THEGAYUK

Category: Review

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Angel and Now We Are Pope, London Theatre, New Cross

    ★★★ | Angel and Now We Are Pope, London Theatre, New Cross

    Faith and desire clash in this premiere double-bill of one-man plays.
    In ‘Angel’, a priest devotes his life to God and fights daily against the temptations of the flesh. Now he must confront the man – or angel – or demon that haunts him.

    In ‘Now We Are Pope’, eccentric writer Frederick Rolfe rejoices in exile and the companionship of the gondoliers of Venice. Alone in his room he relives his most famous novel, Hadrian VII.

    The London Theatre is an intimate fringe venue, with the actors alarmingly close to the audience, inhabiting a small sparse set. Both actors, Christopher Peacock and Christopher Annus, give strong performances. ‘Angel’ was the more powerful of the two monologues with a strong sinister theme that packed a punch. ‘Now We Are Pope’, although intriguing, was at times rambling and hard to follow. Frederick Rolfe is definitely an intriguing character with eccentricity abounding and is certainly a character that is worth reading more about.

    The London Theatre is an interesting addition to the London Fringe Theatre scene. The double bill runs until the 23rd March 2014

    http://thelondontheatre.com

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Never Try This At Home, Sheffield Crucible Studio, UK Tour

    ★★★★ | Never Try This At Home, Sheffield Crucible Studio, UK Tour

    In this “disturbing homage to Saturday Morning television”, TV reunion show, “Looking Back Together” examines what ever happened to the cast of the anarchic TV show, Shushi, which was taken off air when things get out of hand and sexy “for the dads” presenter, Petra Massey, has a breakdown live on the show. As the peek behind the scenes reveals, not everything is well behind the custard pies and the buckets of water.

    “Told by an Idiot” Theatre Company presents this very funny, dark comedy in an affectionate, tongue in cheek tribute to the time when Tiswas and Swap Shop ruled the Saturday morning airwaves. Crammed full of references and in-jokes to those halcyon days of children’s weekend entertainment, this chaotic, laugh out loud funny and refreshingly politically incorrect show was packed full of nostalgia. The references are easy enough to spot, and with everything covered from the custard pies, the ridiculous games (“kick a vicar” and “build a dog”) and a thinly disguised Noel Edmunds impersonation, very little escapes unscathed.

    The show affectionately pokes fun at the style of TV shows of the 70’s and also a sly sideways swipe at the current crop of reunion shows. The format of the show is cleverly done, transforming the audience in the theatre into the audience of a recording of fictional TV show “Looking Back Together”, where clips of Shushi are played out (live on the stage) and the presenters are brought out and interviewed by a Jeremy Kyle tinged presenter. The TV show within a TV show format was original and worked well in the performance space.

    As for the humour, the piece was dark in its comic tone, but very funny. Ranging from slapstick to silly and including a biting social commentary on the 1970’s attitudes to race, gender and sexuality. The show does have a number of jokes where you can’t help but think “did they really just say that”, but the humour stays in a similar vein, albeit at a good arm’s length away, to Sacha Baron-Cohen’s “Borat”.

    The performances from the cast were full of energy and suitably silly, nicely parodying the presenting style of the time. The flares, wigs and catsuits fitted the show perfectly and with the amount of water, custard pies and baked beans flying around, the front row remained sensibly empty. The cast fully involved the audience and it was hard to tell at times what was rehearsed and what was improvised. The enjoyment of the cast in their performances was infectious and after the show’s 90 minutes running time, the presenters of “Shushi”, felt like old friends (in the same way that Simon Groom and John Noakes were back in the day).

    The show was really good fun, especially for those who grew up in the 70’s and brought back many memories of wasted Saturday mornings. With the laughter ringing out from the audience throughout the show, it was clear to see that the satirical writing was a huge hit with them.

    Never Try This At Home is currently playing at the Sheffield Crucible Theatre. Details and tickets can be found at http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/event/never-try-this-at-home-14/ .

