The month of ghosts and ghouls! The weather is turning and Autumn is in the air. Your garden will be changing a lot this month as the leaves begin to fall, but don’t despair! Summer may be over but now we can all look forward to chunky knitwear, bonfires and warm spiced rum (at least that’s what we’re into at our house!). (more…)
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THEATRE REVIEW | Next Fall
★★★★ | Next Fall
Imagine meeting a younger man, falling in love and then finding out that he has a very different ideology from yours. How would you cope if you found out that he was a fundamentalist Christian who believes that homosexuality is a flaw, the Bible is a literal document and is waiting for a rapture to occur so that he can be drawn up to heaven?
Adam and Luke have managed to make their relationship work in spite of their differences. Adam is a failed writer from New York and a neurotic atheist with hypochondria issues. Luke is from Florida and is an aspiring actor with strong religious views and a tendency to pray to thank God for food and again after sex to ask for forgiveness. Luke has kept his sexuality secret from his parents, always planning to tell them next autumn but things come to a head when Luke is hit by a car and is lying in hospital in a coma and his long separated parents arrive from Florida along with a closeted male friend and his best female friend.
This multi award winning play by Geoffrey Nauffts is so much more than an issue centred play but works on varying levels: as a tender exploration of human frailty and diversity, a moving drama and also a really witty comedy with laugh out loud moments. Charlie Condou (Coronation Street) and Martin Delaney portray the couple at the centre of the play with skill but the real stars of the play are the supporting cast. Nancy Crane is exceptional as Luke’s flaky mother with drug issues and her comic timing is absolutely impeccable. She delivers killer line after killer line without batting an eyelash. Sirine Saba and Mitchell Mullen are equally brilliant in their portrayal as Adam’s New Age best friend and Luke’s bullish father, struggling to cope with his suspicions about his son’s sexuality.
The set is versatile, making use of the intimate space in play at Southwark portray hospital waiting rooms, apartments and even a street scene. The theatre is a perfect space for a play of this intensity and warm humour.
This is a play that is really worth catching. It’s definitely worth a trip to Southwark for a rare opportunity to see a play that has the potential to make you cry with both laughter and sorrow.
Next Fall runs until the 25th of October 2014
Buy tickets here: www.southwarkplayhouse.co.uk
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TOP 10: Favourite Gay Web Series
The rapid growth of high quality and extremely well produced WEB SERIES has made us sit up and take serious notice. Covering all aspects of our community, there is literally something for everyone. Here are another favourite Top 10 that we’re currently hooked on. So ditch that TV remote and turn your Laptop on to see the programmes that we really deserve and want.
1) THE OUTS: We were quickly addicted to this series written/directed and starring ADAM GOLDMAN as one half of a Brooklyn couple who are both trying to discover if there is life and love for them after they break up. Funny and tender and extremely perceptive: you will be hooked after the 1st episode
2) HUSBANDS: Two unlikely LA gay celebrities get married. One is an out and proud rather fey TV host and the other a hunk who may be the LA Dodgers first Out baseball star. This wonderfully rich and insightful comedy has already had over 3 million viewers on YOU TUBE, and you will soon discover why it is such a smash hit.
3) THE 3 BITS: This is another Brooklyn based show but this time it’s about three siblings: one gay, one lesbian and one straight. Each have their own story to tell. It calls itself a queer show about sex, love, booze, drugs, friendship, family and amazing acts of stupidity. But mostly sex. Immensely enjoyable.
4) THE BOYS WHO BRUNCH: This smart sexy urban series has been hailed as ‘Sex In The City’ meets ‘Queer As Folk’. In an attempt to shake up the monotony of his life in New York City, Mason introduces his 3 best friends to each other and creates a social-circle of his own. He then proposes a weekly brunch dare, something they’ll have the 6 days of the week to do before the next brunch.
5) THE BATTERY’S DOWN: Shortly after Jake Wilson graduated from the University of Michigan the budding director, choreographer and actor then tried to follow his dream and make it big on Broadway. This web series is based on his life as a struggling New York actor. Great musical numbers and camp drama plus each week he seems to snare a big star for a cameo role including Miss Alison Janney, Cheyenne Jackson and Whoopi Goldberg to name but a few.
