THEGAYUK

Category: Review

  • FILM REVIEW | Stranger By The Lake

    ★★★★ | Stranger By The Lake

    Alain Guiraudie’s intriguing new thriller is about as homoerotic as can be without crossing the divide into soft porn. It’s set on a tranquil isolated lake in a beautiful corner of the French countryside where the beach front is sparsely occupied by a handful of men sunbathing in the buff. Behind them lies a small wood which is a busy cruising area for gay men.

    Young Franck is a regular visitor to the lake each summer, and as he is currently unemployed now hangs out there most afternoons. He befriends Henri a sad overweight man who is more interested in just chatting and sitting on the rocks rather than getting his rocks off. Franck is however obsessed with a handsome hunk called Michel who with his Tom Selleck bushy mustache is another element that insinuates a distinctive 1980’s look to the whole movie.

    Michel however already has a young man in tow who he takes off to he woods at regular intervals.Then at dusk one evening as Franck is leaving the woods after a quick hook up with another man, he turns to look at the lake and is horrified to witness Michel drowning his date before swimming back to shore.

    Instead of being put off by the fact that the object of his affections is a killer, Franck actually uses the absence of he young man to make his moves on Michel. It gets hot and steamy and although this excites both of them, the mysterious Michel refuses to continue when it’s time to leave the lake or even give Franck as much as a hint to what his real life is actually about. The fact that the dead boy’s clothes are still lying on the beach and his car is in the car park doesn’t seem to concern anyone at all until his body resurfaces and a police Inspector comes around asking questions.

    The policeman is shocked at the callous indifference he encounters and when Franck is even unable to name the man he was having sex with to support his alibi, the Inspector comments ‘you have a funny way of loving each other’. Franck prefers to keep silent so that Michel will keep having sex with him. However Franck’s love is only Michel’s lust and when the older man suspects that Franck knows what happened that fatal night, things start to look decidedly dangerous for the younger man.

    Asides from the cold-blooded murder, Guiraudie’s story is as much about carnal desire and as such he doesn’t shirk from portraying that with some very explicit sex scenes. There is no effort here to disguise the fact that these very blatant hook-ups are purely sexual and an escapism from the reality of the men’s lives. What the men will do for some momentary passion is very obvious here, but why it spurs Michel into becoming a killer is left to our imagination.

    This is a wonderful erotic thriller, well-written and beautifully photographed in a way that belies the fact that this idyllic looking spot hides such violent and deadly deeds. The story places passion before danger and proves that it is not always a wise choice.

    Winner of both the prestigious ‘Queer Palm Award’ and ‘Un Certain Regard Best Director ‘ at The Cannes Film Festival. Highly recommended.

    Available to buy / view on: Amazon | Amazon Prime | iTunes

  • BOOK REVIEW | Henry Darger, Throw Away Boy

    ★★★ | Henry Darger, Throw Away Boy

    Henry Darger (1904-1973) was an Chicago-based artist, who was completely unknown in his lifetime. He created pieces of art that depicted children. In some of the art children were innocently enjoying life and in others they were being horrifically tortured. Darger also completed two fantasy manuscripts entitled The Realms and Crazy House. Many critics dubbed Darger as a mentally unstable individual who may have thought about harming children.

    But as Jim Elledge uncovers in Henry Darger, Throw Away Boy that couldn’t be farther from the truth. Elledge has spent a decade researching and writing this book which gives a comprehensive insight to the life of Darger. It is well researched, which is indicated by the extensive bibliography and notes sections.

    The book starts by describing the poverty, dangerous street life and Darger’s lack of supportive loving parents. Darger’s mother died in childbirth and his father was an alcoholic. It is suspected that Darger was sexually abused on a number of occasions throughout his childhood. This commonplace abuse, did make uncomfortable reading at times. His behaviour, even as a young child, was feral which is understandable given the emotional trauma he experienced. His bad behaviour led to his father putting him in a religious mission and later an asylum institution.

    Darger escaped the institution and became a Janitor in a hospital. He began to create his art and write his manuscripts, as a way to fictionalise his traumatic childhood experiences. In his manuscripts he wrote about a number of secret societies, all that have one mission: to protect children. He fell in love with a man (Whillie) and continued to work tirelessly on his art over the decades that followed. But after some early criticism, he didn’t feel able to share his work with the world. It wasn’t until after his death that his landlord discovered the work.

