THEGAYUK

Category: Review

  • FILM REVIEW | Ravers – Rave like there’s no tomorrow

    FILM REVIEW | Ravers – Rave like there’s no tomorrow

    Rating: 3 out of 5.

    Hey, want to forget all that is happening in our world and go to a Rave? Well, perhaps the new film Ravers is for you.

    Why attend an online rave on Zoom where all you see are faces when you can actually watch a real wave (digitally of course), a rave which combines all the right elements: excellent music, being illegal, millennials, drugs, and said millennials turning into zombies.

    ‘Ravers’ is the wave you crave but it’s also a film with an excellent soundtrack – for real! The story is basic. Poor Bucky (Georgia Hirst), a budding journalist who has not quite found a great great story to write about. And while she’s not the most social of butterflies amongst her circle of friends, she’s convinced to go to an illegal rave in an abandoned factory that used to produce energy drinks. Years ago there was an incident at the factory where one of the employees went on a killing spree. So no guess where this film is going as once the rave kicks in, a stash of the energy drink is found (which was contaminated) and is passed out to the ravers.

    But the drink doesn’t give the ravers energy (there are all drugged up anyway), it turns them into flesh-eating killing zombies. So Becky and her friends who didn’t drink the substance are all trapped inside the factory (someone has blocked the only entrance) and there is no way out. As the music goes on (the D.J. is killed but one of the zombies – a wannabe DJ – takes over the turntables and pumps it up), the real people must run around the factory trying to save their lives while also trying to think of a way to quiet the zombies. Becky, meanwhile, tries to rescue her love interest Hannah (Manpreet Bambra) from zombiedom. Will they get out? Are they able to get the zombies to turn into normal loud obnoxious millennials again? 

    Ravers, with a tagline ‘party like there is no tomorrow’ pretty much sums up the situation we are all in. It’s a fun movie not to be taken too seriously, and while it’s not awful, the music in this film is awesome – much more enjoyable than the film itself! But at only 90 minutes it’s much more enjoyable than being part of an online rave.

    However, attend at your own risk – and make sure there are no energy drinks or millennials around!

    Available now on iTunes

  • FILM REVIEW | Vivarium – scary, and all too real!

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Imagine being trapped, held against your will, in a house and a neighbourhood that is weird and creepy. Actually that’s our reality right now, but take it one step further and imagine that there is simply no escape – and what you have then is Vivarium.

    Vivarium literally means an enclosure, container, or structure adapted or prepared for keeping animals under semi-natural conditions for observation or study or as pets; like an aquarium or a terrarium. In the new scary and disturbing science fiction movie Vivarium, Tom and Gemma (Jesse Eisenberg and Imogen Poots) are being observed, studied, but by whom they, nor we, don’t know.

    Before this, they were just a young ordinary couple looking for a house to buy. Gemma was a teacher, while Tom was a DIY man. But one day they walk into a real estate agents office and meet an odd, clean-cut and crisp robotic salesman named Martin (Jonathan Aris) who is more than happy to show them a house at a development called Yonder.

    Once they get there, everything looks and seems perfect; homes all alike in an environment with round clouds and blue skies, while the house Martin shows them is perfect, almost too perfect. But Martin disappears while Gemma and Tom are looking around the home, and they get into their car and realize there is no escaping the neighbourhood. It’s then that their young idyllic future turns into a nightmare as they are forced to live in the house in which they can’t escape from, where food, and a baby boy, are delivered right to their doorstep, to create one happy family.

    ‘Vivarium’ shows a young couple right at their most vulnerable, put in a situation they simply just can’t escape from. Director and writer (with Garret Shanley) Lorcan Finnegan has a keen eye for detail, and as the mystery builds, so does the nightmare of the whole situation. Without being bloody and violent, Vivarium, is just downright scary, but more chillingly as perhaps because it seems all too real.

    Vivarium is available on the following digital platforms:

    iTunes/Apple TV
    Amazon
    Sky Store
    Virgin
    Google Play
    Rakuten
    BT
    Playstation
    Microsoft
    Curzon Home Cinema
    BFI Player

  • QUICK CAR REVIEW | Ford Ranger Raptor

    QUICK CAR REVIEW | Ford Ranger Raptor

    Toughened Up Toy Truck

    Rating: 4 out of 5.

