THEGAYUK

Category: Review

  • Chandler’s Tiple: Galway Hooker

    Irish Pale Ale

    Whilst the Campaign for Real Ale has not yet caught on here in Ireland as much as it has in Great Britain, there are still a few places you can get a good brew. Now, I am quite happy to drink Guinness on an evening out – in fact I will drink most anything, but variety is the spice of life, and small-batch beers and real ales provide a lot of variety.

    Lager is a particularly prone to over simplification to meet the taste demands of the masses. Basically the big brewers stay away from any strong flavours so as not to offend people. As a result most lagers are decent enough, but subtle bordering on bland. To simply slake your thirst maybe this is not a bad thing, but to tantalise the taste buds, we must look elsewhere.

    I was out with colleagues after work the other day at our usual place, Peter’s Pub in Dublin. They pour a lot of Guinness, like most pubs in Ireland. You can also get lagers like Carlsberg or Heineken there or even some flavourless American stuff. However, they have a one small-batch keg that is well worth a go – have a ride on the Galway Hooker.

    It is hard to resist a beer with a good name. I like going up to the bar and ordering a “pint of Trouble” or “another Hooker, please.” Galway Hooker, a pale ale, has all the right ingredients to wake up your palate. It is light and bubbly – the sort of thing you want to drink in the summer. Compared to your usual lagers, the Hooker has distinctive bitter notes from extra hops and longer, natural fermentation. You get some citrus flavours, which are bright on the tongue, and this Pale Ale has a refreshing dry finish. It is not heavy, so you can drink it all night.

    I’m afraid you might have to visit Ireland to get a taste of the Hooker. There are several pubs in Galway and Dublin and a few more dotted around the country. They have a nice little Web site that shows you exactly where:

    www.galwayhooker.ie

    Until next week, bottoms up!

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Drag Divas

    I’m calling for a show like Drag Divas to be a nightly event in our fair capital city of London.

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  • BOOK REVIEW | Briefs Encountered by Julian Clary

    Noel Coward was the toast of 1930’s British society with his razor sharp wit, sartorial elegance and much loved plays and songs. Goldenhurst, his house in Kent, provided a refuge where he could be himself and hide from the prying eyes of the general public and more importantly the law. (more…)

  • BOOK REVIEW | My Policeman

    Naive schoolmistress Marion first catches sight of handsome Tom in Brighton and is instantly smitten by his wholesome good looks and swimmer’s physique.

    In spite of some reservations about this dashing young policeman, she is determined that her love will be enough for them both. The complication is that Tom is increasingly lured into the gay underworld of 1950’s Brighton when he meets sophisticated gay museum curator, Patrick. The ensuing love triangle has far reaching consequences for the three of them in a society where homosexuality is still illegal.

    Vintage style is big business in the 21st century and one decade which brings on a warm rush of nostalgia is the 1950s. Homes are being decorated with stylish repro 50’s patterns and tweed jackets are making a comeback, but have you ever considered what it was like to be gay before the law reforms of 1967 made homosexuality legal? This pitch perfect novel captures the atmosphere of fear which surrounded being gay in 1950’s Brighton. Roberts has created a compelling and haunting story with strong credible characters which is hard not to become instantly immersed in.

    The backdrop of historical detail doesn’t intrude on a great story but adds depth and colour to it. The city of Brighton is recognisable by its landmarks but alien in its climate of repression. I would heartily recommend this book as being well written and eminently readable. It’s a book which causes you to stop and think about how we view the past through a filter of our own current experiences and realise that maybe the good old days weren’t always so good for gay men.

    BUY FROM AMAZON

  • BOOK REVIEW | My Policeman

    ★★★★★ My Policeman |Naive schoolmistress Marion first catches sight of handsome Tom in Brighton and is instantly smitten by his wholesome good looks and swimmer’s physique.

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  • FILM REVIEW | Romeos

    This is a story with a difference, about two star crossed lovers.

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  • FILM REVIEW | North Sea Texas

    Pim is a young boy from a small Belgian coastal town who lives a dreary existence with his mother, Yvette, who is a boozy accordion player.

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  • THEATRE REVIEW | HAHN BIN The Renaissance Of Classical Music

    His playing is revolutionary, his talent extraordinary, Hahn Bin plays the violin as though his life depended on it.

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  • THEATRE REVIEW | Geo Wyeth AKA Novice Theory

    Perched atop an Ikea coffee table playing a battered old Casio in nothing but his underwear is the curious ball of nervous energy that is Geo Wyeth.

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  • THEATRE REVIEW | Play Without Words

    If you’re anything like me then the ballet isn’t something you’ve considered as being your thing and contemporary dance conjures up images of incomprehensible manoeuvres performed with ridiculous seriousness. I always thought dance seemed a bit absurd and inaccessible.

