THEGAYUK

Tag: London News

All the latest from London, the capital of the UK, home to the UK’s largest gay community.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Shopping and F*cking

    ★ | Shopping and F***ing

    What’s not to like about shopping and f***ing? They’re two fine occupations. The answer is a that there’s a hell of a lot not to like in this messy and deeply flawed adaptation of Mark Ravenhill’s 1996 play. This is a world where sex and consumerism are distinctly unfunny, painfully dull and are a chore to watch.

    The play concerns Mark, a heroin addict who’s just failed in rehab, his lover Robbie and their flatmate Lulu. Emotionally deadened and reduced to seeing everything through a lens of consumerism, they’ve lost the ability to connect emotionally. Cue the arrival of Gary, a teenage rent boy who’s the victim of sexual abuse and now wants to be owned and a messy situation with a drug dealer. Events only serve to deepen their jaded worldview.

    Thematically the play has become more, rather than less relevant in the 20 years since it was first staged at The Royal Court. The world feels more mechanical and glassy eyed with the rise in the usage of the Internet. The play should work as well as it did when it was first written. The problem here is that director Sean Holmes’ attempts at a clever staging have swamped the play to such a degree that it’s almost unwatchable and the script feels buried beneath a high sheen.

    The Lyric has been transformed into a TV studio with a change in seating, green screens and cameras. It’s like a 90’s late night crap TV show with bouncy fake enthusiasm crossed with a surreal shopping channel. Runners appear, there are interludes where the cast try to sell tat to the audience and breaks for shameless nostalgia fests with 90’s pop music, one where Robbie gets off his face on E. It feels sloppy and cheap and not in any intentional way. Back projections of porn, scenes of rimming with associated anal bleeding, characters vomiting on stage, karaoke, audience participation, nudity, on-stage sex, drug-use, splatters of body fluid: I’d list more of the multitude of things that this production has thrown clumsily on stage but I’m starting to get flashbacks of boredom.

    It feels sloppy and cheap and not in any intentional way. Back projections of porn, scenes of rimming with associated anal bleeding, characters vomiting on stage, karaoke, audience participation, nudity, on-stage sex, drug-use, splatters of body fluid: I’d list more of the multitude of things that this production has thrown clumsily on stage but I’m starting to get flashbacks of boredom.

    This could have worked and could have been an arch and witty adaptation that slammed home the message of the play and emphasised the caustic wit of the piece. Instead, it just feels juvenile and tiresome with nothing to compel you to watch. It’s about as dull as spending an hour and a half listening to Gary Barlow’s monotone voice (if you hadn’t noticed, the characters are named after Take That).

    Really disappointing work from The Lyric.

    Shopping and F*cking plays at The Lyric until the 5th November

    Follow Chris Bridges on Twitter

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Lotus

    There is a small Indian restaurant on Charing Cross Road that is doing amazing things with their food – Indian food Par excellence!

     

    CREDIT: PR Supplied

    Voted the best Indian Restaurant at this year’s LUX 2016 Hospitality Awards, Lotus is a restaurant everyone must experience. If you’re a huge fan (or not) of Indian food, put this restaurant on your radar because it will make you re-think how Indian food is being served, cooked, and eaten.

     

    I’ve never been a fan of Indian food. I’ve always found that in any Indian restaurant you go to in London the food is very spicy and how can one enjoy a meal when you are sweating with your tongue on fire and the need to drink bucketloads of water? Well, at Lotus, the spiciness of the food is not even an issue. The food is so delicious that you will forget all you know about Indian food and will immensely enjoy their incredible food sensations.

    Open for only a year, and located north of Trafalgar Square across from the Garrick Theatre, Lotus is a small quaint restaurant with beautiful upscale decor, and service, with affordable prices. And the food, ah the food, it’s just simply amazing. The menu offers quite a selection – from starters to kebabs to mains, sides and desserts, and let’s not forget the comprehensive wine list. But first, upon arrival, you are given a glass of Timater Ka Shorba – a spiced Indian tomato drink with fresh coriander – it’s an absolutely divine drink with a refreshing (and not spicy) kick.