    Essentially Elledge tells the story of a gay man filled with fear and shame because of societies attitudes towards children, child abuse and gay people. Glossy pages show some of Darger’s work, but more would have been welcome.

    Elledge brings Darger’s story to life through his engaging writing style. If you’re into gay art – in all its forms, you’ll love Henry Darger, Throw Away Boy. Available from Amazon

  • SINGLE REVIEW | Ruth Lorenzo, Dancing In The Rain

    We all remember Ruth Lorenzo from the X Factor, yes? She did that incredible cover version of Princes’ Purple Rain, yes that’s Ruth Lorenzo.

    Well she has unleashed her new single, Dancing In The Rain is a half Spanish / half English 3 minute romp of epic electronic ballad goodness.

    Starting off with some evocative pianos and violins, then come the drums and electro riffs in place of the afore mentioned pianos and violins to accompany her powerhouse vocals.

    She is also hoping that Spain will pick her this year as their Eurovision 2014 entry, and they really would be mad not too. It’s far to good to go un-noticed by most people.

  • MUSIC | The Friday Fiver

    Hoorah! It’s Friday! and here are 5 very good songs that should put you in that weekend mood.

    Duke Dumont feat. Jax Jones – I Got U
    Following up one 2013 biggest No1’s is not a task I would wish on any act, but this follow up to Need U is an absolute corker! A massive sun soaked house anthem, with Caribbean drums, epic piano riffs and a very clever sample of Whitney Houston’s My Love Is Your Love. ★★★★★

    BUY IT NOW

    Manila Luzon & Jinkx Monsoon – Bring It!
    2 of RuPaul’s Drag Race finest, combine on this fun, hi energy dance pop stomper. If you like fabulous outfits and hunky men dancing in their pants then you’ll love the video. ★★★

    BUY IT

    Prides – The Seeds You Sow
    Last year Chvrches made a bit of a splash with their synth-pop refreshed for the 21st century sound and hot on their heels are Prides, dabbling in stadium filled choruses and a sound you can only describe as “epic” It’s no wonder blogs and taste makers are falling under their spell. ★★★★★

    BUY IT

    Miley Cyrus vs. Cedric Gervais – Adore You
    Serial tongue-sticker-outer and general menace to society has roped in new remixer-of-the-moment Cedric Gervais to rework the 3rd single from her awfully titled #Bangerz album, while the original is a mid-tempo electro-ballad, Gervais has reworked it into a fully fledged peak time club anthem for the Spring season. ★★★★

    BUY IT

    The Presets – Goodbye Future
    Indie & Blog darlings have returned after a couple years away, and by the sound of this it was a well deserved break as they have returned with a very modern rave anthem, it reminds me of Underworld’s Born Slippy and that is not a bad thing whatsoever. ★★★★

    BUY IT

  • THE BRITS 2014: Round Up

    The BRIT Awards, a night of celebrating the best in British music and handing out awards to deserving souls whose talent has shone though over the previous year. It should be a joyous occasion and make for great television, but sadly something has gone seriously wrong with this awards ceremony. Although having flashes of great moments, this year’s BRIT Awards were almost completely unbearable to watch. Want to know why?

    (more…)

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Amateur Girls St. James Theatre and UK Tour

    ★★★★★ | Amateur Girls St. James Theatre and UK Tour

    Julie is a 30 something auxiliary nurse living in a high rise flat in Nottingham with her cat, Lulu.

    She’s always up for a laugh with nights down at the local clubs with a sneaky bottle of vodka in her handbag, a penchant for Take That and a swig of wine at home in the evenings. She spends her days working with elderly people, making sure their physical needs are met and her spare time, making porn to meet another kind of physical need altogether.

    Amanda Whittington’s powerful yet hilarious play takes the form of an Alan Bennett style monologue that is 70 minutes long. Lucy Speed (best known as Natalie Evans in Eastenders) gives a magnificent performance and somehow the play carries the audience off to another world by the power of superb acting and clever use of sound. Julie’s accidental transition from ‘good-time girl’ to amateur porn star is credible and thought provoking as the piece examines the tension between choice and coercion in relation to women and sexuality. Watching Julie’s naïve progress and hearing her history unfold is a heart breaking experience yet Whittington manages to also make the story extremely watchable with masses of humour.

    Whittington researched her subject, basing the play on the experiences of genuine sex workers and is drawn chiefly from the true story of one auxiliary nurse who worked in the ‘amateur’ porn industry whilst holding down a job in a hospital. The play never feels preachy or predictable and although Julie’s experiences aren’t always good they’re also not always terrible and are at times, really good fun for her. There’s a clever line that wavers constantly over whether she’s a victim, a woman using her sexuality to empower herself financially or a hapless naïve. I certainly left the theatre thinking about the theme.

