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  • THEATRE REVIEW | Funny Girl

    ★★★ | Funny Girl

    CREDIT: Johan Persson

    Is there anything Sheridan Smith can’t do?

    She’s now playing Fanny Brice in the new West End musical Funny Girl, but Smith has done quite a bit in her short 34 years. Already an OBE, Smith has won tons of awards for her work both on stage and on television. She’s won two Laurence Olivier Awards (Legally Blonde in 2011 and Flare Path in 2012) and one television BAFTA (Mrs. Biggs in 2013). Smith has also been featured in several films in the past few years, including the recent The Huntsman: Winter’s War and 2013’s Powder Room and The Harry Hill Movie. But it’s her role as Brice in Funny Girl that’s bringing Smith more plaudits and acclaim.

    In a role Smith starred in last year to sell out crowds at the Menier Chocolate Factory, it’s now transferred to the Savoy Theatre for a short 6 month run. Smith plays Brice, a role which made Barbra Streisand famous (and which won her a Tony and an Oscar), so Smith has huge shoes to follow. And does she fill them? Not even close.

    Fanny Brice is the true story of a young Brooklyn born Jewish girl with huge stage aspirations. The real Brice was born in 1891 to Hungarian immigrants who had arrived to the US as children but managed to make a life for themselves and their children in Brooklyn. So Smith’s job is to make you forget Streisand’s Brice and reinvent the character to make it her own. And she does in her own way. She’s charming and lovely and can sure belt out a tune. Songs made extremely memorable by Streisand – ‘People’ and ‘Don’t Rain on My Parade’ – are sung by Smith, good enough for this production, but not very memorable. And we’re supposed to believe that the handsome, debonair, charming (and con man) Nick Arnstein (Darius Campbell – perfect in the role) falls in love with her and not for her money. She’s so in love with him that she certainly can put up with his gambling habits and dubious investments. But even Brice can’t figure why he’s fallen for her, and neither can the audience.

    Brice does find fame and fortune as a performer, with a proud Jewish mother (Marilyn Cutts) by her side all the way, living her dream by being employed by the great Florenz Zlegfield (Bruce Montague). But the crux of the show is the relationship between Brice and Arnstein, it’s a volatile one but not quite believable, and it’s a shame that the show isn’t more about Brice’s talent and less about the relationship. Smith is given her moments, and she gives it all she’s got, a bit over the top at times (her Brooklyn Jewish accent is a bit over exaggerated at times).

    There are no amazing sets, and no showstopping numbers as in most musicals. But great costumes and an excellent supporting cast, with classic musical numbers, makes Funny Girl worth a look.

    It’s not a very memorable production but it’s clearly a star vehicle for Smith, and she makes it her own.

    Funny Girl plays at the Savoy Theatre until October 2016, 0844 871 7687

  • Prince’s Most Played Tracks Revealed

    To celebrate the life and works of Prince (7 June 1958 – 21 April 2016), music licensing company PPL has released an official chart of the Most Played Prince Tracks of the 21st Century.

    Aggregated using PPL’s exclusive UK airplay data, the chart collates those Prince tunes which have been played in public (in pubs, nightclubs, restaurants, shops, offices and many other business types) as well as broadcast on TV and radio, since the year 2000.

    Prince passed away last week at the age of 57.

    1999, the title track from Prince’s 1982 album of the same name, tops the chart.


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    PPL Most Played Prince Tracks of the 21st Century:

    1. 1999,   1982

    2. The Most Beautiful Girl In The World, 1994

    3. Kiss, 1986

    4. When Doves Cry, 1984

    5. Raspberry Beret, 1985

    6. Little Red Corvette, 1983

    7. Purple Rain, 1984

    8. Diamonds And Pearls, 1991

    9. U Got The Look, 1987

    10. Let’s Go Crazy, 1984


    ALSO READ:  PHOTO GALLERY | Prince through the years

  • Gay Rights Activist Hacked To Death In Bangladesh

    Gay Rights Activist Hacked To Death In Bangladesh

    The editor of LGBT magazine Roopbaa has been “hacked” to death according to reports.

    CREDIT: Mandy2110/bigtsock
    CREDIT: Mandy2110/bigtsock

     

    Julhas (Xulhaz)Mannan, a senior editor of Bangladesh’s only LGBT magazine, Roopbaa has been hacked to death according to media reports.