    Ford take their Ranger workhorse pick-up and turn the volume to 11 making it into a BIG plaything. 

    Compared to the standard workday Ranger, the Ranger Raptor really is BIG. The reinforced chassis and body shell make it both imposing and rugged but does that make it massive and unyielding? 

    One thing to remember is that this is a European Raptor. It’s not the US Raptor which means it is suited to our roads and our unknown roads because it will travel well off-road.

    Off-road, its ability to cushion the ruts was astounding. The increases in height and track width playing a great part here. It all became a bit of a disappointment. Shocked by this admission, the man from Ford was intrigued by my statement and keen to find out why. The suspension soaks up the worst of the rough and smooths it like a cheesecake topping spread on a rough crumbly biscuit base.

    That capable suspension being made of linkages, coilover springs and Fox suspension systems in place of trusty but non-compliant leaf springs. It all comes together to make for a better than happy medium. 

    On-road this translates into a comfortable ride with very little road noise from the 30 plus inch wheel and purpose-built tyres with a 20 per cent strengthened sidewall. That said, push the mighty truck into a corner and you soon get complaints from the tyres.

    As is typical with a pick-up, the load bed area isn’t integrated with the main shell. This can have a detrimental effect with inertia shaking the rear end, more so when on the road than off-road. Like the main body, the bed is well bolted to the chassis.

    What doesn’t work is the engine and the 10-speed automatic gearbox. While the 10 speed is good at keeping the engine on the power band, in standard mode, it keeps it around 2500rpm. The changes are smooth and in some ways it behaves like a typical torque converter system with a bit of slush from the box. It belies the power outputs of the engine. 

    The engine, being a 2-litre turbo diesel, develops 213PS from a low 1500rpm and the 500Nm of torque is good in almost any situation. Mated to a 10-speed automatic gearbox, it has a ratio for every situation you are ever likely to encounter.

    On the road, it doesn’t quite work out as well as you’d think on paper. Power delivery is smooth but it doesn’t feel as quick as the stated 10 seconds quoted. Overtaking needs to be planned. It doesn’t quite fit in with the promise of power that you’d expect. 

    I do love a truck so performance of the 0-60 variety isn’t my thing. It’s no Ford F-150 Lightening. What I would be looking at when buying this at almost £50k as tested is its ability to go off-road but also be comfortable on-road and thankfully it does both. So it’s nice to see the inside logical, convenient and comfortable with the fit and finish perhaps a little too good for a workhorse.  

    Cheap it might not be but then most playthings aren’t these days and that’s sort of what you have here and it’s fabulous. Speaking of playthings, on its launch, computer game Forza launched the Ranger Raptor to the game. Former TGUK motoring journalist, Alan Taylor-Jones proved to be quite the whizz kid. I wasn’t. Thankfully for me, Ford doesn’t test us on computers simulators first before setting us free. If they did I might be writing this from the other side of the cabin on the comfortable passenger’s seat! 

    Love 

    The size

    Fit and finish

    Smooth on road driving

    Loathe

    The size

    Price

    Performance

    The Lowdown

    Car –  Ford Ranger Raptor

    Price – £ 48,000 (as tested)

    MPG – 24.4 mpg (combined)

    Power – 213PS

    0-62mph –  10.5 seconds

    Top Speed –  106 mph

    Co2 – 233 (g/km)

  • BOOK REVIEW | Two Jeeps, An American Road-Trip by Alex Kefford 

    BOOK REVIEW | Two Jeeps, An American Road-Trip by Alex Kefford 

    Rating: 5 out of 5.

    Have you ever wanted to take to the interstates of America in a vehicle of your choosing and explore the land of the free? That is exactly what author Alex and good friend Vince did with a few twists and turns more worthy of most tricky off-roading courses for any 4×4 out there.

    With the idea set into their minds in somewhere in 1998 where our intrepid travellers met as office workers, it wasn’t until much later that the idea started to become a reality when it was discovered Vince needed to be in Utah for a wedding. A plan to travel coast to coast across America in 2 Jeeps taking in as many national parks as they could was hatched.

