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Air France is due to recommence flights to Tehran in Iran which has left many of its gay flight attendants fearing for their lives and what might happen to them after landing.
A petition has been created by a concerned employee of France’s largest airline who called for the airline to re-look at its ethics.
The petition has reached over 13,000 signatures.
Mr. Laurent who created the petition called upon Air France/KLM to reconsider its ethical stance on sending gay flight attendants to Iran
“It is time again to show that Air France believes in ethics, not only for his public image. [But to] grant gay crew the right to refuse to go to a country where they could be killed for who they are.”
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Homosexuality is illegal in Iran and those found guilty can face 74 lashes or the death penalty.
In 2008 Air France suspended flights to Iran. The airline is resuming the service after international sanctions on the Islamic Republic over its nuclear programme were lifted.
Speaking about Air France’s decision to resume flights to Iran, Mr. Laurent commented,
“If the economic decision to open flights to Tehran is understandable, the moral issue is different. Human Rights in this country are almost non-existent.”
Air France has already said it will allow female flight attendants the right to refuse travel to Iran. The petition is asking the company to consider the same option for those who identify as openly gay.
ALSO READ: Where In The World Is Homosexuality Punishable By The Death Penalty
Mr Laurent continued,
“Fortunately, the unions intervened, the feminist cause is often seen, the media seized the debate, the hostess got (which would have seemed logical from the start) the right to refuse travel.”
TheGayUK reached out to Air France for comment, the airline has yet to comment on the petition or answer questions about the safety of LGBT staff members.
Nerves start to unsettle when one gets an invitation to watch ‘another’ production of Twelfth Night by William Shakespeare. But those were soon soothed when we walked in to The House of the Birmingham Repertory Theatre to come upon what looked like a set for a band. If one could sum up Filter’s creation, it would be: ‘A Shakespeare Rave’. My leg certainly didn’t stop bobbing up and down to the music.
The quadruple –threat cast multi- part and multi-instrument played with energy that was coming from the power sockets. Electric like no other. Harry Jardine, who played Orsino and Aguecheek must have got his muscles from the rehearsals, for he was continuously running, summersaulting switching characters so efficiently that one would get dizzy after a few blinks of an eye. Effortless performance and Harry still managed to speak in blank verse to an excellent standard. Ferdy Roberts, who redirected Twelfth Night alongside Oliver Dimsdale, played Malvolio to a degree of mastery. The ‘don’t-know-what-you’re-going-to-get’ type actor kept the audience on their toes, as Ferdy sauntered around as Malvolio capturing the danger of the character. At the same time, rocking out with his air guitar solo, and stripping off to his yellow stockings which capitalised the ‘b’ of bold. Dan Poole as Toby Belch was hilarious and had comedic timing down to a ‘t’. Olivia Darnley who played Olivia was funny and charming, and did formidably well in the scenes where she tried to seduce the male characters. All in all, everyone had an incredible talent that brought the show alive, ingredients of which have led me to see this as my favourite Twelfth Night production I have ever seen!
The highlight for me was when Harry as Aguecheek asked/made me get on stage with the rest of the cast. He did this because I missed his Velcro cap when throwing the ball at his head. So, Harry kindly allowed me another chance, but I missed again. In the end I had to wear a cap like his to which the audience were given balls to throw at us. I loved it! This tour should be a sell-out and where dates need to be bolted on for more to see!
Twelfth Night plays at The Birmingham Rep until the 16th April 2016, 0121 236 4455
Johnny is coming back to EastEnders on the 12th April, but he looks very different from the last time we saw him! Johnny has a new actor behind him!
The part of Johnny was originated by Sam Strike, who decided to leave the soap in December 2014.
He left the soap to make his name in Hollywood.
Speaking about his decision to leave Sam said,
“I also didn’t really feel like at the time my character was necessarily needed in EastEnders.
“When I was in talks about leaving, I spoke to the people that I’d been working with the most – including Dom, the executive producer, and the Carters. I said to them that if there was anything they really wanted me to do we’d do that, as I didn’t want to leave people high and dry.
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However the character is back and is now played by Ted Reilly.
Johnny Carter is not the first EastEnders’ character to be played by more than one person. In the past characters Lucy Beale, Martin Fowler and Sam Mitchell have all had actor changes in the past.
