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  • Katie Hopkins’ book, Rude, has publish date pushed back

    Katie Hopkins’ book, Rude has had its publishing date pushed back…

    Is Rude in Rude health? Katie’s publisher pushes back the drop date for former Celebrity Big Brother and Apprentice star Katie Hopkins’ book. When we first wrote about the book in June the book was placed at number 31,776  in the Amazon Best seller’s list – from pre-orders alone and had a publish date of 5th October 2017. Publishers, Biteback have now advised that the publish date is now 7th November.

    The book now sits at number #22,535 in Amazon’s best sellers’ list. Hopkins has now embarked on a speaking tour,

    Katie Hopkins, who has in the past said that it was her mission in life to become a “gay icon” has had a number of setbacks this year, including her legal battle with Jack Monroe and her departure from the LBC radio station. She does however still have her column with the MailOnline.

    THEGAYUK.com reached out to Katie’s Publisher for comment who said,

    “On 7th November Biteback will publish Rude a memoir by Katie Hopkins.

    Love her or hate her, Katie Hopkins is impossible to ignore, and this hilarious and revealing new book – part memoir, part handbook for the modern woman – is the same.

    Laughing through the chapters of her life, she shares her disasters, her biggest disappointments and the time she had to ring her super sensible boss to say she was on the front pages of the tabloids having sex in a field.

    From being kicked out of the army for being epileptic, to firing little Lord Sugar; from her first husband leaving her in the maternity ward for the big-boobed secretary, to the reality behind Celebrity Big Brother, she has plenty of surprises to share and lessons she thinks we should learn.

    Readers be warned, however. Katie doesn’t sugar-coat anything, and neither does she hold back, making her as honest in her book as she is in life.

    But this book is an introduction to a quieter Katie too, one people seldom see. She takes us beyond her front door and into the privacy of her home, writing as a mum of three, sharing things even she feels awkward saying.

     

    If you’re a fan and want to read it… you can buy it from Amazon

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Albion, Almeida Theatre, London

    ★★★★★ |  Albion, Almeida Theatre

    Mike Bartlett is riding on a high at the moment after the success of the second season of woman-scorned drama ‘Dr Foster’. As well as the much acclaimed TV drama he’s also a versatile and witty playwright with a string of theatre hits including the stellar “King Charles II” (what Prince Charlie did next), “Game” (the privileged classes shoot chavs for fun) and the epic “Earthquakes in London” (I think you can work that one out for yourself).

    His new play Albion is a sprawling three-hour epic concerning a successful businesswoman who uproots and plonks herself and her family down in a rural idyll with a dream of restoring an historic garden. Audrey is a bit of an uber bitch on one level. Suffering from profound grief following the death of her son in armed combat, she’s prickly and caustic, riding roughshod over her wet second husband and her disaffected daughter. Not to mention her guilt ridden middle class angst about the help, her strained relationship with her lesbian novelist best friend as well as her less than sympathetic views towards the local villagers who soon come to despise her. She’s also a strangely sympathetic character and is painfully real. It’s a tight script with echoes of Chekov (think disaffected people knowingly lurching towards disaster). Watching this feels a bit like settling down with a long but enthralling novel. It’s more than just a story. There’s a heavy layer of allegory and Bartlett turns his razor sharp gaze on to the people of England and their conflicted feelings towards their country.

    It’s a cracking play with multiple layers and is both thought provoking and emotionally involving without being preachy or patronising. The cast are universally strong, none more so than the fantastic Victoria Hamilton who plays Audrey. She’s been all over the TV of late as the put upon neighbour in Doctor Foster, The Queen Mum in Netfilx’s The Crown and the double crossing spy in the BBC2’s The Game. She’s magnetic and more than strong enough to carry this strong central role of a difficult but ultimately likeable woman.

    The stage set is absorbing and convincing. A huge tree dominates a long garden which the audience sit around in a horseshoe shape and it’s hard not to be taken in and feel like you’re out in an English country garden watching the human wild life fight it out.

    This is a rare treat. Go and see it while you can.

    Albion plays at the Almeida Theatre  24th of November 2017

  • COMMENT | Know your gay acronyms: When CBT doesn’t mean CBT

    CBT but not that CBT!

    When working in social housing the company which employed me, diversified and began to take on service users with severe and enduring mental illness.

    The brother of a colleague was a mental health practitioner. He came in to do some training and talk us through the manifestation of conditions so we would know what to expect.

    I don’t think he was prepared for us knowing absolutely nothing. I had to keep interjecting and explaining some of the jargon he used and asking him to define other terms that were also unknown to me.

    It had been a very tense session as many of my colleagues were unsure if they wanted to remain as support workers to the new user group. This demystifying and understanding of terms, explaining common diagnosis and interventions was invaluable to us.