    I was especially impressed with Speed’s Nottingham accent (I’m from those parts and as somewhat of an expert, can say that she did it really very well) and her performance is absolutely second to none. I laughed, winced, gasped and felt near to tears for Julie, thanks to the tremendous skills of Speed, a woman with fantastic talent.

    Fifth Word are definitely a theatre company to watch out for wit their previous Edinburgh Fringe smash hit success ‘Bones’, which was again an exceptional piece of theatre. I can’t recommend this play enough.

    Catch the play at the St James Theatre, London until 21st February:
    http://www.stjamestheatre.co.uk/events/amateur-girl

    U.K. tour dates until 15th March 2014:
    http://fifthword.co.uk/projects/spring-2014-tour-amateur-girl-by-amanda-whittington

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Happy Days The Musical, Sheffield Lyceum and UK Tour

    ★ ★ ★ | Happy Days The Musical, Sheffield Lyceum and UK Tour

    The Cunningham family are back in this new musical which transports the audience back to Arnolds Malt Shop for a huge slice of 50’s Americana, where Richie Cunningham and his friends and family rally the community to save their favourite local hangout from a corporate takeover. Along the way, they have dance contests, wrestling matches, learn about love, fulfil their dreams and rekindle old romances, all under the watchful eye of the ultra-cool Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzerella. But will their fundraising efforts be enough to save their beloved malt shop?

    Written by Garry Marshall, the original creative force behind the popular TV series, and with Henry Winkler (the original “Fonz”) on board as a creative consultant, this new musical rocks ‘n’ rolls onto the stage in this national tour.

    The first thing noticeable from the very start of the show was how well cast it was, with each of the actors looking remarkably like their television counterparts, in particular, Andrew Waldron who played Ralph. The show exploded to life with an upbeat ensemble piece as the opening number and from thereon in, the show progressed with an almost relentless barrage of songs, 21 in total, which, in a show with a running time of around 1 hour 45 minutes, meant that the next musical number was never more than a few moments away. The original songs were actually quite catchy upon first listen, but never memorable, with a fairly good weighting of up-tempo, rock ‘n’ roll tinged numbers interspersed with a couple of ballads.

    There was no faulting the vivaciousness of the young cast, all of whom threw themselves into the show with an almost unstoppable energy. The set was simple, mainly using fold out sections of the main set to create the different locations and whilst the set was never spectacular, it was functional for the production. The lighting and costumes were colourful and compounded the energetic feel of the show, with the whole thing feeling fresh and modern which juxtaposed with the 1950’s setting slightly.

    Former Sugababe, Heidi Range, impressed with her performance and a great singing voice which shone through particularly well in the ballads. Ben Freeman had an unexpectedly good singing voice although came across as a little aloof at times as he strutted across the stage as “The Fonz”. Cheryl Baker undertook an excellent turn as Marion Cunningham and Andrew Waldron provided an enjoyable comic performance as Ralph Malph. But the whole cast really gave it their all throughout the show and their enthusiasm was undeniable.

    One of the aspects where the show faltered was in its sound, with a number of the audience commenting on how the volume of the orchestra completely drowned out the casts ‘s voices on the majority of the musical numbers, making the lyrics almost inaudible and leading to the production to come across as “shouty” at times. This was a particular shame when other songs were appropriately balanced in terms of music and voices. The show also came across as a little forced and when the audience were encouraged to their feet for the final sing-along, it felt contrived and stilted.

    When you consider everything that this show has going for it, you would expect it to be greater than the sum of its parts. But despite the catchy songs, a decent cast and the colourful energy of the show, there was just something missing which led to the show feeling hollow and a little soulless. Happy Days comes across as a hybrid of Grease and Hairspray, but doesn’t reach the heights of either. It was an enjoyable enough piece of theatre, but ultimately, was fairly forgettable.

    Happy Days is currently playing at the Sheffield Lyceum theatre until 22nd February 2014 before continuing on its national tour.