Inclusion in this list is not indicative of a person’s sexuality, but a tribute to their work for the LGBT community in their lifetime which earned them the mantle of “gay icon” or LGBT ally.
Singer, Songwriter, 11th January 2016
David Bowie passed away at the age of 69 after an 18 month battle with cancer. His son Duncan Jones confirmed the news.
David Bowie’s sexuality was well documented and discussed. He came out as gay in 1972, two years into his marriage with Angie Bowie during an interview with Melody Maker.
In 1976 he confirmed he was bisexual. Four years later in 1980 Angie Bowie and David divorced.
By 1983 he declared that calling himself bisexual was the “biggest mistake” he had ever made and once again made the statement that he was a “closet homosexual”.
Actor, 14th January 2016
Alan Rickman was 69 when he passed away after a battle with cancer.
He recently won a fresh legion of fans as the rather camp Professor Snape in the Harry Potter franchise of films and as the equally camp Hans Gruber in Die Hard With A Vengeance in 1995.
Coronation Street creator and writer, 2nd March 2016
Tony Warren passed away after a short illness at the age of 79. He created Coronation Street in 1960 for ITV, when he was just 24. He wrote the first 13 episodes of what would become the UK’s longest running soap drama.
He was always openly gay, even at a time when homosexuality was illegal in the UK.
AXM owner, 21st March 2016
The owner of AXM, Haydn Pope died after “losing his fight” with cancer according to a Facebook post on the company’s page posted over the weekend. He was 49.
Gaydio’s morning team Chris and Emma, paid tribute to Mr. Pope saying that he was an amazing man, who was always supportive of Gaydio, especially in its early days.
Agony Aunt 2nd April 2016
Long standing agony aunt for ITV’s This Morning. She joined the morning team at the very beginning and helped 1000s of people across the UK. She was particularly helpful to members of the LGBT community coming to terms with their sexuality and dealing with family fall out after coming out.
She was 83 and died after a “short but determined” battle with cancer.
Tom – A story of Tom Jones tells the tale of the early days of the legendary singer and the struggle he faced as he moves from the green, green grass of home to the big city lights of London in search of his big break. Constantly supported by his wife, Linda, Tom struggles with self-doubt and frustration as he pursues his dream in this musical biography.
The show was presented nicely enough, with projected backdrops and some well-staged, if simplistic, musical numbers; all held together by a good vocal and physical performance from Kit Orton as the Welsh crooner. The songs were inconspicuously slotted in to the show, and flowed naturally within the story, rather than feeling shoehorned in; and the live band added both atmosphere and energy.
Despite this, the show just had too many flaws to allow it to hang together. The show is primarily narrative based, so those expecting a run through of Tom’s greatest hits will be disappointed. The songs were just too few and far between, and consisted primarily of a collection of cover versions of 60’s hits or songs which were not always instantly associated with Tom Jones by the casual observer. It’s only after the best part of two hours has passed does the show provide the songs which the audience most likely came to hear, and only then in a closing mini concert consisting of four or five numbers.
The show demonstrates the drive and ambition that is needed to succeed and the determination by both Tom and his wife Linda to hit the big time. Underneath it all, there is a story of self-belief and about paying your dues to achieve your ambitions, but the constant cycle of Tom threatening to quit and his wife urging him to keep going seemed to be on a perpetual loop, with all dramatic tension lost given that we all know he makes it in the end.
The problem with the show is not the performances, staging or direction, but rather the writing, which has a narrative which just doesn’t have enough about it to ever really drive the show forward. The show focusses on Tom, his relationship with his wife and his struggle to make it, but the reality is that this story is one which is just to too bland and repetitive to make the narrative interesting, especially when compared to other similar musicals such as Soul Sister – The Tina Turner Story, Jersey Boys or Buddy!. In a lifetime career of a legendary singer with so many highlights in it, it feels like a missed opportunity to restrict the story to the narrow focus of repeatedly gigging in working men’s clubs.
That said, the audience was packed full of Tom Jones fans, and there were more whoops and cheers from them than you can shake your pelvis at. The show clearly appealed to Tom’s dedicated fan base and they thoroughly enjoyed it. It’s a show which will no doubt thrill existing fans of the singer, but unfortunately is unlikely to have a much broader appeal than that.