    Then he started to talk about CBT, and in the corner, his gay brother collapsed into raptures of hysterical laughter. The sort of laughter that is contagious. The others did not know why they were laughing, or what the trigger for it had been. Our trainer was looking completely puzzled by it all.

    I too was guilty of sharing in the laughing, mostly because I was the only one in the room that knew what was funny. Finally, I regained some composure and explained the term CBT had been used as a reference to Cognitive Behaviour Therapy and not Cock and Ball Torture, which is why the gay brother had fallen about laughing.

    In a world of acronyms, it is inevitable there will be a duplication of some. CBT is unfortunate as it stands for 3 that are known to me Compulsory Basic Training to ride a motorbike being the third.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Venus In Fur, Theatre Royal Haymarket

    ★★★ | Venus In Fur, Theatre Royal Haymarket

    THEATRE REVIEW | Venus In Fur, Theatre Royal Haymarket

    A playwright/director bemoans the lack of female acting talent after a long day auditioning for the female lead in his new play. In walks Vanda, a ditzy and frenetic actress who’s turned up late but is determined that she’s going to audition for the part whether he wants her to or not.

    David Ives 2010 play is a twisting sexual and gender power play and a play within a play. The piece that Vonda is auditioning for is based around the 1870 novella of almost the same name (add an ‘s’ to the ‘fur’) by Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch. The clue is in the name: masochism was named after Sacher-Masoch and his desire to serve and be punished. The two characters read from the play and the roles they play both in reality and fantasy are in a state of constant flux. Thomas is a man who once stated that working in theatre was a great way to get laid but Vanda is more than prepared to take him on.

    It’s a slight play in some ways and is uneven at times with occasional absurd moments Whilst it has timely themes with the current Weinstein scandal, it’s not exactly searing. That doesn’t really matter here, though. It’s an OK play and is an entertaining 90 minutes but there’s an odd phenomena going on. The actress is far greater than the play. Nathalie Dormer (Margaery Tyrell in Game of Thrones) is totally hypnotising. Her co-star, David Oakes (currently on TV in Victoria), is more than adequate and is also easy on the eye but whatever your persuasion, I suspect you’re eyes will be drawn to every move, intonation and expression from the magnificent Nathalie Dormer. It’s sometimes hard to concentrate on anything but her central performance.

    Ignore the flimsiness of the play, although if S and M is your thing or you’ve ever contemplated this as a pastime then all the better. The main pleasure for most is the chance to watch such a virtuoso performance. Well worth seeing.

    Venue In Fur plays at the Theatre Royal Haymarket until 9th December 2018

  • No Hazel-E we won’t forgive you for your dangerous homophobia

    After writing that we should burn in hell, Love & Hip-Hop Hollywood star Hazel-E is asking for forgiveness.

    Hazel E star of the Love & Hip-Hop Hollywood TV show is apparently asking her gay fans to forgive her after saying  “burn in hell just like God said in the bible”!

    She made the comment in a comment on her boyfriend’s already homophobic Instagram post, which proclaimed that he said he hoped all gays would die and go to hell.

    Why did this all come about? Well, some troll apparently accused her boyfriend, Rose Burgundy of being gay and he was not happy about it. Taking to Instagram he wrote, “You really want to know how I feel about gays so bad well here you go I hope all gays die and go to hell…”

    Hazel-E then commented under his post saying, “Burn in hell just like God said in the Bible!”

    TMZ gave the star a platform to explain herself and her remarks.

    In a video, she says that she didn’t think her comment was a good idea and that she relied on the LGBT community for supporting her career. She also said that she didn’t mean the entire community – just that one troll.

    She said, “OMG, my life this hair, this makeup, this glam, my world would like, fall apart without the LGBT community”

    Watch as she asks for forgiveness and then tries to explain her comment away.

    Ermmm… No

     

  • Tanzania arrests 12 for “homosexuality” in Dar es Salaam

    Tanzanian police said Wednesday they had arrested 12 men, including two South Africans and a Ugandan, for presumed homosexuality as part of an ongoing crackdown against gays. “We arrested the criminals at (the hotel) Peacock — they were promoting homosexuality. (more…)

  • COMMENT | Religious bigots don’t deserve to keep their jobs

    The Archbishop of Sydney has said that religious believers could lose their jobs if same-sex marriage is legalised in Australia. If these religious believers are acting bigoted or being narrow-minded, then quite frankly, they don’t deserve to keep their jobs.

    He went on to say those religious believers could also face discrimination suits and bullying if the bill is passed. But what about the bullying and discrimination homosexuals have faced for years? He clearly doesn’t care about the homosexuals facing this. Hypocrisy. And such a caring attitude for a religious leader. Please excuse my sarcasm.