    The show then moves to Edinburgh and Soho.

    Details can be found at http://www.toldbyanidiot.org/productions/never-try-home/

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, UK Tour

    ★★★★★ | Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, UK Tour

    Matthew Bourne’s critically acclaimed production of Swan Lake is welcomed back to the stage on this national tour. Based on the traditional ballet, Bourne provides an updated and contemporary vision of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece. The piece follows a young prince who is bored with his life of public duties and frustrated by his mother’s inability to truly show any affection towards him. His life escalates to the point where he contemplates suicide, but changes his mind when he appreciates the beauty and magnificence of the swans on the lake. But his saviours may also be his downfall as matters culminate in confrontation and rejection at the Grand Ball.

    Bourne’s signature contemporary twist on the classic ballet is simply outstanding and leads to a beautiful, moving and breath-taking pieces of theatre. This version is perhaps best known for using an all-male ensemble for the bevy of swans, but whilst there is no denying the dramatic impact that places on the piece, there are so many other elements which elevate this piece of dance to the dizzying heights it reaches.

    Starting with the music, the show preserves Tchaikovsky’s score and plays it beautifully, with the sound being crisp, crystal clear and loud enough to be the perfect balance of being dramatic but never intrusive. The costumes were lavish, even down to the finest details. The set was sturdily constructed and looked amazing. The use of lighting created an individual atmosphere in every single scene and an incredible use of shadows during one particular scene created a chilling environment. In essence, the whole production was of the highest quality and absolutely oozed an abundance of class and sophistication.

    From the almost monochrome opening scenes in the palatial bedchamber to the vibrant explosion of colour in the Swank Bar, the modern twists provided by Bourne provided for a fresh and vivacious production which constantly surprised and delighted in equal measures. A combination of clever nods to the source material added to the joy, for example, Bourne boldly stages a ballet within a ballet, poking some tongue in cheek fun at the romantic ballets themselves, of which Swan Lake is a prime example.

    The grace, elegance and sheer talent of the entire cast was undeniable and simply could not be faulted in any way. The infusion of different style of dance, from ballet to jazz and beyond was seamless and fitted the traditional score perfectly whilst the narrative aspect of the production was easy to follow and conveyed the story well.

    By replacing the female swans with a male ensemble, the show has been interpreted as being very homo-erotic, not least because of the relationship between the Prince and the Male Swan but the attractive cast quite rightly underplay the point, keeping the show more on the right side of sensuality as opposed to eroticism.

    From the opening scenes to the terrifying and tearful finale, this show has everything to recommend it including humour, style, spectacle, originality and genuine emotion. As a piece of theatre, it cannot be recommended highly enough.

  • REVIEW | Polari Literary Salon, The Southbank Centre

    ★★★★ | Polari Literary Salon, The Southbank Centre

    If you’ve not been to Paul Burston’s Polari Literary Salon, you must. I insist.

    I had my Polari Literary Salon cherry popped last night and it was stunning. An incredible, humbling and glorious array of literary talent showed their prowess on stage including: Carl Stanley, Nicolas Collins, Karen McLeod, Angela Clerkin and Maureen Duffy.

    A special mention for Karen McLeod, whose ‘humourless lesbian’ character Barbara Brownshirt had the room in tears with her odes to Judi Dench and cruelty free shoes.

    Also Angela Clerkin’s immensely enjoyable reading about her stage wetting Irish dancing nemesis provided light and shade against the often angst but thought-provoking poetic readings from Nicolas Collins, while Carl Stanley opened the evening with an intimate reading from his book about growing up gay in early 80s.

    An abundance of readings of poetry and excerpts from the author’s books, the evening provided a spotlight on some of the best queer writing, expertly hosted by the ever gorgeous and critically acclaimed Paul Burston.