6) TWO JASPERJOHNS: The most bizarre of all the series on our list, this oddball comedy is the tale of nine semi-sane brothers from Ohio living in New York whose last names are Jasperjohns and two of them live together. We cannot get enough of it.
7) TOUGH LOVE: A fresh edgy unpolished series about what it means to be young, broke, queer and trying to make it in New York City.
8) LITTLE HORRIBLES: Is a darkly comedic web series following the poor decisions of a self-indulgent lesbian trying to navigate her thirties being single in L.A. Created by Amy York Rubin who wants us to laughs in the face of those painfully uncomfortable moments that no one wants to remember, but everyone does.
9) WHERE THE BEARS ARE: Follows the exploits of 3 bear roommates sharing a house in the hills of Silverlake. It is a hilariously fun comic crime caper that is best described as “The Golden Girls” meets “Murder She Wrote” with big, hairy, gay men.
10) BULK: An excellent series featuring bears this time in NY, with it’s gritty, raw and sexy drama.
It seems like we discover a new series almost every week, so we will keep reviewing the ones that we think you should know about. If we have missed your favourite, please let us know.
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Elyar Fox Records Naked… Hurrah
British pop singer Elyar shows off his nips as he does a vocal…
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Poison Warning For Mushroom Pickers After Dozens Fall Ill
Every year dozens of people all over the UK have to seek medical advice after picking and eating wild mushrooms which then make them ill.
This is because some varieties which grow wild in the United Kingdom are poisonous and can make foragers ill when consumed: some types can even be fatal. Foragers should remember that the poisons in some of the most dangerous wild mushrooms are generally not destroyed by cooking.
So far this year the Public Health England commissioned National Poisons Information Service (NPIS) has been consulted for advice on 84 cases, and with the foraging season now underway the medics are sounding their warnings once again. The NPIS is contacted by frontline medics who need expert assistance when dealing with poisonings.
Dr John Thompson, Director of the NPIS unit in Cardiff, said, ‘As the weather starts to change many people will soon be heading out to the countryside to seek out wild food which can be a really fun thing to do.
‘But when it comes to wild mushrooms people really need to be aware of the very real potential dangers involved, it is always at this time of year that we see a noticeable increase in poisoning cases.
‘This is because while many mushrooms growing in the wild are tasty and safe to eat, it is not always easy to differentiate between toxic and non-toxic species even for people with experience in foraging.
‘That’s why we say that people should not eat mushrooms collected in the wild unless they are very familiar with the various types that grow in the UK and are sure that the mushrooms that they have collected are safe to eat.’
In 2013 the NPIS was contacted about 237 times after people who had eaten mushrooms fell ill, and reports came to the service from every region of the UK.
Many of those involved were children under 10 who had eaten mushrooms, but some enquiries were about adults who developed illness after consuming mushrooms that they had collected in the wild. Because of the risk of severe poisoning after accidental consumption of toxic mushrooms, the NPIS experts are warning foragers to take care when picking mushrooms and only to consume those that they know to be safe to eat.
Dr John Harrison, Director of PHE’s Centre for Radiation, Chemicals and Environmental Hazards, which commissions NPIS, said, ‘ People heading outdoors this autumn, whether it’s to gather wild mushrooms or just to enjoy the great British countryside, should be aware of the dangers that mushrooms can pose. Correctly identifying the mushrooms that are safe to pick and eat is the key to ensuring that foraging is good fun and does not endanger health.’
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STIs, HIV and AIDS To Be Discussed In Secondary Education
This will help make it clear to schools that every pupil must leave secondary school equipped with knowledge about STIs and specifically about HIV and AIDS.
However, the Sex Education Forum warns that learning about STIs must not be left to the final years of secondary school, and will only be effective if it builds on earlier learning about how our bodies work, and crucially about relationships. Having sex and relationships education (SRE) in every year of school helps children build up the understanding needed for good sexual health, and ensures that children learn about stigma and challenging prejudice as well as the biological aspects of the transmission, prevention and treatment of STIs including HIV.