    The twist, to import 2 UK righthand drive Jeeps to the starting line in Connecticut. The turn was to turn their UK road-ready Jeeps into weapons for the broken tracks they would encounter in the USA. The reasons for this was in the economies of scale it simply proved to be far more economical to have the Jeeps modified in the US by a company that had access to the many Jeep parts needed. And for the love of the mechanical appliance, there is something quite emotive about taking your own vehicle on holiday.

    So Alex (and Vince) starts the tale with a fraught check-in at Heathrow and cutting it to the wire with an unforgiving schedule that doesn’t stop over the next 17 of the 18 chapters, 222 pages and 5572 miles across 15 states of America. 

    Interspersed within the book are the joyless searches for various motels, the fact that Vince can’t handle his alcohol, the vast array of pancakes eaten and a nice touch of historical relevance to the places visited. It’s these little historical touches that help mark this out to be not another ‘man drives across America’ book. The chapters themselves are relatively short being around a dozen or so pages each and this is broken down into the journey, little snippets of fun in the narrative that carry the reader from one State to another. 

    With all States having their own peculiar ways not just in rules of the road but the local constabulary, the unfathomable way fuel is distributed and some of the crazy laws of the local eating establishments. It makes for an easy and interesting read like Alex is with you telling you the story first hand in a pub garden.

    “Two Jeeps” makes for a lovely travel companion too. It also goes some way into doing the route leg-work if this is something you planned on doing yourselves. You can access this from the website www.twojeeps.com. Fear not however because nothing about the book or the journey is given away on it.

    Within the chapters come the reason why they went through all they did to get here. To drive through the various national parks with their breathtaking views in vehicles capable of a lot more. The main focus for this comes halfway through the book but it is here were the short travelog of stories could be somewhat elaborated into a more in-depth talk about the surrounding land and the perilous passes endured. That is my only criticism of “Two Jeeps”.

    The ending is coming close for them and you the reader at chapter 15. In Hollywood fashion, they must depart Moab as a storm of unknown magnitude is brewing that could be seen in the distance and there are still over 700 miles to travel.

    So did they make it out past the storm and into LAX on time to depart for Blighty? The Cherokee had given trouble motoring along the way while the Wrangler had been free of problems. It would be telling to give away the outcome over the last 3 chapters but it is here that the reading intensifies to the books ends. So I suggest you buy the book and find out for yourself. 

    Available in paperback, ebook and audiobook from most notable online book retailers, including Amazon. More information on the website www.twojeeps.com

    Photos: Alex Kefford / PR SUPPLIED

  • CAR REVIEW |Volvo V90 T8 Twin Engine AWD R-Design Plus

    CAR REVIEW |Volvo V90 T8 Twin Engine AWD R-Design Plus

    Volvo V90 T8 Twin Engine AWD R-Design Plus | The Versatile Rapid Tourer

    Everyone is going hybrid these days and Volvo are no exception to this. The Swedes have been looking at ways of propulsion and with the help of sister company, Polestar, there is pretty much a T8 twin-engined model in every sector Volvo have entered. We look at the V for versatile V90 estate with the T8 setup.

    Let’s get my issue out of the way first. This model is Volvo’s largest of the ground-hugging saloon and estate cars and comes in R-Design. For a Luxo-barge, I had my reservations of the R-Design. It’s not a bad model in the range, but does this ‘sporty’ model get ruined by being made to feel dynamic for reasons that we Brits like it and more importantly, will I like it?

    The V90 comes with just 5 power sources across the range and the T8, with its 87hp electric motors powering the rear wheels is the most powerful out of them all. It’s available across the range except in the Cross-Country models. Those use a full 4WD system for obvious reasons. 

    The petrol unit powering the T8 is a 303hp petrol 4 cylinder. Combined with motor assistance on the rear wheels it will project the Volvo estate from 0-60 in just 5.0 seconds. In practice, it feels a touch more lethargic than that though this can perhaps be attributed to the beautiful way the car can glide away from a standstill without much noise at all. The electric motors go some way to eliminate the throttle lag of the petrol engine. It’s still a little hesitant but just enough to be worthy of a mention. 