Tom – The Story of Tom Jones – The Musical is currently at Sheffield Theatres until 16th April 2016 before continuing on its national tour until the 4th June 2016. Visit the show’s website for further details at www.tomthemusical.co.uk/
After announcing the news that they were splitting last July, Kaleb and Kordale, the hot gay dads that took the Internet by storm with their candid morning routine picture, are back together and are expecting baby number 5!
Their story became a huge overnight success and the family starred in their very own Nikon Ad Campaign.
The Instagram fathers took to their official account to announce that they were expecting baby number 5.
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“After a long time of trying and praying, we’re finally able to announce our pregnancy at 12 weeks!! (WE’RE PREGNANT!!),”
https://www.instagram.com/p/BEB9krNBmcE/?taken-by=kordalenkaleb
The two, who parted ways last July never explained the reason behind their split, but the pair apparently sorted their differences at Christmas time, revealing,
“Real love is hard to find. However when you do find it. Hold on to it. Love is not easy, fight for it like hell.”
The baby is due in October and will join their four other kids and three dogs – sounds like a very busy household.
Congrats guys!
CREDIT: Scott Rylander
A middle-aged woman sits in a bar in a Tokyo hotel waiting for her husband; knocking back cocktails, sexually harassing the waiter and throwing out barbed comments. Her speech is unfiltered and whilst lyrical at times is also staccato and brutal at others. She sits well within the ranks of Tennessee Williams’ characters: a brittle yet beautiful monster who is bemoaning the onset of old age and so tightly coiled that an unravelling of some sort is inevitable. In short, she’s simultaneously a joy and a horror to watch.
Tennessee Williams’ late play “In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel” was met with a hostile critical reaction when it was first staged in 1969 and has rarely been produced since. It’s a shame that this work has floundered out of sight, as there’s much merit to it, despite its flaws. Written at the start of his final descent into addiction and depression’ it’s an unusual play with absurd elements and strange patterns of speech. The characters are unsympathetic at times, the dialogue isn’t easy to follow and the interactions are surreal. Yet, it’s also a very funny play in parts and there are moving aspects to the scenario. As the play progresses it becomes easier to fall into the patterns of the dialogue.
Director Robert Chevara has bravely mounted this version and done so with aplomb. The movement and rhythm is perfectly captured in his use of a well-chosen cast and a stylish set. The great Linda Marlowe plays Miriam with spiky coolness and is pitch perfect. She careers round the vertiginously steep stage on heels like a terrifying Gorgon crushing everyone in her path yet flashing hints of her underlying vulnerability. Andrew Koji is desperately handsome as the deadpan barman, gritting his teeth as Miriam shamelessly fondles him. Alan Turkington puts over the waspish campness of Leonard with style. Yet beneath all this lies an imperfect play that just doesn’t quite rise to the occasion.
If you’re a fan of Williams’ work then this play is an interesting addition to the body of his work. Within the period piece hallucinatory style there are echoes of characters, themes and styles that will be familiar. If you’re a newcomer to his work then it’s still worth a try.
Even at his less than best Williams is a monumental writer and always worth revisiting.
In the Bar of a Tokyo Hotel plays at Charing Cross Theatre until the 14th May 2016
The American producer David Gest has been found dead in a London hotel. He was 62 – no details of his death have been released, other than that the Metropolitan police don’t believe his death to be suspicious.
A statement from a friend and former bodyguard Imad Handi confirmed his death.
The star, who appeared in Celebrity Big Brother earlier this year was staying at the Four Seasons hotel in Canary Wharf when he died.
Mr. Gest was forced to leave Celebrity Big Brother early due to ill-health. He last 13 days in the house before he left.
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The statement released to the press read,
“It is with great sadness that I can confirm that David Gest has died today,”
A statement from the Metropolitan Police said:
“Police were called at 10:17 on Tuesday 12 April to the Four Seasons hotel, in Westferry Circus to reports of an unexplained death of a man in his 60s.
“London Ambulance Service were called to the scene. Life was pronounced extinct at the hotel. A post-mortem will be held in due course. Next of kin are in the process of being informed.”
Police have said there appear to be no suspicious circumstances.
Mr. Gest was most notably married to gay icon Liza Minelli.
Their marriage lasted from 2002 to 2003. They officially divorced in 2007.
David Gest was a theatre and concert producer. He had planned to tour the UK in July with his latest offering “the David Gest Is Not Dead But Alive With Soul Tour!”
In his last Tweet – Mr Gest paid tribute to Patty Duke who died at the beginning of April.