    Information can be found at http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/event/happy-days-14/ or at the shows official website at http://happydaysthemusical.com/home

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Fat Man’s Wife

    ★★★★ | The Fat Man’s Wife

    It’s the early hours of New Year’s Day 1938 and Vera and Joe are just getting in from a New York society party. They’re still drinking, still niggling at each other and Joe is still hankering after some more partying and looking for a way to extricate himself and join the young actress he’s been having an affair with. Complications arise when Dennis, a naïve young playwright, arrives unexpectedly to make Vera an offer that could free her from her troubled marriage to ‘the fat man’.

    This absolute gem of a one-act play was only discovered in the papers of Tennessee Williams in 2000 and has never been performed in the U.K. before now. This is a rare opportunity to see a long hidden masterpiece. It has all the hallmarks of William’s work (the troubled marriage, the tortured souls and the heavy liquor consumption) as well as his lyrical yet tight dialogue. Surprisingly, it remains resonant today, with its themes of being trapped in a relationship that has changed out of all recognition since its rosy beginning.

    The three-person cast are all excellent without a weak link and with a particularly powerful performance from Emma Taylor as Vera. She captures a range of emotional nuances whilst slinking about the stage in her peignoir and negligee, like a caged beast, finally beaten down by captivity but with her eye on the gaps in the bars.

    The theatre itself is stunning in a beautiful location in Little Venice, just near to Warwick Avenue tube station. The only down side to the play being performed in such a beautiful old pub theatre, is the limitations this throws up. The seating was arranged in such a way that the audience felt a little obtrusive at times, but this is only a minor niggle. The actors managers to combat this finely and made the piece wholly believable.

    I’d heartily recommend this to any Tennessee Williams fans but also to anyone who isn’t yet a fan, this is great one act play that is as good an introduction as anything.

  • BOOK REVIEW | Checkmate by A. L. Olson

    ★★★★ | Checkmate by A. L. Olson

    Bored university student/cheesy diner waitress Ambrosia’s mundane and ordinary life takes a turn for the bizarre when her boss starts buying chess sets for customers to play, and two of the chess pieces appear to come to life and begin offering Ambrosia unsolicited life coaching.

    When she begins taking the advice of the chess pieces, her life begins to get on the right track until she is thrust into a suddenly bizarre world of hallucinations, seemingly crazy psychologists, and A.I. robots, Ambrosia finds herself the unlikely heroine, almost alone in her quest to save the world.

    This first novel by Olson is quirky yet relatable. Ambrosia is an interesting character, who you want to love, even while she complains a lot about the ‘current generation’ (hipsters with iPhones etc.). The plot moves quickly through familiar territory, interwoven with original ideas. The fact that a lot of the plot twists, and there are many, are inspired by, or borrowed from other sci-fi stories: there’s certainly elements of The Matrix, Philip K. Dick, and many zombie movies; makes the book instantly familiar, without being predictable and boring. Just when you have the idea that you know where you’re going, Olson throws in another twist and the story rockets off in a different direction. It is a great first novel, thought I think it could benefit from a few notes before being an excellent novel, it is a fun read, and well worth the time to get invested in the characters.

    Written to help raise funds to cover the cost of much needed surgery, resulting from hormone treatments, Olson steers clear of and heavy-handed ‘Queering’ of the characters, and the potential same-sex attraction in the story is included naturally and doesn’t feel shoe-horned in. It also doesn’t deal with any societal issues faced by the characters because of their sexuality, real or perceived, and it thus avoids coming off as a ‘preachy’ story. Olson stays true to the story line, and the issues being dealt with there, and thankfully refrains from getting bogged down in queer social issues or politics. This is a refreshing story where the protagonist happens to have a same-sex attraction that is not central to the story, rather than being the only plot point.

  • FILM REVIEW | GBF

    ★★★ | GBF

    When Tanner is accidentally outed in school, whilst the other boys in his class may resort to taunting and bullying him, the girls start to seriously compete for his attention.

    Three of the most popular teen girls in particular believe that if Tanner would be their G (ay) B (est) F(riend), which their favorite fashion mags say is ‘the’ must-have accessory of the season, then this would seal their election to become the next Prom Queen. There is Fawcett a very pretty buxom blond, ‘Shley the slightly serious good-time Mormon girl, and Caprese the African/American drama queen.

    Whilst Tanner glows in his new-found popularity as the girls fall over themselves to capture him for themselves, his best friend Brent who is still stuck in the closet, is so jealous of all the attention that so starts to plot Tanner’s downfall.