    The next Polari Literary Salon evening at the Southbank Centre is on the 28th April and will star:
    Philip Hensher, Sophie Ward, Rebecca Chance, LaJohn Joseph and Kiki Archer.

  • Book Review | The Wolf At His Door (Runes Trilogy Book 1) by Adrian Lilly

    ★★★★ | The Wolf At His Door (Runes Trilogy Book 1) by Adrian Lilly

    Alec is an out gay man and his twin brother Adam is straight; both are College Students and live at home with their parents – Ilene & Jason. Their older sister Lucy lives with her partner Rene nearby. Also close is their grandmother – Geraldine, a woman who has psychic ‘vibrations’ when something bad is going to happen.

    With Geraldine’s vibrations getting worse, Alec’s friends Sam & Celeste introduce him to Jared. Then Sam & Celeste are brutally murdered.

    The Prologue is overly dramatic, too descriptive and far too long. But once past that you discover Lilly‘s wonderfully engaging writers voice and his third person writing style that switches between characters perspectives. His writers voice and storytelling makes The Wolf at His Door an easy read that becomes highly addictive as the reader reads on.

    The story is told in three parts. In part one Lilly introduces the characters, Alec’s friend’s are brutally murdered in the night at a cabin in the woods and people are going missing. Part two deals with the aftermath of the murders, the Police start their murder investigation, green-eyed evil Darius targets Alec and the investigation of the missing people is on-going.

    In the third and final part Alec & Co. start their own investigation as to what’s going on. This leads to an absolutely epic ending and sets out the direction for the 2nd book. The love interest for Alec adds to the story. Overall the storyline was outstandingly captivating, oozes brilliance and is well paced.

    The description was perfectly measured throughout; although it did have a few Americanism’s that Lilly could have minimised or removed for more universal appeal. There were a few minor errors in dialogue formatting. But neither the Americanism’s or the errors in the dialogue formatting interrupted the flow of the storyline.

    Throughout the story there is a good mix of scenes: slow ones that evoke an emotional response, investigation ones that ignite the mind with questions and face-paced action scenes that grip the reader.

    By the end of The Wolf at His Door the reader has many answered questions; but some are left unanswered – which is what will make the trilogy enthralling.

    The Wolf at His Door (The Runes Trilogy) by Adrian Lilly is essentially a werewolf, gay, mystery novel. An enjoyable read that makes the reader impatient for the release of the 2nd book in the trilogy.

    The book is only available in eformat; but this makes it perfect to read on the bus, train or tube to work. The chapters are short meaning you could read several on the way to work. However you will find yourself reading on the way home as well – desperate to find out what happens next.

  • HOTEL REVIEW | Rica Hotel, Alta, Norway

    One of the best breakfasts I’ve ever had.

    If you happen to find yourself in Alta, in Norway, perhaps to see the Northern Lights or visit the world famous Ice Hotel, we suggest you check out the RICA Hotel, one of the two hotels available in one of the western world’s most northern cities.

    The Rica Hotels chain is unknown in the UK, but has 80 locations in Norway.

    Clean, modern lines await you as you check into the Hotel and all of the 241 rooms, set over 5 floors are comfortable and include a great bed and comfortable cushions.

    Check out is late – at 12:00PM and you can check in from 3PM. Rooms at the front of the hotel are afforded a stunning view of the mountains and the Northern Lights Cathedral, an amazing piece of modern architecture.

    There’s also a Saunas and Solarium – which should help you warm up from the arctic conditions outside the hotel. Temperatures can reach a staggering minus 20 degrees.

    What sets this hotel apart is the rather glorious food, especially the breakfast, which can, at some chains, be an insipid experience, however at the Rica it is one of the most pleasurable features. Wonderful and I’ve never had scrambled eggs like it.

    The evening meal was also just as delightful – and as a vegetarian the staff were more than accommodating with meal suggestions and ideas.

    And for those of you who need Internet, there is free Wifi – and it’s fast!

