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  • THEATRE REVIEW | Billy Elliot, Victoria Palace, London

    ★★★★ | Billy Elliot, Victoria Palace, London

    The West End show, adapted from the film of the same title, has been running for nearly ten years now. With Elton John adding the music to the Lee Hall’s lyrics and script you could almost guarantee a great night out. However, the real praise here goes completely to the current cast of the Billy Elliot The Musical, whose energetic boys steal the show.

    The whole cast of kids were to be commended for their efforts, and not in a school play ‘oh didn’t they do well’, but with instances of showing up their adult dance partners, with slicker, more energised, and more grounded routines.

    Highlights included a spine tingling section of Swan Lake where Billy dances with his future self on a mist covered stage before taking flight in a magical and beautiful moment, brought together by the powerful music of Tchaikovsky.

    A show stealing scene with Billy reading a letter from his dead mother to his new Ballet teacher Mrs.Wilkinson had most of the audience welling up with great delivery timing and precision. About half way through the first half the emotional roller coaster starts which must be applauded to not only the great casting of Billy (11-year-old Matteo Zecca) and Mrs Wilkinson (Ruthie Henshall), but also to the penmanship of Lee Hall who mixes the grit of the mining industry strikes in the North East with the delicacy of ballet beautifully. Director Stephen Daldry has sewn the two lives together to make at times a comedic and bitterly honest stage experience.

    By the end of the show, which did fly by, I was ready to dust off my tappers again and head to the kitchen floor after an all-cast dance routine put other shows, such as A Chorus Line, to shame.

    I must round off with saying that both Billy and his best friend, the brilliantly and unphased camp, cross dressing, Michael (Tomi Fry) certainly have what it takes for a very long and successful career on the stag.

    Bravo them boys.

    Billy Elliot The Musical is on at the Victoria Palace, London. Tickets from £20.50

    Booking until: Currently booking until 16 May 2015
    Theatre: Victoria Palace Theatre, Victoria Street, London, SW1E 5EA
    Box Office: 0844 248 5000
    Tickets: £20.50 – £68.50 (until 21 June 2014 to include £1 theatre restoration levy)
    £20.70 – £68.70 (from 23 June 2014 to include a £1.20 theatre restoration levy)
    Performances: Monday – Saturday at 7.30pm
    Thursday and Saturday matinees at 2.30pm
    Website: www.billyelliotthemusical.com
    Twitter: @billyelliotuk

  • Shocking video of reactions to gay PDAs

    A new video has emerged showing what some straight patrons at a restaurant in Mississippi, US, do and say when a gay couple start to show affection to each other.

    A gay couple were hired by ABC News in Mississippi to show public displays of affection in a restaurant and then filmed the resulting reactions from other patrons.

    The short film shows the couple being told that they were sinning, they received awkward looks, some patrons said that they would physically move away and the two were laughed at when they kissed.

    Just to prove that the discomfort caused by the PDAs weren’t solely because of the actors’ sexuality, ABC also tried the experiment with an opposite sex couple.

    Customers reacted entirely differently and some even stuck up for the heterosexual couple, when ABC’s stooge tried to make a scene about the straight PDA.

    The best bit is for last though, as two college students stand up for the couple, saying to ABC’s stooge, when she made a scene about the gay PDA,

    ‘There’s a reason why half the &^%$^%$ world hates America, and it’s people like you. Because you have no acceptance for anything else in the world. I’m so *&^%$ pissed right now.’

    In Mississippi, same-sex sexual activity has been legal since 2003, but the state does not permit same-sex marriage, adoption by a same-sex couple, and the laws do not positively address discrimination based on gender identity or sexuality.

    In a 2001 Public Policy Polling survey found that only 13% of Mississippi voters supported the legalisation of same-sex marriage, while 78% were opposed and 9% were not sure.

  • Drag Queens of London: Episode 7

    Drag Queens of London goes global as drag troupe The Supreme Fabulettes head to European Gay Ski Week in France to perform to an expectant crowd of fans.