    Police said that one other person alongside Mr. Mannan was also killed when attackers entered an apartment in Dharka. The other victim has been named as his friend Tanay Mojumdar.

    Mr. Mannan also worked at the US embassy.

     


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    Speaking to the Dhaka Tribune a security guard said that “five to six” young people identifying themselves as couriers said they had a parcel for Mr. Mannan.

    The security guard said,

    “But half an hour later, I heard shouting and shooting sound from the flat and went to look into the incident.”

    “The assailants then attacked me with knives,”

    Although no one or any group has claimed responsibility for the killing it happened just two days after suspected Islamic militants hacked a university teacher to death with a machete. Earlier this year a law student was also hacked to death after expressing secular views online.

    Last year four bloggers were also slain with machetes. They had all appeared on a list of 84 “atheist bloggers” which was widely circulated to Islamic groups – the BBC reports.

    The BBC’s Bengali Service editor Sabir Mustafa said staff at Roopbaan, had “been careful to protect their identities but had not believed their lives were at risk.”

    The magazine which launched in January 2014 had not been condemned by the government and had received support from foreign embassies. Mr. Mannan said that the magazine’s main goal was to “promote love”.

    Homosexuality is illegal in Bangladesh and the country has no legal protections for LGBT people.

     

  • ADVICE | I Have Found Lumps And Bumps On My Balls

    This week a reader is worried about some lumps and bumps he’s found on his testicles.

    I Have Found Lumps And Bumps On My Balls

    DEAR TGUK,

    I have a cyst on my testicle, I’ve had it a couple of years, it doesn’t really bother me much, should I do anything about it?

    Pat, Manchester

     

    If you have had the lump on your testicle checked and have been told it is a cyst, then as long as it doesn’t change you do not need to do anything. Often if a lump is found a doctor will order an ultrasound scan to confirm it is just a cyst. The tubes which are attached to your testicles can feel lumpy or a bit like spaghetti and this is usually normal, but if in doubt get it checked.

    If you are unsure it is definitely worthwhile visiting your GP or a sexual health clinic. Men should check their testicles once a month (ideally after a bath or shower) rotate them between your index finger and thumb to feel the surface to check there aren’t any new lumps. If you do this you will get to know them well. If anything changes you are then more likely to spot it quickly.

    Here’s a great video on how to check;

    For any lumps and bumps on your genitals which you are concerned about, just book in or if you can walk-in to a sexual health clinic. Try not to feel embarrassed as lumps and bumps are very common and the staff are experienced and used to seeing many people with similar problems each day.

     

    by Jake and Jenna at 56 Dean Street

     

    The advice listed above is not intended to replace or take the place of that of your own doctor, GP or medical professional who knows your full medical history. If in any doubt make an appointment with your doctor as soon as possible.

    OTHER QUESTIONS: HIV | WILLY WONDERS | HOLES | DOING IT | STIs | LUMPS & BUMPS | BACK TO SEX CLINIC HOME PAGE

    Got a problem you’d like advice on?

  • Gay Men And Pugs Is A Thing And It’s So Cute

    Gay Men And Pugs Is A Thing And It’s So Cute

    You can’t go wrong with a pug… and pugs along with French Bulldogs seem to be the dog of choice for gay men up and down the country.

    CREDIT: bigstock graphicphoto
    CREDIT: bigstock graphicphoto

    There’s even an Instagram hashtag and it’s amazing. We went looking for the cutest #gaypugs on Instagram.

     

    https://www.instagram.com/p/BBvEsHnCwbv/?tagged=gaypug&hl=en

     

     


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    Inclusion in this article does not confirm a person’s sexuality, rather that they used the #gaypug hashtag on Instagram. 

  • Sex Health Clinic

    Welcome to TheGayUK.com’s sex health clinic. The UK’s first online sex health portal for the LGBT+ community.

    Check out our huge archive of sexual health questions and use this form to ask our experts anything.

    Now we can bring you up-to-date information on everything you need to know in the world of sexual health.

    • Feel too embarrassed to book an appointment?
    • Not sure if you are in need of a screening?
    • Got that morning after feeling?
    • Found lumps and bumps that shouldn’t be there?

    Answered by a team of specialists you can ask anything you might be worried about.

    THEGAYUK may forward this email to a confidential email address with one of our healthcare partners. No other 3rd parties will handle this query.