    Rooms from £104 per night (January 2015)

    http://www.rica-hotels.com

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Westend Fest, The Actors’ Church

    ★★★★ | Westend Fest, The Actors’ Church
    The West End was treated last Sunday evening to not one but two glittering charity fundraisers. I opted to visit the always-fun WestEnd Fest, held at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden over the larger and more-publicised West End Unites event at the Lyric.

    With a line-up consisting of many of the West End’s best-loved names, WestEnd Fest is an evening of song, dance and lots of laughter organised by actress Sabrina Aloueche and musician Richard Parnell Page. This show’s theme, “Songs you love… BUT SHOULDN’T!” paved the way for these West-Enders to belt out some of their favourite pop tunes.

    I was struck, initially, by just how perfect a venue St Paul’s Church is for a celebration of all that the West End has to offer. This peaceful haven, in the very heart of Covent Garden, is known as The Actors’ Church, and is a perfect setting for the evening of heavenly pleasures we witnessed.

    David Ribi and Rosie Ladkin opened the show with a tribute to that guiltiest of pleasures, High School Musical. The evening continued in much the same vein, with songs from various musicals including Frozen, The Little Mermaid, The Jungle Book and Love Never Dies, as well as tributes to Maria Mackee, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Justin Timberlake, and Belinda Carlisle with Justin Bieber (an unlikely pairing, admittedly, but one that Rob Houchen somehow made work in his inventive and original arrangement).

    David Ribi also closed the evening as part of WestEnd Fest’s very own boyband, Wrong Direction. Known for being a member of top One Direction tribute act Only One Direction as well as his numerous acting and presenting credits, he was perfectly at home in such an environment and this shone through in his performance.

    The performers were simply too numerous to critique each one, but each sang to their strengths, and clearly enjoyed the opportunity to perform their best-loved guilty pleasures. Extra-special mentions, however, must be given to Rebecca Caine, Aaron Sidwell, Tori Allen Martin, Lauren Samuels, Kieran Brown and WestEnd Fest’s co-founder, Sabrina Aloueche for making my spine tingle with their outstanding performances.

    The evening also showcased a selection of songs from two new musicals which are both worth watching out for. ‘The Mill on The Floss’ is a catchy production of George Eliot’s tragic story of the battle between morality and desire; while ‘Twenty Seven’ is a new story with a superbly emotional score, performed with gusto by the supremely talented Ross William Wild and other members of its excellent cast.

    WestEnd Fest is a bi-annual fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and CRY UK, a children’s cardiac arrest charity. Based on the quality of last Sunday’s show, I urge you to buy tickets as soon as the next one is announced.

    Follow @WestEndFests on Twitter or ‘Like’ their Facebook page to be the first to hear when tickets go on sale.

  • FILM REVIEW: The Adored

    FILM REVIEW: The Adored

    ★★ | The Adored

    Maia is a model who finds her life in turmoil when a personal tragedy befalls her which severely impacts on her relationship with her husband.In an attempt to increase her self-esteem and to try and kick-start her career, she books a weekend with a prolific photographer, Francesca, in her secluded house in the remote Welsh countryside. But Francesca, who suffers from obsessive compulsive disorder, becomes increasingly fixated with Maia and tries to control her feelings towards her. But with a combination of guilt, paranoia and infatuation increasingly impacting on the relationship between the two of them, their past appears to be catching up with them.

    The film stars Laura Martin-Simpson and Ione Butler as the two women whose physical and emotional relationship develops over the course of the film’s 90 minute running time. The story unfolds with long scenes of the two women in the isolated house and surrounding area spliced with some rather intense scenes of a man called Adrian talking frankly with his therapist about his self-awareness of his violence and his troubled marriage. Who this man is and his relevance to the two women is a mystery which feeds into the slow burn of the story.

    The performances from the four cast members were all perfectly serviceable, with Jake Maskill as Adrian as the most notable. The direction of the film was functional, but never flashy or over-stylised and the scenery surrounding the house was a naturally beautiful backdrop.

