the story along which helps the audience to better understand Kit’s journey. It’s a straightforward, and brave, telling of Kit’s transformation and the new world he lives in.
Testosterone plays at the New Diorama Theatre until the 3rd December 2016, 020 7338 9034
I have to confess that I had mixed emotions at the prospect of seeing Jinkx Monsoon (Seattle’s youngest M.I.L.F. and the victorious underdog from Season 5), and Major Scales at the Soho Theatre. Firstly, I’m a huge fanboy of Jinkx. Who doesn’t love a narcoleptic Jewish drag queen? Secondly, though, I don’t like Christmas and this is a Christmas show. When I say I don’t like Christmas I mean in a pathological, itchy toothed, nails scraping into my palms kind of way. Whilst Jinkx is my favourite queen of all time from RuPaul’s Drag Race the prospect of a Christmas-themed show in November made me feel vaguely psychotic and almost had me reaching for the brandy bottle.
I really needn’t have worried. Major Scales describes this as a show holiday show for those exhausted by the holidays. There’s not a trace of Mariah Carey and no fake bonhomie. Instead Major takes on the role of pro-Christmas advocate whilst Jinkx drily drawls about how rubbish it actually can be. Especially for an unconventional queer Jewish drag artiste.
They cover subjects such as what gifts to give to give to queer children, why singing a song about seducing a fat old man is just plain weird (Santa Baby) and how to spend time with your right wing Trump/Brexit loving relatives. There are some witty covers of Bowie, a Del Ray and Miley Cyrus as well as a clever reworking of a Kander and Ebb number. Predominantly, they sing their own compositions with Jinkx showcasing her fabulous singing voice. She not only looks good and has impeccable comic timing but she’s a cracking singer and can belt out a tune with panache. Her persona is waspish and bitchy but not in a terrifying way. There’s an underlying inner kitten that is hiding under the bitchy exterior. Whilst the show is slick and professional it still has a dark and anarchic edge to it that is endearing.
Major Scales is not only a great writing talent and ‘straight man’ to Jinkx’s distinctly kinked woman but is also a fine pianist and singer too. This is a duo that shouldn’t be missed. Whether you’re hiding in a bunker till January to avoid all the tawdry fuss or are already humming Christmas tunes under your breath and decking a tree with glittery things, this is an endearing and funny show. Get down to the Soho Theatre for an intimate experience with one of America’s hottest drag queens.
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