    We do not collect any personal data from this form unless you add your email – in which case it will be handled in line with our Privacyprivacy policy.

    You do not have to give us your email address, but it may help us to contact you if further information is needed about your submission.

    We may not be able to reply individually to emails.

    You agree by clicking ‘Send’ that your question and any attachment may be published on THEGAYUK network. We will not publish any identifiable personal information in connection with your submission.

    If you have symptoms you should contact your local sexual health clinic for advice.

    This service is run free THEGAYUK

  • The Most Common Songs At Gay Weddings Revealed

    The Most Common Songs At Gay Weddings Revealed

    The formal planning of a wedding or civil partnership often takes a year. More often than not the most memorable part comes from the party and entertainment where guests can relax and let their hair down.

    The Most Common Songs At Gay Weddings Revealed

    Therefore we thought we would get the official list of most requested songs for weddings during the last calendar year 2015.

    The company favoured by mobile DJ’s across the globe www.DJEventPlanner.com gave us permission to print the formal list for industry eyes only which summarises over 2 million requests worldwide at nuptials of all sorts.

    We spoke to a number of well-known mobile wedding DJ’s and they unanimously said that the music chosen or that works tends to be largely the same whether they are entertaining a straight, gay or lesbian wedding – fun music is fun music period.

    With the exception of sometimes a different first song choice that a gay couple may choose like: The Mama’s And Papa’s Making Our Own Kind Of Music or Whitney Houston’s All The Man That I Need the rest of the night is indistinguishable from heterosexual weddings and defaulting to say In The Navy/It’s Raining Men/I’m Coming Out or Dancing Queen is seen as not treating the LGBT audience with the respect due on a couples’ big night.

    1 Pharrell Williams Happy

    2 Mark Ronson featuring Bruno Mars Uptown Funk

    3 Killers Mr. Brightside

    4 Kings Of Leon Sex On Fire

    5 Whitney Houston I Wanna Dance With Somebody (Who Loves Me)

    6 Bon Jovi Livin’ On A Prayer

    7 Black Eyed Peas I Gotta Feeling

    8 Bryan Adams Summer Of ’69

    9 Journey Don’t Stop Believin’

    10 Robin Thick featuring Pharrell & T.I. Blurred Lines

    11 Queen Don’t Stop Me Now

    12 ABBA Dancing Queen

    13 Maroon 5 Moves Like Jagger

    14 Bruno Mars Marry You

    15 Beyoncé Single Ladies (Put A Ring On It)

    16 Taylor Swift Shake It Off

    17 Rihanna featuring Calvin Harris We Found Love

    18 Daft Punk Get Lucky

    19 Dexys Midnight Runners Come On Eileen

    20 Foundations Build Me Up Buttercup

    21 Amy Winehouse Valerie

    22 PSY Gangam Style

    23 Van Morrison Brown Eyed Girl

    24 Beyonce featuring Jay-Z Crazy In Love

    25 Arctic Monkeys I Bet You Look Good On The Dancefloor

    26 B-52’s Love Shack

    27 John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John Grease Megamix

    28 Guns N’ Roses Sweet Child O’ Mine

    29 Stevie Wonder Superstition

    30 Ed Sheeran Thinking Out Loud

    31 Clean Bandit Rather Be

    32 Michael Jackson Billie Jean

    33 LMFAO Sexy And I Know It

    34 OMI Cheerleader

    35 OutKast Hey Ya!

    36 Olly Murs Dance With Me Tonight

    37 Kenny Loggins Footloose

    38 John Legend All Of Me

    39 House Of Pain Jump Around

    40 Avicii Wake Me Up!

    41 Katy Perry Firework

    42 Wham! Wake Me Up Before You Go-Go

    43 Oasis Wonderwall

    44 Beatles Twist And Shout

    45 Cyndi Lauper Girls Just Want To Have Fun

    46 DJ Casper Cha Cha Slide

    47 LMFAO Party Rock Anthem

    48 Jacksons Blame It On The Boogie

    49 Neil Diamond Sweet Caroline

    50 Proclaimers I’m Gonna Be (500 Miles)

    The number one Introduction – Marry You by Bruno Mars

    The number one first dance – Thinking Out Loud by Ed Sheeran

    The number one processional – Canon In D  by Pachelbel

    The number one recessional – Marry You by Bruno Mars

    The number one for cake cutting – How Sweet It Is (To Be Loved By You) by James Taylor

    The number one Last Dance – Never Forget by Take That (Internationally Don’t Stop Believing by Journey)

  • Eurovision Singer Suffers “Homophobic” Incident At Russian Airport

    Eurovision Singer Suffers “Homophobic” Incident At Russian Airport

    The Israeli entrant for this year’s Eurovision Song Contest, Hovi Star, has claimed that he suffered a homophobic reaction whilst in Russia to promote his song Made Of Stars.