    One of the main problems with the film was that the characters were all so unlikeable that as a viewer, there was the potential to not share any empathy or connection with characters. Furthermore, the development of the story was far too slow, so that by the time the reveal arrived, any dramatic impact was lost given that the narrative had struggled to hold the attention.

    Where the film does deserve some recognition is in its portrayal of the exploration of the female characters sexuality. Their intimate moment manages to steer well clear of tacky titillation and that aspect of the story is more about establishing their sexuality as one aspect of their complex characters rather than being the trait that their characters are built around.

    Overall, the film is a slow watch, which some viewers may find rewarding, but one which, unfortunately, runs out of steam. It is a bold attempt at a low budget film noir, but never quite lives up to its potential.

    The Adored is available to buy from Amazon and iTunes and further information about the film can be found on the films official website at http://www.theadoredmovie.com

     

  • THEATRE REVIEW | A Hard Rain, Above The Stag

    ★★★ | A Hard Rain, Above The Stag

    Writers Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper, well-known for their successful pantomimes at The Above The Stag Theatre, have for the first time turned their hands to drama, and this new play is the result.

    A Hard Rain is set in a gay bar in New York in the days running up to the Stonewall Riots. The gay bars and clubs are run by the Mafia, who pay off a corrupt police force, which, from time to time raid the bars anyway, just to show everyone who’s boss.

    This bar becomes the backdrop for the story of a disparate set of characters; the drag queen and former Vietnam soldier, Rub; the closeted mafia owner of the bar, Frank; the young single mother barmaid Angie; the kind-hearted young cop, Danny; Ruby’s young high-flying bank employee boyfriend Josh; and Jimmy, a streetwise teenager who turns tricks to make a living.

    I don’t know how the collaboration between Bradfield and Harper works, whether both writers contribute to each scene, or whether each writer takes a different scene in entirety. Either way, the various individual scenes are well realised and play out very well, with a good sprinkling of witty one-liners to relieve the often gloomy nature of the scenario. The problem for me is that the various scenes did not coalesce into a coherent whole. There didn’t seem to be any direction to the narrative, no sense of it driving forward to that historic moment of the Stonewall Riots. At 90 minutes, Act One just meandered along, whereas Act II seemed rushed, as if the writers suddenly realised they had a lot of loose ends to tie up, their final point rather clumsily made. The numerous scenes meant that there were a lot of scene changes, the sheer mechanics of which continuously held up the action, hardly helping the flow, and I did wonder if the scene changes could have been simplified in some way.

    Though I had reservations about the play itself, I had very few about the performances. Michael Edwards, in the central and extremely difficult role of Ruby, carefully revealed the vulnerability behind Ruby’s tough exterior. His performance was superbly seconded by a touchingly real and beautifully nuanced performance from Oliver Lynes as his boyfriend, Josh. Stephanie Willson was just perfect as the warm-hearted Angie, and James El-Sharawy a suitably cocky Jimmy, though we saw that underneath all the chutzpah, he was really just a nice kid who wanted to be liked. Neither Nigel Barber as Frank nor Rhys Jennings as Danny let the side down, though they both had less to work with, their characters less finely drawn.

     

    Ultimately, though, what sounded like a nice idea never quite came off.

     

    A Hard Rain plays at Above The Stag until March 30th.

     

    Visit: http://www.abovethestag.com

  • FILM REVIEW | In Bloom

    ★★★★ | In Bloom

    This is the rather gritty story of a hip very young gay couple in Chicago’s ‘Boystown’ coming to terms with how tough one’s first love can be.

    Kurt is a small time drug dealer who supplies pot to his peers, whilst Paul his boyfriend of two years has a dead-end job in a local grocery store that he can barely tolerate. When the long summer starts, they are having fun and very much into each other and seem the perfect couple, but some seven months later they have separated and can barely talk to each other.