    And 5.3 seconds 0-60mph isn’t to be scoffed at. Until recently it was the time set by the superstars like Lamborghini. Imagine the fun of being able to blow away a Countach with your 1,526-litre load-lugger with more space than a double bed in the rear. Admittedly you wouldn’t. You’d want to hear the sound of that Lamborghini V12 pull away.

    And here is the key to the V90 T8. Serenity. So perhaps it might come as a surprise that even in R-Design, the UK’s market leader in the range with dynamic feel, has this ability in almost any drive mode you select to isolate you from the harshness of what a 15mm lowered suspension set up could bring. From a spec sheet at least, it all seems superficial except for the said lowered sports suspension and 18-inch alloy rims.

    Inside is typical Scandinavian elegance. Ergonomic cockpit set up for driving pleasure and ease of use. The infotainment system allows for multiple changes and adaptions to suit you the driver and not the R&D departments preferences. And this allows you to set the car up to become more of how you want it and it’s A) surprising how specific we all are when given the chance and B) why more don’t offer this. This is your car after all. There ends up being very little to annoy and dare I say it, as a motoring journalist, not much to say any more about the insides of Volvo’s.  

    Driving is a pleasure and getting the best from the twin-engined set up is ease itself. The use of “twin-engine” is perhaps a little misleading when there is in-fact only one engine up front and two small electric motors at the back. By this calculation alone it should then perhaps be called a tri-engine. Anyway, I digress because the art of the system is beautiful. 

    Now 21 miles on the battery might not seem much distance at all but it’s more than you think. A drive home from visiting my father in Bognor saw me empty the battery packs by the time I arrived in Storrington. That was 22.1 miles of non-sympathetic motoring. The V90 T8 had the ability to carry itself quite rapidly at legal speeds on battery power down the A27. Not necessarily designed for rapid motoring over a distance like this, the batteries side of things did very well. And it’s this ability to have full use of the electric motors that makes it such an easy system to use. I do however struggle with its lack of ability to charge the batteries adequately when on the move unless you select it too. It’s sort of self-charging but by-passes the ability to use the hybrid system. 

    That said, I did calculate my fuel economy with the XC90 T8 being most favourable. With my daily commute now being just under 10 miles each way with the return drive home mostly being downhill (I’m not making that up), I could go for years without actually using petrol. But that really is exceptional usage.

    The Volvo V90 T8 is quite the Q-car then in terms of looks over function over ability. It carries stuff, lots of stuff. Cossets occupants in tranquillity and yet is as far removed from what you’d expect a Volvo estate to behave like. Forget the mind-blowing 850 T5R from the 90’s and their wake up call to the world as to what Volvo could do. That’s power dressed and old news. The V90 T8 is the future. For the moment at least.  

    Love

    Ease of use of the hybrid system

    Intelligent interior

    Serenity

    Loathe

    Unable to self charge adequately unless selected

    Aggressive pilot assist

    Some throttle lag from standstill

    The Lowdown

    Car –  Volvo V90 T8 Twin Engine AWD R-Design Plus

    Price – £ 67,500 (as tested)

    MPG – 97.4 – 117.7 mpg (WLTP combined)

    Power – 317hp (petrol) + 87hp (electric)

    0-62mph –  5.0 seconds

    Top Speed –  115 mph

    Co2 –  49 (g/km)

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Bala Baya, London – A real find!

    RESTAURANT REVIEW | Bala Baya, London – A real find!

    ★★★★★| Bala Baya, Southwark, London

    A real find in the restaurant scene is Bala Baya. It’s a real find because it’s tucked away in a spot hard to find and it’s a real find because it’s extremely delicious. 

    A few minutes walk from Southwark tube station in the revitalised railway arches now chock a block full of restaurants and a couple of small theatres is Bala Baya. 

    Top-notch Israeli food cooked with care and to perfection is delivered to tables with grace and elegance in a space that is uniquely designed to make everything just perfect. 

    There are many choices on the menu but the best value is the set menu where you’ll share 7 dishes at £42 per person where each dish is so unlike the others.