    He told worshippers that the government should “keep out of the friendship business and out of the bedroom.” Maybe he should take his own advice and keep out of the situation also. What right does being the Archbishop give him to interfere in friendship and bedroom matters?

    “The state has no business telling us who we should love and how, sexually or otherwise.” In his arrogance, he is, ironically, showing support of same-sex marriage. Thank you for that Archbishop. For once, we might actually agree on a point. No one should play God and tell anyone who they can love or marry. Pun intended. The fact we still need to vote on such matters is a disgrace in itself.

    This delightful human being carried on saying that it’s best for children to have a mother and a father. So Archbishop, what about the poor children who have been bought up in a single parent family because one parent died? Or the awful stories we hear of children being sexually abused by their mother and father?

    I’m no genius, but that is clearly not best for children. Issues in our society are not so black and white. It’s not a simple case of stating children should have heterosexual parents, one being a woman and one being a man.

    In my eyes, it’s best for children to have a role model who cares for them and loves them unconditionally and teaches them right from wrong. This could be a single parent or a mother and father or a mother and mother or a father and father.

    He continued in his arrogant preaching by saying if marriage is redefined, it will be very hard to speak up for real marriage anymore. What is real marriage, Archbishop? Beg my pardon for my simplistic views, but I thought marriage was the joining of two people who love each other whilst committing themselves, for richer, poorer, in sickness and in health etc.

    He said the vote had implications for religious freedom. This is actually so angering because the vote actually has massive implications for human freedom. The freedom for people to marry who they want to marry.

     

    Opinions expressed in this article may not reflect those of THEGAYUK, its management or editorial teams. If you’d like to comment or write a comment, opinion or blog piece, please click here.

  • FILM REVIEW | Double Date

    ★★★ | Double Date

    Two men get tricked by two very attractive women and it’s a ‘Double Date’ from hell!

    Jim (Danny Morgan) and Alex (Michael Socha) are typical 20-something men. All they want to do is drink and get laid, however, there’s one problem. Jim, fast approaching 30, is a virgin. Yes, he’s never gotten laid. He’s not all that bad. He’s nice and all, but good-looking Alex gets most of the attention and the girls. But when two women coincidentally seek out Jim by making an easy play for him, not all is what it seems. You see, these two women Lulu (Georgia Groome) and Kitty (Kelly Wenham), who happen to be sisters, are looking for a male virgin as a sacrificial lamb for their sick father (boy is he sick – and skeletal!), and Jim has stupidly posted his profile on a virgin dating site. It’s not too long before the girls lure the men into their home (a huge mansion) where they reveal their dark and sinister sides, and the boys will definitely not be getting laid on this double date!

    Double date is an amusing enough movie that doesn’t really take itself too seriously. The cast are all in good, scary and bloody form, and Morgan brings a bit of warmth and cuteness to his role (especially when he takes Kitty to his parents’ house for a brief birthday party). It’s all in good fun, and properly executed thanks to director Benjamin Barfoot. And while some of the fighting scenes forge on the unbelievable, at 90 minutes it’s not much of an investment in your time. And why yes, it’s the perfect double date movie!

  • 13 Reasons Why star reveals he’s not afraid to flash an entire street

    13 Reasons Why star Tommy isn’t afraid to flash an entire street.

    13 Reasons Why star reveals he's not afraid to flash an entire street

    It’s perfectly normal to stand in front of a window, with absolutely nothing on… Well, it is if you’re Tommy Dorfman, 24 – and to be fair we’re not complaining. The out 13 Reasons Why star recently shared the candid, behind-the-scenes snap from a photo shoot with V Magazine captioning it, “I was, in fact, naked in front of a window on mercer street thanks to @vmagazine”.

    So we now know what his husband, Peter gets to see – and all we can say he’s a very lucky man!

    I was, in fact, naked in front of a window on mercer street thanks to @vmagazine . . . . . . . ?@scottshapiro_ ?@raf_london

    A post shared by TOMMY DORFMAN (@tommy.dorfman) on

    In case you’re wondering who he is, Tommy currently plays Ryan Shaver, the school’s budding Editor in Chief,  in the Netflix drama, 13 Reasons Why. 

    Tommy plays, Ryan Shaver, budding Editor in Chief of the school’s newspaper in the Netflix drama 13 Reasons Why.

    It didn’t take long for Tommy’s timeline to fill up with appreciative comments from fans – and amassed over 43,000 likes!