The Sex Education Forum is the national authority on sex and relationships education (SRE).
The Chair of the Sex Education Forum, Jane Lees said, ‘The curriculum for Key Stage 4 science proposed earlier this year had no reference to sexual health, HIV or AIDS. It is very encouraging that calls from the Sex Education Forum and others have been heeded and the Department for Education has made this important change. Our survey with young people showed that 1 in 4 had not learnt anything about this topic at school. There is an urgent need to remedy this situation and this move by the Department for Education will help. We will continue to campaign for action to make the broader subject of SRE statutory in all schools’.
Last week, Human rights activist Peter Tatchell called for LGBTI-inclusive sex & relationship education to be statutory in all schools. Saying that sex and relationship education SRE should be made compulsory in all schools.
One in three gay men diagnosed with HIV in 2012 were in their teens or early twenties, yet 85% of gay and bisexual men receive no information about same-sex relationships in school.If you’ve got sexual health questions visit our no excuse project http://www.noexcuse.thegayuk.com or you can call the London Lesbian And Gay Switchboard on 0300 330 0630.
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Lesbians, Gays and Bisexuals Encouraged To Stop Smoking This October
Today is the launch of the Stoptober campaign and troubling statistics show that Lesbian, Gay and Bisexuals are more likely to smoke than their heterosexual counterparts.
Compared to heterosexuals, gay/lesbian and bisexual adults are 1.5 times more likely to be current smokers.
Two-thirds (67 percent) of gay and bisexual men have smoked at some time in their life compared to half of men in general who have smoked.
A quarter (26 percent) of gay and bisexual men currently smoke compared to 22 per cent of men in general.
Gay/lesbian and bisexual adults people over 16yrs are more likely to be current smokers, less likely to have never smoked, and less likely to have given up smoking than the general population.
Professor Kevin Fenton, National Director of Health and Wellbeing at Public Health England and LGBT role model at the HSJ said, ‘The figures speak for themselves – businesses can play an important role in helping their employees and see the benefits of a smoke-free workforce. Quitting smoking is one of the most significant health improvements a person can make and it is encouraging to see so many businesses and employers supporting Stoptober to help make their workplace happier and healthier places for their staff.
Last year, it was noted that English gay youth were twice as likely to smoke and drink hazardously compared to straight people of the same age. In an interview with TheGayUK, Dr. Joanna Semlyen stated there were several reasons why LGB people were more likely to
In an interview with TheGayUK, Dr. Joanna Semlyen stated there were several reasons why LGB people were more likely to smoke and drink, saying, ‘we suspect that the impact of homophobia and heterosexism within society, in addition to the possible experience of homophobic bullying whilst at school, may lead to what we call ‘minority stress’ or in increased self-esteemteem which young people then perhaps seek to alleviate with smoking and/or alcohol.’
11 Million Work Days Lost
Leading employers are supporting this year’s Stoptober quit smoking campaign because smoking is bad for business. Smoking currently costs the economy in England a massive £13bn1 a year, with businesses losing over 11 million days of productivity each year due to smoking-related sick days, which alone costs £1bn a year.FREE RESOURCES
New free resources are available for employers to support staff with the 28-day quit attempt. Everyone joining Stoptober can choose from a range of tools to suit them, including a new stop smoking pack, a 28-day mobile phone app, text support with daily updates, quitting advice and tips for coping, as well as the encouragement and support from thousands of people through social media. For more information and to join the biggest stop smoking challenge of its kind, search ‘Stoptober’ online and sign up. -
Look at the size of Rylan and Dan’s ROCKS
Now that Rylan Clark is off the market after announcing his engagement to Dan Neal, we’ve called upon an expert to analyse their rocks…
Now that Rylan Clark is off the market after announcing his engagement to Dan Neal, we’ve called upon an expert to analyse their rocks…
Lewis Malka of Lewis Malka London (www.lewismalka.com) says ‘Rylan and Dan look so happy together and the ring looks amazing too. It’s set with three rows of diamonds; a row of baguettes surrounded by two rows of round diamonds. All in all its a fabulous show piece and one that looks extremely comfortable to wear. I would estimate that this ring is worth in the region of £15,000.’