    The Chickpea Hummus (£7 on the a la carte menu) is an excellent blend of mixed spices, pine nuts (superb and plentiful), pickled chillies (for that extra kick), with tomato pulp, and served with two fluffy and very soft pitas. Just superb overall. The Mackerel & Harissa (£13), a dish I would normally never order, was an unexpected delight thanks to the combination of the Sharon Fruit (variety of persimmon), mustard cress and tomatoes which gave the dish a nice zing! While the mackerel was, of course, very fishy, the non-fish portion of the dish pushed it over the edge into delicious category. But what was more than delicious was the Wild Tomatoes dish. Very large (£10) and with each ingredient superb, it consisted of Mooli (white root), pickled red onions, Manouri cheese (similar to feta but cooked and better-tasting), and coriander with blackberry vinaigrette to top it off. Superb, zingy, and beautifully presented, with all the ingredients a great mix. It’s a dish I could eat every night! The Cauliflower & Roe (£13), while not as fabulous as the Wild Tomatoes (it’s hard to beat), consisted of a large cooked cauliflower with harissa, sweetcorn black pepper and cured fish roe on top of acidic vinegar, which, along with the harissa, gave the cauliflower a minor kick but it was an excellent texture. Next up was the Crispy, Sticky and Crunchy dish (£11) of chicken thighs – and all four pieces were of the name, with bitter orange, harissa, kimchi, butternut squash puree, hazelnuts sprinkled on top, and sumac.

    While the Kimchi was too spicy, the combination of the rest of the ingredients gave this dish the perfect taste. But what was to come after just topped everything: the Cheeky. It was Ox cheek (a nice round portion, and slow-cooked for 3 hours we were told), with a large aubergine resting comfortably on top, and plum tomatoes alongside with the entire dish swimming in beef and date jus. And if this sounds mouth-watering it’s because it was! A dark brown dish, with the plum tomatoes giving it colour, it was large enough for us to share, but to be honest I wanted more of this dish even though I was getting full! Superb. It’s £18 on the a la cart menu by the way. 

    Too full is an oxymoron when you know there is dessert still to come. And we had two from the menu: the Burnt Babka and the Malibu Malabi. And if they both sound delectable it’s because they were! The Babka (dough baked into a golden brioche-like bread with added chocolate and hazelnuts and plums) reminded me of a cinnamon bun but with much more flavour. I absolutely loved this dish – and it was up to standard with the mains we had just devoured! The Malabi was coconut, orange blossom, mango, citrus fruit, sumac and rose all compacted into a glass dish.

    My dining companion loved it but I was very happy with my Babka! Both desserts are also on the a la carte menu (£9 and £8 respectively).

    As mentioned previously, the tasting menus are a bit better value than the a la carte menu. The other tasting menu is £53 per person – you get one more dish but this menu does not include the Cheeky nor the Wild Tomatoes dishes – which were two of my favorites.

    As for drinks, it’s a given that Bala Baya has a drink for everyone. Cocktails are fine, with the Flying Camel a standout (Ketel One, Cointreau, grapefruit, sumas and rose), but I need to go back and try the Champagne Martini (yummy!), the Pomegranate and Ginger, and (!!) the Peach (with peach liqueur, lemon and prosecco). The wines are a good value, at two pages you have your pick of white, rose and reds, but as Bala Baya is an Israeli restaurant, your best bet is to jump in with both feet and go for the Israeli wine.

    Chef Eran Tibi, a descendant from a Middle Eastern family, successfully brings his family’s cuisine to London. Trained at Le Cordon Bleu and the kitchens of Ottolenghi, the Roundhouse’s Made in Camden kitchen and founding Executive Chef at Zest@JW3, Eran’s passion and creativity are apparent in every one of his dishes.

    It’s a slick, cool two-story restaurant with the downstairs in full view of the open kitchen but it’s upstairs where you want to sit. With an overhang of plants in the back, to the high ceilings and the floor to ceiling windows at the front, it’s a very comfortable environment where the tables are not too close to each other. And it’s under the concept of Desert Bauhaus, with interiors designed by the award-winning architect Afroditi Krassa. The wait staff are superb, attentive and very nice, and there is nothing bad to say about this place. It’s just perfect, like a lazy Saturday afternoon on a Tel Aviv Beach. 