    Hovi Star
    Credits: Ronen Akerman

    Singer Hovi Star, who is representing Israel in this year’s Eurovision Song Contest has claimed that passport control officers in Russia ripped his passport and told him that he couldn’t get into Moscow.

    During an interview he said that he was surprised at the alleged reaction and questioned whether it was because he is openly gay, the way he dresses and that he wears makeup.


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    Speaking on Malta TV, Star said,

    ‘Maybe people in Moscow have a rough time with people like me, maybe because I’m gay, maybe because I dress like this, maybe because I wear make-up, I don’t know. But when I wanted to get into Moscow, I had problems with passport control. They told me I can’t go in, they looked at my passport, they ripped my passport.

    Star also claimed that the two officers laughed at him.

    ‘It’s amazing that this happened in the Eurovision bubble because my song Made of Stars it talks about equality it talks about how everybody is the same, everybody was born the same, everybody will die the same.

    During his interview in Malta, Star talked about how his song, Made Of Stars, is about equality and how everybody is born the same and dies the same.

    The live studio audience erupted into applause at his speech.

     


    ALSO READ: Malta Tops The UK For Best Place For LGBTs In Europe

    ALSO READ: Romania Booted From The Eurovision Competition


     

    ‘Let’s take this as a lesson. I don’t take it personally, I really like Sergei Lazarov and I like Russia. This wasn’t a nice experience, we live, we learn, we continue, we smile and we give free love to everyone.’

    Star was eventually let in to Moscow not before, he said, he had to go to the Israeli Consulate in Moscow to get a brand new passport.

    TheGayUK.com reached out to Moscow Airport for comment.

  • ISIS Throw Man To Death After Gay Sex Charge

    ISIS Throw Man To Death After Gay Sex Charge

    The Islamic State have released pictures in which a man is thrown off a roof after being found engaging in gay sex.

    CREDIT: Terror Monitor / Twitter

     

    A man has been executed in Iraq after he was found guilty of engaging in gay sex. A crowd of onlookers watched as a group of around six ISIS fighters threw the man off a multi-storey building site in Iraq. The location of the building has not been confirmed, although it is thought it could be in Mosel in the north of the country.

    The man, who was wearing a highly visible turquoise jumper and dark trousers was watched by a group of onlookers – who stood at the foot of the building. The crowd included at least ten children.

    Unusually for this type of execution, the man was not bound at the feet and hands.


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    In the series of pictures released by ISIS, and published by TerrorMonitor.org, one includes a man dressed in black speaking into a microphone who it is believed was reading out the charges facing the man.

    https://twitter.com/Terror_Monitor/status/722384472805519360

    Throwing victims off tall buildings is the most common way in which ISIS execute men they find guilty of homosexuality of those who engage in homosexual acts.

     


    ALSO READ: Where in the world is being gay a crime for which you can get the death penalty?


     

    ISIS have taken over large portions of Syria and Iraq and it is believe that around 10 million people live under its control.

    CREDIT: Terror Monitor / Twitter

    Although the death penalty is not law in either Syria or Iraq in Islamic State controlled areas, in which they use Sharia Law as their legal system, gay men face capital punishment.

  • THE 60 SECOND FILM REVIEW | The Huntsman : Winter’s War

    THE 60 SECOND FILM REVIEW | The Huntsman : Winter’s War

    Two Hours of Chris Hemsworth wielding his very big chopper and chasing some very big men with it.

    CREDIT: Universal Pictures

    Nutshell / Hollywood pitch – Let’s make a prequel/sequel to the successful 2014 film where Snow White means Game Of Thrones. All other sequels go darker and moodier but here we go lighter and up the comedy and the action beats too boot. Evil Queen has even more evil Sister who has watched too much Frozen as like Elsa she can control snow and ice but here without bursting into ‘Let It Go’ at regular intervals. Chris Hemsworth has to save the day in the land where love has been banned yet he can’t help feeling the need to breed so he sets off on adventures to avenge a death…  It has a decent midway twist and Charlize Theron hamming it up superbly in two important sections in the secondary villain roll and you won’t be able to take your eyes off her when she is on screen.