    Everything had been going well with them until one night one of Kurt’s good-looking customers puts the moves on him, and although he initially resists Kevin’s advances does it opens his mind to the possibility that there is more to life outside of his cosy relationship with Paul. Suddenly that starts to look painfully inadequate to him now, and in a fit of impulse he starts a ‘break-up’ that he will only regret when it is far too late.

    If that is not bad enough, the real world outside is even scarier than usual right now as there is a serial killer on the prowl whose victims have all been young gay man from the area. With Kurt making late night deliveries to hip parties all over he is probably more at risk than most.

    This look at contemporary edgy youth culture is the work of a 22 year newbie filmmaker Chris Michael Birkmeier who based this work of fiction on his own story of when he broke up with his first ever boyfriend. The plot is steeped in innocence and naivete and full of well-meaning intentions. It’s a remarkable debut feature and as such one can overlook the slow-moving story line that almost grinds to a halt at times.

    Credit too for the great wee cast full of untried talent, and very good photography too.

    The comparisons between Mr Birkmeier and the French/Canadian wunderkind Xavier Dolan who picked up Awards at Cannes for his first movie at the tender age of 19, are natural. Especially when Birkmeier makes no bones of the fact that he is a big Dolan fan. But there is very little similarity in their work and this movie is of a much simpler construction and far more straightforward. The two young filmmaker’s works complement each other, rather than complete.

    No doubt at all that C M Birkmeier (as he bills himself) is one to watch in new queer cinema, and I for one cannot wait to see how he follows this fascinating first movie.

  • HOTEL REVIEW | NiteNite Birmingham

    On paper, the nitenite hotel in Birmingham looks like an attractive offer. For under 50 quid per night, two of you get to stay in the heart of Birmingham, near all the attractions and entertainments in Japanese inspired simplicity – but that’s where the attractive offer stops. ★★

    As a person that does a fair bit of travelling, I like to think I know most hotel chains, and what they have to offer, yes even the budget brands! So I was surprised to learn about a new chain hopeful – nitenite, just off Broad Street in central Birmingham. Based on Japanese design – the rooms are compact and supposedly complete. The hotel crams over one hundred of these rooms on one floor.

    If you’re looking for your creature comforts – and I include a window within that category you’re out of luck. As no rooms in this hotel have windows, they don’t have phones, hairdryers, handtowels, wardrobes or anywhere to put your baggage. The total floor space is around the size of two double beds, side by side and that includes the WC and shower, complete with opaque door – which is never a welcome feature, especially if you’re sharing.

    As a warning be careful when using the singular table surface as it has a deceptive curved edge. You run the risk of ruining your entire suitcase of clothing, if you place a cup of coffee near the edge and it simply falls on to your belongings. There’s simply no place to put your luggage anywhere. If you want a bedside shelf – or somewhere to put your glasses/water/book/ipad – then you’re also out of luck. There are no usable surfaces anywhere in the room.

    So What! – You might say – ‘I’m just there to put my head down after a night on the razz.’ Well don’t expect a peaceful night’s sleep.

    We stayed on a Saturday night, where on the hour every hour we were woken by the sounds of girls cackling, falling A over T, shouting, then screaming and then door slamming. Then came the noise of men- arguing and shouting. It was like some hideous campus experience, but without the education. I think around 3.49AM a rather burley sounding man, slammed his door so hard the entire floor seemed to shake, walked out into the corridor – said, ‘right I’m off to reception to complain about this… Let’s ‘**king ‘ave it…’

    In the morning I complained to reception and asked why they didn’t do anything about the noise, he shrugged and told me that they usually have security to deal with wayward guests. Now I don’t know about you, but a hotel that employs someone specifically for security to deal with drunken hooligans certainly isn’t a place I would be seen in again. If you do stay, either get completely blotto and become one of the yobbos that clearly patronise this establishment or bring earplugs/Calms/Tramadol in order to get a good night’s kip.