    For bookings click here

  • CAR REVIEW | Audi A1 Citycarver 30 TFSI 116PS S tronic

    CAR REVIEW | Audi A1 Citycarver 30 TFSI 116PS S tronic

    Driving Out Of The City

    Audi has just revamped their little A1 for the city giving it the “Citycarver” moniker. It sits high up in the A1 range and therefore towers above the Sportback model in the range in more ways than one.

    What we have here is an Audi A1 that has been lifted a huge 50mm. That’s 2 inches in old money. It’s also dressed up with some black wheel arch extensions like those from Audi’s Q range but this is no SUV.

    It’s still Audi’s little hatchback car. 

    For a start, the raise in rode height should, in theory, make for a lofty wallowing ride when compared to the Sportback that we at THEGAYUK liked very much. In some degree, it does but not in a notably loose way that you would expect. It’s rather less Germanic in comfort terms and it seems to be a trend I’m noticing from the ‘normal’ cars from Ingolstadt. The ride remains faithful to the A1 Sportback in being entertaining on A and B roads while also being just that much softer while retaining a semblance of body control.

    This floaty Audi was fitted with the engaging 999cc TFSI 3 cylinder petrol unit mated to a sort of hydraulic dry clutch gearbox. In essence, it’s an automatic with 3 drive modes. Auto, wheel paddles or selected on the gearstick in S mode. All three work well though on the stick shift it always feels wrong when knocking back goes up the gearbox. Many do it the other way around and that feels more natural. This gearbox has come in for some harsh criticisms for its lack of go-go-go when you floor it from a stand-still and I’m happy to report that the hesitation now almost link to this system was well muted. It felt better suited to the city fight for space when pulling out of a side road quickly. 

    It doesn’t try to be hot hatch despite its identical credentials of the other A1 in the range and it makes for the better car. However, it doesn’t all go its own way. For a start, as a car named for the city, it lacks protection. The city can be a brutal thing. Remember all the trouble Carrie and the girls had trying to navigate their way around Manhattan? It’s like that for the A1 Citycarver. It looks great but those looks won’t last long. The absence of door rubbing strips is noticeable. There isn’t even an option for them. It goes a little way in the fitment of black wheel arch extensions but these are hardly the things to preserve the flanks of the doors in a carpark.

    And then there is the interior. It’s just a bit business like inside. You can’t fault the ergonomics and driver comfort but the colours are more suited to a boardroom meeting with a packet of rich tea as the only available snack. Perhaps it was the £575 optional python yellow metallic paint that exaggerated this. The colour was bold and memorable and made a statement wherever it was parked. But the grey inside with the below par for Audi, silver trim across the dashboard just doesn’t cut it, well certainly not in a car that costs just under £23 grand before options. 

    It redeems itself inside with Audi’s 10.25 inch digitally adaptable facia display and 8.8-inch infotainment screen. This is thankfully angled towards the driver. The interface is easy to navigate around and responds to fingering inputs quickly. Annoyingly the lane keep assist system will always reset after you switch off. Its aggressive tugging can be quickly turned off from the end of the wiper stalk. 

    Despite my criticisms, it is a rather nice package let down perhaps by Audi being at the business end of the global company it comes from.

    A smattering of bright colour dotted around wouldn’t go amiss inside. That said, it’s the engaging enthusiasm the chassis affords you when you get out of the city. Kick-off those high heels and slip into those comfy trainers and your A1 becomes a Carver, cutting up the badly maintained back roads of England with aplomb and this time you’re allowed to keep the ESP off all the time!

    It’s just that I wouldn’t want to take it back into the big city without those door rubbing strips. They might be unfashionable but it’s cruel out there! 