    The real drama unfolds away from the slopes as Silver Summers loses her voice before an important performance. With her band mates and tour manager blaming Silver for partying too hard, friendships becoming strained within the group.

    Meanwhile drag queen Rosie Beaver and Nick AKA Violet Sparks friendship is put under strain as they fight over the same man, but who will come out on top?

    TOP QUOTES:
    ·’It’s such a slick professional group’ – Vicki Vivacious on The Supreme Fabulettes
    ·’It’s like tweedle rough and tweedle rougher’ – Vicki Vivacious on Lady Lloyd and Baga Chipz from The Buffalo Girls.
    ·’I would rather get Gonorrhoea in ever orifice than be a member of them’ – Baga Chipz on the prospect of performing in The Supreme Fabulettes.
    ·’The sound that came out sounded like a dying seagull’ – Silver Summers on her vocal problems on gay ski week.
    ·’The idea of going up there and messing it up makes me feel sick. My heart was literally in my mouth’ – Silver Summers reflects on her performance at Gay Ski Week.

    Drag Queens of London continues tonight on London Live at 10:00PM on London Live

  • BOOK REVIEW | Best Gay Romance 2014 Edited by Timothy J. Lambert & R.D Cochrane

    ★★★★ | Best Gay Romance 2014 Edited by Timothy J. Lambert & R.D Cochrane

    Best Gay Romance 2014 is a superb collection of fictional short stories about love and romance. Characters in this book are all in different places: some are single, some have just met a special man and some are in a relationship.

    Each of the 15 stories is exceptionally well written, gripping and heart warming. Best Gay Romance 2014 has contributions from some of the best gay Writers out there. One or two of the stories did lack depth, but only because they were too short. Three amazing stories in this anthology were:

    Strange Propositions by Eric Gober
    Strange Propositions is the opening story in Best Gay Romance 2014. The story starts with Kenny ending an unhappy long distance relationship. Then he meets Nate through work and they hit it off. The ending of this story is funny and leaves the reader with a smile.

    Sight by Jordan Taylor
    In Sight, Noah and Archer have been together since their teen years. Now in their twenties, Archer proposes and Noah says no. It’s a clever story about insecurity and getting over it. It shows the reader what a man will do for someone they really love. When life knocks you off your feet, a good man will be there to help you up. This beautiful story will reignite even the most pessimistic readers hope for love.

    Shep: A Dog by Alex Jeffers
    Isaac has unrequited love for Jackson. But he is about to learn that men can come along in the most unexpected of situations. Isaac rescues a dog called Shep from drowning in the sea, but can’t find his owner. Unknown to Isaac is that Shep is about to transform into more than he could ever have imagined. A sweet and imaginative story.

    All of these short stories share the theme of vulnerability. To be in love and loved back means you sometimes need to be emotionally vulnerable.

    If you enjoy romantic tales reads then Best Gay Romance 2014 will delight you. Even if you don’t, Best Gay Romance 2014 will still give you hope that Mr. Right out there; that is, if you haven’t already found him.

  • TODAY IN GAY | Anderson Cooper Was Born

    TODAY IN GAY | Anderson Cooper Was Born

    Today in gay history, Anderson Cooper was born in 1967.

    Anderson Cooper, 47, was born this day in 1967, with an estimated fortune of $100m Anderson Cooper is the son of heiress Gloria Vanderbilt.

    He has been dating his partner since 2009. He came out as gay in July 2012 saying,

    “I’ve begun to consider whether the unintended outcomes of maintaining my privacy outweigh personal and professional principle. It’s become clear to me that by remaining silent on certain aspects of my personal life for so long, I have given some the mistaken impression that I am trying to hide something—something that makes me uncomfortable, ashamed or even afraid. This is distressing because it is simply not true. …

    “The fact is, I’m gay, always have been, always will be, and I couldn’t be any more happy, comfortable with myself, and proud”.