    Time – 114 mins of swashbuckling action with slow parts.

    Certificate – 12A so the fights are very user friendly.

    Tagline – None – Preferring to go with “From The Makers of Maleficent” and ” From The Makers Of Alice In Wonderland”.

    THE GAY UK FACTOR – A full length feature in the company of the ultimate muscled man of the countryside Chris Hemsworth The Huntsman himself who can hunt us anytime – You can virtually smell his pits and testosterone through the screen this is one serious big Alpha male guy, unfortunately with one of the worst haircuts in movie history this time out. On the upside he does briefly decide to get into the bath naked which stills have already flooded across the internet on every gay blog and wank site.

    Cast – The Aussie Hunk Thor Chris Hemsworth and the South African beauty and Oscar winner for Monster Charlize Theron. Another Oscar worrying actress from The Help and Zero Dark Thirty Jessica Chastain plays the love interest and Emily Blunt (The Devil Wears Prada) round out the very heavy girlie cast which may be the reason for it’s average Box Office success. The supporting cast is Nick Frost (Shaun Of The Dead), Sheridan Smith from the superb TV Drama Cilla and Rob Brydon from BBC’s Would I Lie To You?, Gavin and Stacey and even Lock Stock and Two Smoking Barrels.

    Key Player – Mirror mirror on the wall who is… you know the drill. Charlize Theron does not have a huge screen time here but like the first film she dominates and steals it from everyone else and she seems to be having such fun maybe she should do a lot more villainess roles. We could all do with her evil mirror if it makes us this attractive.

    Budget – A not cheap $115 million. It hasn’t opened in the States yet but only garnering $44 million Internationally it maybe the first flop of the Summer blockbuster season. The previous film in the series made $396 million let’s put it simply, this one won’t. 

    Best Bit – 1.02 mins; The central fight scene in the woods and over a rope bridge with some very nasty creatures is the high point here. It is tense, well directed and the monsters are very good indeed and pretty unstoppable.

    Worst Bit – 1.18 mins; The big spectacular action sequence where Hemsworth has to climb a mountain and assail the villains castle roof tops should be a thrilling stunt fest with hands over your eyes moments and fingernails dug into your armrest’s but it just isn’t – Diehard With A Vengeance this is not.

    Little Secret – Charlize Theron was reportedly offered a lot less money to reprise her role in this film than Chris Hemsworth and she refused to sign on. Later the producers agreed that she was a big star and an International draw in her own right and raised her money up to $10 million for the movie exactly the same as what Chris got.

    Movie Mistake – Normally we would point out the bloopers and continuation errors but there is something bigger here. He is great to look at but Hemsworth’s accent here hits like a badly cast BBC 70’s comedy. When they move North the characters go all Scottish and when they go West they go Welsh – no problem for Rob Brydon but his three side kicks come over more like Bonnie Tyler, Charlotte Church and Gareth Thomas with bad head colds.

    Awards – Charlize and Jessica are massive award magnets but Chris is pure action man who will never get any gongs. The last film won nothing and nor will this except some Golden Rasberries for those accents.

    Further Viewing – Game Of Thrones, Snow White & The Huntsman, Maleficent, Alice In Wonderland and all Disney’s revamped darker versions of former cartoon fairytales, Thor, The Lord Of The Rings and Hobbit trilogies and a million fantasy sword and dragon movies.

    Any Good – Well you will certainly get your monies worth as a lot of that hundred mill is up there on the screen. It’s a decent Friday night out which won’t change your life. We just wonder if more Theron and some other male leads would have helped somewhat.

    Rating – 76/100 (76th out of the last 100 films reviewed with 1 being Gay UK filmatic ejaculatery heaven and 100 being as much fun as a long haul International flight next to a screaming baby whilst you are trying to concentrate on Thor The dark world.

  • Romania Booted From Eurovision Song Contest

    Romania Booted From Eurovision Song Contest

    Romania has been booted from the Eurovision song contest after its national broadcaster failed settle its bill.

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