    Love

    Engaging drive

    Ride comfort

    Infotainment system

    Loathe

    Price with options

    Business like interior 

    Lack of city parking protection

    The Lowdown

    Car –  Audi A1 Citycarver 30 TFSI 116PS S tronic

    Price – £ 28,035 (as tested)

    MPG – 45.6 – 46.3 mpg (WLTP combined)

    Power – 116PS

    0-62mph –  9.9 seconds

    Top Speed –  123 mph

    Co2 – 115 (g/km)

    ALL PHOTOS Ⓒ Stuart M Bird.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Priscilla Queen of the Desert – National Tour

    THEATRE REVIEW | Priscilla Queen of the Desert – National Tour

    Rating: 2 out of 5.
    Priscilla Queen of the Desert - National Tour review

    Everyone’s favourite big, gay bus is hitting the road again, as Felicia, Tick and Bernadette unplug their curling tongs and go bush, travelling across the Australian outback and making their way to perform a show in Alice Springs.  Between the breaking down, bickering and bigotry, the trio learns about life, love and friendship whilst strutting their stuff in their high heels.

    As Felicia says at one point in the film that the show is based on, “there’s nothing like new frock to brighten your day, girls.” The show has been re-imagined and like the bus itself, it is given a fresh coat of paint.  But not every frock is made of satin and this production, unbelievably, manages to suck most of the fun out of what is, in reality, a superb show.

    Joe McFadden is woefully miscast as Tick, hardly making any eye contact with the audience and flipping between being virtually inanimate to over-exaggerating every gesture, whilst Miles Western portrays transsexual Bernadette more as a gay man than a trans woman; with only Jordan Cunningham bringing much to the main trio as Adam and his drag alter ego Felicia. 

    The corrugated iron-based background set is bland, gone are the recreations of the Oscar-winning costumes (to remove the flip-flop dress is a crime) and the titular bus doesn’t fare too well either. There is an abundance of unnecessary creative decisions – the “comedic” shooting of a kangaroo, a flashing nun and the addition of a set of dancing hicks whilst Adam belts out La Traviata from the top of the bus – which simply don’t sit well within the show. The delivery of the script fell flat. There is an increase in the sexualisation in the show, containing more groin thrusting that is really needed and seemingly replacing the camp with a vague sleaziness.

    The choreography was safe rather than outrageous, and the staging made the performance space seem almost empty when the ensemble cast were performing. Those who are seeing the show for the first time may well find much to enjoy, but disappointingly, this is an incredibly uninspiring production.

    On the plus side, the Divas’ were able to belt out the tunes, the soundtrack comprising of a selection of disco classics is stomping and the musical numbers are undertaken with energy and enthusiasm by the ensemble. But sadly, the re-imagined show looked cheap, the costumes were disappointing and tacky, the performances from the main cast were broadly poor and the over the top camp felt sadly lacking.

    It must be difficult to drain the life out of such a buoyant and uplifting show, but somehow, this production manages to do just that.

    Priscilla Queen of the Desert is at Sheffield Theatres before continuing on its national tour

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Spy Plays, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | Spy Plays, London

    ★★★★★ | Spy Plays, Above the Stag Theatre, London

    Intrigue. Attraction. Mystery. Lust. Sex. Murder. These are the themes surrounding two plays rolled into one and called ‘Spy Plays’ now at the Above the Stag Theatre.

    David Thame’s ‘Kompromat‘ and ‘London/Budapest‘ are shown together for the first time, and both based on true life events where the same actors play different characters in both, 60 years apart.

    ‘Kompromat’ which in Russian culture is short for “compromising material”, and which has been previously performed at the Vaults, tells the chilling story of Gareth Williams, the presumedly gay man who worked for a government agency and who was found dead inside a sportsbag in the bathtub in his Pimlico flat in 2010. The show takes the story further by surmising that he picked up a man at a gay bar on that night and took him back to his flat. Guy Warren-Thomas plays Gareth, shy yet brilliant, while Max Rinehart plays Zac, the young mysterious Hungarian who seduces Gareth and perhaps had something to do with his death. In ‘London/Budapest’ it’s 1955 and Author Adam de Hegedus (Warren-Thomas), has just met a young man (Rinehart again, at his most seductive) at the Jermyn Street Baths, and takes him back to his Pimlico flat. But who is this young man? Is he who he says he is?

    And did de Hegedus actually commit suicide or was he murdered?