  • Harry Styles And Nick Grimshaw #FirstSnog Pictures

    Now that we’ve got your attention…

    Okay, okay, that was cruel we know, we know!

    You were expecting to see Harry and Nick having a #FirstSnog, but we thought this was a brilliant idea to let you know about Stonewall’s 25th year!

    Harry Styles and the openly gay radio DJ Nick Grimshaw have had a long standing friendship and are often spotted together, which has caused many a tabloid to speculate on the nature of their relationship.

    Last year Nick Grimshaw has denied that Harry has been having sleepovers at his, and both have denied a romantic relationship!

    Nick and Harry are just some of the many celebrities who have lent their faces to a new Selfie campaign for Stonewall.

    Yesterday Stonewall and SNOG Frozen Yoghurt launched a joint campaign to celebrate 25 years of the lesbian, gay and bisexual equality charity and look forward to the next 25 years. The #FirstSNOG campaign, an online interactive photo exhibition, will celebrate Stonewall’s 25 years of campaigning so that lesbian, gay and bisexual people are free to love and be loved.

    The exhibition, which already features famous supporters of Stonewall including Harry Styles, Rita Ora, Sam Smith, Nick Grimshaw, Calvin Klein, Florence Welsh, Boy George and Katy B – can be viewed here:http://instagram.com/snogfrozenyogurt.

    Ruth Hunt, Acting Chief Executive of Stonewall, said: ‘In our 25th year we know that there’s still so much work to do. Around the world in countries like Russia, Nigeria and Uganda, LGBT people are being oppressed and persecuted simply because of who they are. We’re excited to collaborate with SNOG to help us continue to campaign for LGBT equality around the world.’

    As well as raising awareness, SNOG is helping Stonewall to raise funds via their London based shops where a special Stonewall serving, featuring a selection of rainbow coloured fruits, will be available for the duration of the Stonewall 25 celebration. A donation of £3 can be made to Stonewall by texting ‘SNOG’ to 70300, with proceeds going towards the charity’s continued international work.

  • Jamie Dornan Doesn’t Like His (Perfect) Body

    Star of 50 Shades Of Grey, Jamie Dornan, says he has issues with his body

    Jamie Dornan, 32, spoke to Interview Magazine to reveal that he thinks he’s too ‘skinny’ as an adult and that he’s ‘awkward in a suit’.

    The Irish hottie said,

    ‘I don’t like my physique. Who does? I was a skinny guy growing up, and I still feel like that same skinny kid.’

    Speaking about his upcoming role as Christian Grey, Dornan said that he trained very hard to fit the part.

    ‘I think there was so much more to Christian that we covered – someone who is careful to keep himself in shape, someone who spends obscene amounts of money on presenting himself. A lot of that work was done in the gym and with costume.

    ‘I’m quite awkward in a suit because I don’t have an opportunity to wear a suit very often, and this is a guy who lives in a suit – the best suit.’

    The film is due for release in 2015 on Valentine’s Day.

  • Sam Smith Celebrates Number 1 Album

    Sam Smith, who spoke about how his debut album was written about a man he fell in love with, celebrates its number 1 status.

    (more…)

  • Behind The Scenes, Ryan Murphy hired a sex choreographer for The Normal Heart

    If you are still reeling from the powerful potency of THE NORMAL HEART that was screened on Sky Atlantic TV last night, then here is a little-known fact about how director RYAN MURPHY made the sex scenes so authentic and very sensual.

    Whilst most of the actors playing gay men were actually gay (a real novelty in Hollywood even today) lead man Mark Ruffalo is not.

    Ruffalo was playing Ned and his affair with Felix is gut wrenching and is one of the relationships that drives the film. It did however, require Ruffalo and Matt Bomer to perform some intense sex scenes in a bathhouse and in bed.