    Based on the best-selling books by Jay Asher, 13 Reasons Why follows teenager Clay Jensen as he returns home from school to find a mysterious box with his name on it lying on his porch. Inside he discovers cassette tapes recorded by Hannah Baker—his classmate and crush—who tragically committed suicide two weeks earlier. On tape, Hannah explains that there are thirteen reasons why she decided to end her life. Will Clay be one of them? If he listens, he’ll find out how he made the list. Through Hannah and Clay’s dual narratives, 13 Reasons Why weaves an intricate and heart-wrenching story of teenage life that will deeply affect viewers.

    13 Reasons Why is available to stream on Netflix now.

  • Prostate Cancer UK opens online support group for gay and bisexual men

    Prostate Cancer UK has teamed up with Opening Doors London to trial a new online discussion group for gay and bisexual men who have been affected by prostate cancer. The online discussion group will provide men with the opportunity to discuss any subject or concerns about prostate cancer and offer support.

    The first session was held last night (18 October at 7pm) and was facilitated by Opening Doors London, the largest charity for older people in the LGBT community in the UK. Sessions will take place for an hour on the third Thursday of every month for the trial period (6 months) and will be accessible from a computer, tablet or phone. Participants can choose to dial in by video or by audio only, if they prefer not to be seen on screen. Additionally, men can join anonymously should they wish.

    Currently, 1 man dies every 45 minutes from prostate cancer – that’s more than 11,000 men in the UK each year. This makes tackling prostate cancer through research, campaigning and providing support crucially important. Tailoring information and services to different areas of the community also plays a key role in tackling this disease.

    Martin Wells, 63 from Burnley, is a gay man who was diagnosed with localised prostate cancer in 2007. He said: “Going through prostate cancer and the side effects of treatment really affected me psychologically. I desperately needed emotional support to help me get through this difficult time and there weren’t any services near me that focused on psychosexual health. The fact there is not tailored support for men like me in every area of the country, encouraged me to set up my own support groups. Talking to other men who could speak to me on my terms felt incredible. That’s why Prostate Cancer UK’s new online discussion group is a great opportunity for gay, bisexual men and MSM to come together and discuss any topics on prostate cancer without judgement, wherever they live. I would encourage anyone who has any concerns or needs support to join up and share how they feel.

    Ann Innes, Support Group Development Manager at Prostate Cancer UK explains, “We know that people find a great deal of help and support in dealing with prostate cancer from being able to talk to others about shared experiences and problems. Although there are many prostate cancer support groups around the UK, we know that some gay and bisexual men may not feel comfortable about discussing some of their concerns or asking certain types of questions in these groups. So we wanted to offer an alternative for people who would like to speak to others with similar experiences but who for whatever reason could not or do not want to utilise a face to face group. We hope to see this unique support group develop into a key trusted resource for these men going forward.”

    Professor Jeffery Weeks, Chair of ODL trustees said, “Opening Doors London is delighted to be working in partnership with Prostate Cancer UK in the development of an important new service. This online support group for gay men living with prostate cancer will provide new opportunities to challenge taboos and anxieties and to develop mutual support, confidence and knowledge.”

    The next session will take place on 16th November 2018

    To join the online discussion group, please register your details here:https://prostatecanceruk.org/lgbtgroup

     

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Hair, The Vaults, London

    ★★★ | Hair The Musical, The Vaults

    Hair, the original naked musical, is celebrating its 50th anniversary in a new production at The Vaults in London. Is the message that it sent in the hippie lovin’ 60s still relevant today? You betcha.

    When Hair was originally produced off-Broadway in New York City in 1967, its message of anti-establishment and free love, anti-war, and its display of full frontal nudity shocked audiences back then, leading to more publicity and packed houses. Now that we have Donald Trump in the most powerful office in the world, and with the UK ready to break off from the EU, and not to mention the political and socioeconomic changes happening around the world, Hair’s message is perhaps more relevant than ever before. But is it actually a good show?

    In the tiny, cosy and very hot theatre that is The Vaults under Waterloo station, 14 actors playing hippies sing and dance and sway their young lithe bodies all over the dirt floor that is the stage, and for one brief moment at the very end of the first half, they all get naked. And before and after in the second half, we are sung and spoken to by these youngsters as they tell their anti-war tales and burn their draft cards and the unlucky ones who are sent to fight in a war but come back with limbs, and emotions, gone.

    Yet all the favourite songs are here, songs that include ‘Aquarius,’ ‘Good Morning Starshine,’ and ‘Let the Sunshine In,’ songs that make this show famous, more so than the script. So if you’ve never actually seen Hair performed, go and see it now as this might be your last opportunity, but don’t expect to be wowed and awed in this production, though it might help if you take some stimulants to get you through the evening as this show is as mellow as can be.

    Hair plays at the Vaults Theatre, London until 3rd December 2017

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