Darren Day who appeared with Mr. Gest in CBB, tweeted his tribute to the legendary producer. He said, “Heaven will be a brighter place”
Politics. Equality. Sexism. The relentless back and forth of politically correct bitching.
Petitions. Laws. Rights. Non stop nagging to get us all involved and care.
Old Minorities. New minorities. Cultural appropriation. The jaded activist’s burnout, versus
the relative innocence of maturing in a culture with previously hard won rights.
Do you ever hear: ‘Women got the vote didn’t they? It’s female priests AND Bishops nowadays, right?. Gays can marry. If you shout ‘faggot’ it’s a hate crime. No one has to sit at the back of the bus. Give it all a rest!’
Where do you stand? Do you care? Are you tired of being made to care? What is the the actual state of affairs regarding what has been achieved compared to what we feel about those achievements? How much do we all agree about where the new battle lines are to be drawn?
Well, regardless of one’s apathy or militancy, we are actually doing well – in terms of the acquisition of rights, the enshrining of them in law and, perhaps more importantly, how we all think about these things.
Few members of the public would tolerate the once familiar ‘No Blacks, Dogs or Irish’ signs in a news agent’s window, and, signally, they cannot be replaced with a modern ‘No Syrians, Muslims or Intersex’ sign either; notwithstanding the threat of terrorism, general ignorance, or the wide appeal of UKIP.
We have the incredible luxury of campaigning for our quality of life rather than struggling for life itself. So, should we still be campaigning for those inequalities that yet exist or rather leave it all to an embittered vanguard of old warriors?
Maybe. However, aside from the hand wringing of middle-class guilt, what can we, in these politically fatigued, media saturated times, actually do? When we turn to the funded mechanisms of social change all we seem to see is corruption and in-fighting.
Well it seems to me that Stonewall gave us the gift of fun to go with our freedom fighting… and fun is a pivotal part of any Pride. We can now, sometimes, change the world with a light hearted touch and have a good time doing it.
Right then: festivals and charity shops: The modern answer is to… Have fun, chill out and change the world through music. Enjoy consumerism, spend less and look good.
Turn up the volume. No sarcasm here: the contributions that have been made by raising awareness and generating finance from these sources is undeniable.
However, apparently there is an ‘elephant in the room’. An ugly fact, we’re told, regarding live music events…
‘In 2015 the major festivals displayed a massive gender imbalance. Of the 87 acts that were announced, 78 were all male, 3 were female and 6 were mixed groups. That was an 89.8% all male line up’.
We were all too busy having fun to notice. This misrepresentation does need to change. Or do we think the great pop divas: Lady Gaga, Madonna, et al, are the only examples of prime female musicianship out there? Maybe women just can’t cut the musical mustard when it comes to ‘serious’ rock? Somehow I doubt that, but the numbers are telling us that something strange is going on.
Well, someone has come up with a controversial response to this state of affairs:
Pandorafest.
In July 2016, Pandorafest will be ‘the UK’s first music festival to ‘focus on celebrating women artists and female musicianship across all genres’. Touted as LGBTQI friendly, it is a ‘one day, world class, live music event featuring female singer/songwriters, women musicians and female fronted bands playing across two stages’.
Male artists are welcome as band members but the focus is definitely on the ladies. Announced as family friendly and LGBTI friendly. It is NOT a women only attendance event, but rather ‘a traditional festival that simply redresses the imbalance of represented performers, with men, women and every other shade of the spectator spectrum all welcome’.
As all festivals should be.
It will be located in Scotland. There will be music, stalls, food and drink; all the usual fun of a fest combined with the addictive joy of doing the right thing by supporting women musicians and celebrating female musicianship… Sounds great….
Controversial, I’d said earlier. Well, if you don’t think it is, then fine, Pandorafest is for you.
But it’s not so fluffy if you’re a struggling male artist or band. The festival scene is VERY competitive. There are guys out there that would sell their organs to get a shot at the mainstage of a decent event. For them it’s business, a chance to get some career changing publicity, to show the world what they can do.
And there’s a brand new player in the ever growing British festival scene. But it doesn’t want them. However good they are. Whatever they have to say.
Can we truly only combat discrimination by discriminating against the majority? If we’re drawing up new battle lines we should be careful,this time round.
Perhaps Pandorafest will have a charity shop stall?
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