    I saw a production of Matthew Bourne’s brilliant “Edward Scissorhands” in Nottingham a few years back and was proved entirely wrong. I’ve since seen quite a bit of modern dance and most of it has exceeded my expectations but my loyalties still lie with Mr Bourne. He’s certainly earned the many accolades and awards he’s gathered with his productions including the long running all male production of “Swan Lake”. He’s also earned the admiration of a whole load of gay men with the gay themed “Dorian Gray”, the homoerotic “The Car Man” (loosely based on “Carmen”) and the recent “Early Adventures” with its gay overtones and its homage to male underwear modelling. That’s not to mention the obligatory amount of lithe male flesh which is often on show. The Joan Crawford style stepmother in “Cinderella” was pure high camp and the scene where loose women and even looser men ply for trade in a 1940s Underground Station was enough to titillate even the most jaded palate.

    His latest production has just opened at Sadler’s Wells and is due to transfer to Norfolk and I’d recommend catching it before it’s too late. Forget the Olympics. This is definitely an inspirational show.

    The show is called “Play without Words” and is loosely based on 1960s British films like “The Servant”. It’s set in Chelsea in the upper class home of a bright young thing and revolves around his relationship with his manservant. It’s a fantastic production. The sense of seductive and permissive morals is played out with intensity against a back drop of desperate power struggles. The costumes, set and styling are breathtaking and the show manages to be suave and erotic as well as funny and invigorating. The dancing styles encompass a range of movements and the sheer force of some of the dance sets is immensely powerful. Catch it while you can! It’s the most chic and stylish thing you’ll see this year. Think Colin Firth in Tom Ford’s “A Single Man”. Oh…did I mention? There are some very attractive men in it too and they’re not too unhappy about showing off their bodies along with their dancing skills.

    The show is running at Sadler’s Wells until the 5th of August 2012 before a transfer to Norwich Theatre Royal from 7th to 12th of August 2012

    http://www.new-adventures.net/productions/play_without_words

    Matthew’s new production of “Sleeping Beauty” starts in November.

    http://www.new-adventures.net/productions/sleeping_beauty

    Chris Bridges writes for the Gay UK team and also publishes reviews and opinion articles on his blog: http://gayboyinterrupted.blogspot.co.uk/

  • FILM REVIEW | The Mission

    ★★★★ | The Mission

    The Mission contains enough heart, energy and soul for any audience to forgive the rough around the edges finish. It outweighs many of its more polished, bigger competitors in its intentions and message.

    Set in the Mission district of San Francisco, Che Rivera (Benjamin Bratt) is an admired, macho, tattooed and well respected man. Bus driver, single father, recovering alcoholic, ex con and spends his spare time fine-tuning his beloved customised ‘low rider’ (that’s a vintage automobile for the uninitiated). Living with him is his treasured only son Jesse (Jeremy Ray Valdez) who has a secret not yet told to his father. You start to understand why as the story progresses. Upstairs, Lena has just moved in. A strong, fiercely independent and earthy woman, who works at the shelter for abused women. Lena begins to fall for Che, until a side of him is revealed that she fears she’s seen the results of all too often at the shelter. Upon the discovery of his son’s sexuality Che violently disowns his son in a gritty on-street spat, a difficult, heartbreaking scene to watch in gay cinema; it tears the two apart. The neighbourhood, an audience to the event, learn about Jesse’s sexuality, which sends homophobic ripples through the Latino community. The writer’s intentions may have been to focus on the relationship between father and son, but overwhelmingly the focus falls on the Latino community, and how it might play a role in the way fathers treat their gay sons.

    The story is told with truth and empathy for Che, Jesse and Lena; the casting is brilliant and crucially credible. Valdez, plays his Latino homosexuality with dignity, sensitivity and courage. His worry, isolation and the confinement of his sexuality is played exceptionally (I fell in love with his doey eyed, submissiveness.) Yet, strangely, we don’t hate his father – although we should. Instead we desperately want his father to understand and to accept. It could be clichéd, but it isn’t, we’re being allowed to participate in this bittersweet, intimate, father/son journey.

    Che’s tolerance gets an invigorated jolt, when his son is attacked on the streets of Mission, but there are pot holes along the way. He refuses to accept Jesse’s boyfriend, who for all intents and purposes comes from a different planet; monied, middle class, educated and white. The stark opposition makes the relationship, at best, two-dimensional, a more powerful script may have demanded another Latino boy for real punch and grit.

    Che, with the loving of a good woman (Lena), starts to welcome Jesse back into his life, but feels a little incongruous, in the respect that by satisfying Che’s love-life he is able to accept his son’s.

    The language is sometimes simplistic and the resolution premature for it to really feel believable. I like my loose ends tied up – The Mission’s resolve feels clunky. However the theme and issues buried in this film are vitally important – the teenage ‘coming out story’ from – and for an entirely new generation. I applaud the movie makers for The Mission’s integrity, worth and ambition.

    Available to buy / view on: Amazon