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Beautiful Thing Comes To Birmingham
Nikolai Foster’s celebrated anniversary production of Jonathan Harvey’s Beautiful Thing comes to Birmingham Hippodrome’s Patrick Centre from 30 March – 11 April 2015.
Multi-award winning actress Charlie Brooks, best known for her role as Janine Butcher in EastEnders, will lead the cast as Sandra in the forthcoming performance of Beautiful Thing. Other notable credits include Jenny in Bleak Houseplus being crowned the Queen of the Jungle in I’m A Celebrity, Get Me Out Of Here! and winner of the mirror ball trophy in the Strictly Come Dancing Christmas Special in 2011. She also recently enjoyed a critically acclaimed stage performance in Our Country’s Good at Liverpool Playhouse.
Thomas Law, whose roles include Peter Beale in EastEnders, Matt Haddon in Casualty and most recently as a young Simon Pegg in blockbuster film The World’s End will star as Ste.
Sam Jackson, whose roles include Alex Henley in Skins (E4), Jack in Drifters (E4) and a critically acclaimed performance as Billy Casper in Kes (Derby Theatre) will star as Jamie.
Director Nikolai Foster was recently appointed Artistic Director of Curve Leicester. His work has been seen in most of the UK’s leading regional theatres, touring houses and internationally, and recent productions include The Hired Man (St James), Calamity Jane (UK tour), Brecht’s The Good Person Of Sichuan (Mercury, Colchester), Flashdance (West End), Hayfever (CFT), Merrily We Roll Along (Clwyd Theatr Cymru), The Diary of Anne Frank (York Theatre Royal & The Touring Consortium), and Annie (WYP, Leeds).
Beautiful Thing is a glorious urban love story between two young men set on an inner city housing estate. It tells the story of teenager Jamie’s relationship with classmate and neighbour, Ste. Together the two boys find comedy, warmth and the music of Mama Cass through their loud-mouthed next door neighbour Leah. Jonathan Harvey combines comedy with drama in his critically acclaimed award winning play. Beautiful Thing truly captures what it is to be a teenager and to fall in love.
Executive producer Tom O’Connell said, “Having produced the original anniversary production, I am honoured to now partner with Nottingham Playhouse and Curve theatre, Leicester, two fantastic producing theatres, to bring Jonathan’s hit comedy to the stage one more time. Nikolai and I made a promise to each other that if we ever re-visited his production it would play cities and theatres that it hadn’t been to before. We feel with this new cast and with some new elements added to the show, this new production will have audiences smiling all the way home.”
Stuart Griffiths, Chief Executive, Birmingham Hippodrome said “The arrival of Beautiful Thing in the theatre’s Patrick Centre continues an expanding programme for the venue and Birmingham Hippodrome’s commitment to presenting an expansive and varied list of performances for a diverse range of audiences.”Jonathan Harvey wrote Beautiful Thing when he was just 24. It premiered at the Bush Theatre in 1993 and sold out its five-week run before transferring to the Donmar Warehouse, and then the Duke of York’s, eventually winning its author an Olivier Award nomination and the John Whiting Award. A screen adaptation of the play was released in 1996 by Channel 4 films, which went on to be a cult hit. Jonathan is a regular writer for Coronation Street and wrote the TV hit series Gimme, Gimme, Gimme, as well as the best-selling 2012 novel All She Wants. His plays include Canary and Corrie!
Over its 20 year history, the play has featured in the careers of many famous actors including Jonny Lee Miller, Suranne Jones, Hugh Bonneville, Philip Glennister, Andrew Garfield, and Rhys Ifans, and has been produced over 25 times worldwide, with international dates in China, France, Canada, Australia and Holland.Lighting design is by David Plater and sound design by George Dennis, Beautiful Thing will be a co-production between the Nottingham Playhouse, the Curve Leicester and Tom O’Connell for QNQ Ltd.
Beautiful Thing runs at Birmingham Hippodrome’s Patrick Centre from Monday 30 March – Saturday 11 April 2015. The first 100 tickets at every performance are priced at an early bird rate of £25 – call 0844 338 5000 or book online at birminghamhippodrome.com. 5% transaction charge applies (excl. cash sales in person) postage from £1. Phone calls from 5p per minute. Prices and discounting subject to change.