    This rather charming ‘boy-lit’ high school comedy is peppered with some very good performances by a very professional young cast who have cut their teeth on TV :Michael Willet as Tanner (The United States of Tara), Paul Iacono as Brent (The Hard Times of RJ Berger),Xosha Roquemore as Caprese (The Mindy Project),Sasha Pieterse as Fawcett (Pretty Little Liars) andAndrea Bowen as ‘Shley (Desperate Housewives).

    It is however the adults that inadvertently steal all their scenes particularly Jonathan Silverman and Rebecca Gayheart who play Tanner’s supportive parents. However even they are trumped by a wonderfully funny turn by the ever delightful Megan Mullally (‘Karen from Will & Grace’) who is hysterically funny trying to drag her son out of the closet. The two of them watching the ‘Brokeback Mountain’ movie on TV together is unquestionably the best scene in the entire film.

    It’s all very cute, has a few really good one-liner’s like the one on Mormon’s ‘they smile to your face, then Prop 8 you in the back,’ but it is a squeaky clean teen-movie that is meant to be for the young… or at least the young at heart.

    P.S. Don’t miss the ‘bloopers’ at the end!

    BUY FROM iTunes | Amazon

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre and UK Tour

    ★★★ | Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre and UK Tour

    Set in the backwoods of Oregon in 1850, Adam Pontipee is a burly woodsman who lives on an isolated farm in the mountains. On a visit to town to trade goods, he decides to take himself a wife and meets the feisty Milly who agrees to marry him. But when they return to the farmhouse to start their married life together, Adam introduces her to his six ill-mannered, uncouth and rough and tumble brothers.

    But the brothers are diamonds in the rough, and following a little smoothing around the edges, Adam takes his brothers to the town social, where they meet and fall in love with their prospective girlfriends. But when the lovesick boys return to the farm, they pine for their girls, so decide to head to town and bring them back. But with the girls distressed at being kidnapped and the farm cut off from the town for the winter by an avalanche, will true love win through?

    This vibrant and colourful revival of one of the most popular musicals from the golden age of MGM Studio’s was great fun. The show itself is twee, old fashioned and, at times, very camp, but therein lies its utterly infectious charm. The songs include “Bless Your Beautiful Hyde”, “Going Courtin’” and “Wonderful, Wonderful Day” and were proficiently performed by the cast. The songs were interspersed with some exuberant and energetic dance numbers, with somersaults and acrobatics aplenty. Both the town social (the main set piece of the first act) and the finale were particular highlights. The stage was crammed full of talented singers, dancers and musicians, all of whom performed a number of well-choreographed and enjoyable pieces.

    In terms of the cast, Sam Attwater, who plays Adam was unable to perform on the night, and his shoes were ably filled by Alex Hammond. Hammond’s deep voice and gruffness in his singing neatly mirrored the wooden roughness of the wilderness setting. Helena Blackman, who was runner up on “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” was in fine voice and provided a good turn as the go-getting Milly. The rest of the brothers were made up of an attractive and very buff set of young men who proved that they had been chosen for their talent as well as their looks by being more than capable of some great dancing and singing. The remaining ensemble made up the townsfolk and nicely rounded out the cast.

    Director and choreographer Patti Colombo has added some nice touches, such as a variety of dance styles, ranging from some ballet inspired pieces to an abundance of lively barn dancing, and also including some musicians on the stage during some scenes or to act as bridging tool in scene changes. The music was typical of the country genre and in good keeping with the setting of the show, with violins, acoustic guitars and mouth organs aplenty.

    The detailed and effective set looked great, with the stage being easily and smoothly transformed from the forest to the town to the interior of the farmhouse. The set was awash with wooden buildings, furniture and props which fitting in nicely with the feel of the show. The lighting was well thought out with a green tinge enhancing the forest, good use of silhouette at times and a warm glow in the outdoor scenes. All of the costumes were colourful, with flowing gowns and smart tunics and added nicely to the vibrancy of the whole thing.

    Seven Brides for Seven Brothers a whole had a really light feel to it and was undemanding, foot tapping, enjoyable entertainment. The story itself is a little thin and quaint, but the reality is that this is good old fashioned entertainment which harks back to a more innocent time and is more than capable of entertaining the audience without the use of special effects or elaborate mechanical props. It is a credit to the musical itself to think that 60 years after being written for the big screen, the stage show can still bring a smile to the face of theatre goers.

    Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is currently playing at the Sheffield Lyceum until the 15th February 2014 before continuing on its national tour. For information and tickets visit
    http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/event/seven-brides-for-seven-brothers-14/ and the official website at http://www.sevenbridesthemusical.com/sights-sounds.html