    So Murphy hired a former Broadway choreographer who he knew specialised in these scenes and he explained, ‘So he would come and he would work with the actors and it was like, ‘Okay, then you move your leg here, and your asshole goes up here, and then your neck goes over here.’ So we worked on it, so the actors felt like, ‘Okay, I’m in “A Chorus Line.” I can do it.’”

    Ruffalo had never even kissed a guy on camera before, and Boomer had never been that intimate in a movie, and although they were both terrified, they put in stunning performances as they knew it was an essential part of the story.

  • Sultan of Brunei Cancels Dorchester Fashion Prize

    The Human Rights Campaign (HRC), the US’s largest lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) civil rights organisation, today commends the many leaders in the fashion industry who have publicly stated that they will avoid the Sultan of Brunei’s Dorchester Collection of hotels.

    In the wake of intense criticism of its owner’s planned implementation of new laws that could lead to women and LGBT Bruneians being stoned to death, the company made public this morning its decision to cancel its annual fashion competition and gala, known as the Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize. The decision by the hotel company was made within hours of Dorchester learning of a planned action by HRC today to bring attention to the fashion prize. So hasty was the retreat that the website and Facebook page for the event are still up.

    ‘We applaud the many designers, companies, and leaders in the fashion industry who have refused to turn a blind eye to the Sultan’s blatant disregard for the human rights of all Brueneians,’ said Ty Cobb, HRC’s director of Global Engagement. ‘The fact is that the Dorchester Collection’s profits belong to a regime that could start stoning women and LGBT Bruneians as soon as next year, and the cancellation of this prize is yet another sign that the Sultan’s company is feeling the impact of the worldwide movement to reject the Sultan’s horrific new laws.’

    A spokesperson for the DHC said that the decision to cancel the event was ‘due to other newly created similar awards’ – at the beginning o 2014.

    Last week, American Vogue Editor-in-Chief Anna Wintour and Glamour Editor-in-Chief Cindi Leive joined François-Henri Pinault, the leadership of Yves Saint Laurent fashion house, and many other prominent voices in the fashion world in announcing they’re avoiding the Dorchester Collection’s global properties in protest of the Sultan of Brunei’s new laws.

    Established in 2010, the company claims the Dorchester Collection Fashion Prize was the “first award of its kind developed by a luxury hotel company,” and that it seeks to “build on [its] own established fashion heritage.” Although it maintains an active website and social media presence to promote the annual competition and event, the company had remained conspicuously silent throughout the recent controversy regarding plans for this year’s competition until today.

    On April 30, HRC condemned the Sultan of Brunei’s decision to begin implementing the first of the new laws’ three phases, and called on Americans who supported the rights of those who would be affected to avoid the Sultan’s hotels. In addition, HRC has recently criticised the Dorchester Collection for shamefully parading its own employees out on social media and for reporters in a desperate attempt to divert attention away from actions taken against the Sultan of Brunei’s hotels. This ploy comes despite assurances from the company that it has guaranteed the positions, income, and benefits of all of its employees for as long as the controversy continues.

  • Adam Lambert Guest Of Honour At Last Ever We Will Rock You

    Adam Lambert was the personal guest of Brian May at the last ever performance of We Will Rock You in London at the weekend.

    Adam Lambert, the first openly gay artist to secure a number 1 album on the Billboard charts, was the guest of honour at the last ever production of We Will Rock You at the Dominion Theatre, London, this past weekend.

    The show, which was initially panned by critics, went on to run for 12 years, becoming one of the West End’s biggest commercial successes.

    The show was written by Ben Elton and co-produced by Phil McIntyre, Queen and Robert De Niro’s Tribeca company.

    Taking to Twitter, Adam tweeted, ‘Thanks @DrBrianMay and Roger Taylor for inviting me to see the closing night of West End’s We Will Rock You. Great performance!’

    Adam Lambert is currently in the UK rehearsing for an upcoming 24-date Queen tour of the United States, Australia, Canada and Tokyo.

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