Perf times: Mon-Sat eves 7.45pm, Fri & Sat mats 2.30pm.
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ADVICE | How To Last Longer In Bed
It’s happened to the best of us. At the worst of times.
You’re halfway through your performance with a totally hot guy you just met, when without warning your little Mister calls time. Yes, you’ve spaffed your load without warning. The little swimmers are taking a curtain call as you mutter “I’m so sorry, i.. i…” (I mean, what do you say as he’s riving in agony with man juice in his eye….. ‘It Burrrrrnnnns’)
Here are our top tips to making sure you last longer in the sack.
1) Homework
The best part of this lesson is that you get to do homework and as much of it as you like. A wank is a key element to why many men prematurely blow their loads. Why? Well if you train yourself to cum quite quickly when you’re alone, the chances are that you will do exactly the same when you’re with a partner. So next time your palm is dating your dick, work your way up to 15 minutes, 20 minutes and for those who have cocks of rock try 30 minutes.
(C) BIGSTOCK Try bringing yourself to the point of no return and stopping. Giving yourself a moment to relax and start again.
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THEATRE REVIEW | Opera North La Traviata – National Tour
★★★★ | Opera North La Traviata – National Tour
Set in Paris circa 1700, Alfredo Germont, a demure young man falls in love with Violetta, a courtesan, who is the toast of society because of her lavish, debauchery filled parties. But Violetta is dying and despite initially dismissing him, she falls for Alfredo and gives up her lifestyle to be with him. As they move to the country and with her fortune dwindling, Violetta is visited by Alfredo’s father, who is worried about the impact upon his daughter’s marriage prospects as a result of Violetta’s former profession, and he talks her into leaving Alfredo to secure the family’s future. But with Alfredo confused at why his love has abandoned him and with Violetta’s health failing quickly, can love bring the two back together before it is too late?
Opera North has produced a simply sumptuous production of Verdi’s beautiful and heart-breaking opera, both in terms of performance and presentation. During the opening scene where Violetta appears, silhouetted by a full moon, the combination of modern theatricality and traditional opera makes it clear that you are about to watch something special. From the sexually charged ensemble piece of Violetta’s party during the opening, to the ghostly visitations voyeuristically poised over Violetta’s death bed, the director, Alessandro Talevi, provides a refreshing take in terms of the opera’s presentation.
Hye-Youn Lee, as Violette and Ji-Min Parkas Alfredo were well matched in terms of their performances, with Lee providing a sweet and sensitive performance, whilst Roland Wood stood out from the remainder of the cast as Alfredo’s desperate and scheming father. It is only when you hear opera sung live you are hit with the sheer power of their voices, especially as the soaring sounds echoed around the opulence of the Leeds Grand Theatre. The live orchestra sent a shiver down the spine, from the opening notes played by the piercing strings to the swelling crescendos of the closing moments, and sounded exquisite.
Opera is often overlooked by theatre goers because of the perception of it being impenetrable and highbrow, but Opera North have produced a theatrical piece which is beautifully put together, but accessible to all. La Traviata is embedded in popular culture and you will recognise it from the silver-clad roof top bus ride in Priscilla, Vivien’s first opera in Pretty Woman or the story of Satine and Christian in “Moulin Rouge!” Whether you are an opera novice or aficionado, this production oozes quality and has much to recommend it.
Despite being sung in Italian, the show has surtitles; two screens which provide the audience with details of what is being said. These surtitles are detailed enough to enhance and drive forward the narrative, but do not translate every single word, thereby allowing you to easily understand the interactions of the characters without it ever preventing you from being able to watch the stage and to appreciate the music, staging or performances.
La Travita is currently being performed alongside a two other productions, The Bartered Bride and The Coronation Of Poppea (the latter two being sung in English) which comprise Opera North’s Autumn season and are being performed at different venues around the country, including Leeds, Nottingham, Belfast, Manchester and Newcastle.
For full details, visit their website at http://www.operanorth.co.uk