    So what links these two men? A Pimlico flat, and that both dead had connections to the spy world. And Director Peter Darney beautifully, with the help of the production team, brings it all to life on one of the stages at Above the Stag. In ‘London/Budapest‘ we are whisked to a appropriate era set with a comfy lounge chair while in ‘Kompromat‘ it’s a modern bachelor flat where death will rear its ugly head. And the acting couldn’t be better. While Rinehart has the most dialogue and delivers it with passion, Warren-Thomas Is just perfect in his duel roles and is also absolutely breathtaking when he enters the stage in ‘Kompromat’ in an outfit that’s unexpected yet very, very sexy.

  • FILM REVIEW | The Invisible Man; is scary

    FILM REVIEW | The Invisible Man; is scary

    The Invisible Man ★★★★

    An unseen stalker is wreaking havoc on the life of a San Francisco woman in the new version of ‘The Invisible Man.’

    Elisabeth Moss plays Cecilia – who literally runs away from her very wealthy tech genius of a husband Adrian (Oliver Jackson-Cohen) because of his mental and emotional abuse. But Cecelia has not completely broken away from trouble – she feels like she is being watched, spied on, and stalked by someone, something. But her sister Alice (Harriet Dyer) informs her that Adrian has committed suicide, and shows Cecelia the news on her smartphone. So her sister reassures her that she is free from Adrian and all the torment that he had caused her. But her unease continues and racks up even more when strange things start to happen (a blanket pulled off from her bed, footsteps seen on the ground).

    This invisible stalker becomes more bold and violent, enough so that an unseen force murders her sister in plain sight, framing Cecila for the murder. She is convinced that her ‘dead’ husband is still alive, even after being assured that he’s dead by Adrian’s lawyer brother Tom (Michael Dorman). Writer and Director Leigh Whannel (’Saw’) really ratchets up the scare factor, including in quiet moments in the film when Cecilia is tending to normal activities.

    Moss is very good as the victim, and as the film creeps up to its 2 hour running time, the suspense builds, though there are a couple of moments of disbelief.

    All in all ‘The Invisible Man’ is one scary film that successfully reimagines the very scary HG Wells original.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Prince of Egypt, London

    THEATRE REVIEW | The Prince of Egypt, London

    ★★★★ | The Prince of Egypt, Dominion Theatre, London

    Dreamwork’s animated 1998 film ’The Prince of Egypt‘ comes to life at the Dominion Theatre. 

    With music and lyrics by veteran composer Stephen Schwarz, and directed by his son Scott Schwartz, ‘The Prince of Egypt’ faithfully follows the film in the telling of two men – Moses (Luke Brady) and Ramses (Liam Tamne) – who were raised as brothers but, in one of the dark secrets of the family, are not actually brothers.

    Moses was born a Hebrew, and after an accident where Moses pushes an Egyptian guard off a temple being built by the Hebrew slaves, he runs off and encounters what turns out to be his real sister and the real members of his family – all Hebrews. While his adopted father dies, Ramses takes over as the Pharaoh – King – while at the same time still condemning all Hebrews to a life of slavery, which will now include his brother. With the brothers divided, what will become of their relationship, and of the Hebrews who desperately seek their freedom? 

    The production values in this show are worth the price of a ticket. From the illuminated pharaohs and hieroglyphics, which are projected on to the sides of and on the stage, to the amazing costumes and sets, ’The Prince of Egypt’ was made for the huge stage that is the Dominion Theatre. And the dancers are all actually superb, morphing from statues to flowing water to wind to sand dunes to the burning bush where God tells Moses that he needs to return to Egypt and guide the Hebrews to freedom.

    Yes, we also get to see Moses part the red sea, with videos of waves projected onto the sides of the stage to make it look like the Hebrews are actually walking between the red sea. Disney, just like their other productions in the West End, looks like they spared no expense in this production. Kudos go to Sean Cheesman, choreographer, who has guided the dancers to be practically another character in the show, to the production and set design and costumes (Jon Driscoll, Kevin Depinet and Ann Hould-Ward respectively), and the performances of both Brady and Tamne. Also, the singing voices of Christine Allado, Alexia Khadime and Mercedesz Csampai are just beautiful. While there were a couple of scenes that had us scratching our heads, overall it’s an amazing production and one not to miss.

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