    CREDIT: PR Supplied

    As with any Indian restaurant, Poppadums are a must! Lotus serves them with Mango, Apricot, Mint, Red Chilly and Green Tomato Chutney, presented on a rectangular dish, and at only £2.75, a great deal. But it’s the starters and mains where Lotus excels. Rabbit Kheema was a beautifully presented starter with rabbit inside a Green Pepper Corns and Missi Roti-shaped teepee, with coconut sauce. The rabbit was tender and delicious, and at £9.75, worth every penny. The Rattes, Chickpea, Sev and Savory Yogurt, with a warm mélange of potato wth sweet and sour spices, while a bit small for it’s £5.75 price, was very light and very good. As for the Kebabs, the Lamb Chops and Rump (lamb in a ball) are highly recommended. Beautifully seasoned, marinated in Indian spices, accompanied by garlic pickles, Indian onions and Chilli Salad, a bit pricey at £18.75 but again, worth every penny. Another amazing dish served were the golgappas – a snip at £3.75. They were four round fried crisp balls, hollow puri and filled with sweetcorn and coriander accompanied by a small jar of Jaljeera – a cumin, pepper and mint drink with tamarind chutney – that is poured into the golgappas. Eating them whole are an absolute explosion in your mouth! Very yummy!

    As for the mains, the Lobster Tail and Scallops were the perfect dish for those who enjoy seafood. Swimming in a ginger, curry leaf and coconut curry sauce, it was a seafood lovers delight. The 23 Karat Gold Lamb Shanks was not at all spicy, and indeed was wrapped in gold foil, is a dish for the meat lover in you. It sits in a khorma sauce, and while it was not as tender as lamb shank should be, and it’s a bit of work to cut the meat off the bone, it’s a great deal at £22.75, plus it comes with roast potato mash, papaya pickles, spices, green cardamom and cashews. Very filling. And last but not least is the dessert. indian restaurants are not known for their good desserts, but at Lotus, they do them differently. The Rose Srikhand with Dumroot Halwa – Rose scented yoghurt in a small bowl coupled with white pumpkin wrapped sushi-style – was absolutely delicious. The Orange Rasgulla and Seviyan – Orange Cottage Cheese with Saffron vermicello – was almost too beautiful and colorful to eat, but again, it was very delicious.

    CREDIT: PR Supplied

    Wine pairings are served with every course. It’s Debbie, the restaurant’s sommelier, who is THE expert on which wines go with which dish. So if you know, or don’t, your Force Majeurs and Chenin Blancs from your De Loaches, to the Zinfandels from the Heritage Reserve Zinfandels or the Graciano, Vina Zorzal, Navarra – Debbie will perfectly recommend what’s best for each dish, with glasses all between £6 to £8 each. Go ahead and have a taste test, the recommended wines on the menu go smoothly with their respective meals.

    I’m Head over heels in love with Lotus – it’s a contemporary Indian restaurant located right in the heart of London – and the meal was one of the best I’ve had all year. It’s also easy on the tongue and easy enough on the wallet. This 65 seat restaurant, named after India’s national flower, is truly exquisite and beautiful, just like the flower.

    Chef/Manager Bhaskar Banerjee, who has a culinary career spanning 20 years, masterfully and successfully has won us over.

    RESERVATIONS: +44 (0) 207 839 8797
    EMAIL: enquiries@lotus.london

    Address:
    17 Charing Cross, London WC2H 0EP
    Monday to Sunday
    12:00 – 14:30
    17:00pm – 22.30

    Star Rating: ★★★★★ (explained)

    Cost Rating: ££££ (explained)

    Website: http://www.lotus.london

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Confessional

    THEATRE REVIEW | Confessional

    ★★ | Confessional

    CREDIT: Simon_Annand
    CREDIT: Simon_Annand

    If a play is ‘rarely performed’ or ‘an undiscovered gem’ then be wary. There’s often a good reason for that: it’s usually because it’s not a very good play. “Confessional” was an early draft of Tennessee Williams’ later 1972 play “Small Craft Warnings” and is a sprawling elegiac piece laden with dramatic speeches. It concerns a group of low life characters in a bar in a grotty seaside town. Its main point of interest is for scholars and connoisseurs of his work in that this is the first of Williams’ plays where he felt able to include openly gay characters.

    The bar is populated by the usual suspects that mark Williams’ later works: a drunken and angry woman, a swaggering stud who has a name for his penis, an alcoholic doctor and a washed up older gay man with a boy who’s he picked up at the roadside. They rant, cry, shout and ramble. It’s beautiful in parts and there are poetic moments but on the whole it feels a bit of a mess.

    Director Jack Silver has transposed the action from 1950s American to a pub in Southend in the present day with mixed results. The theatre has been transformed into a pub with the audience dotted around at tables and on banquettes with the actors roaming amongst them. Justin Williams’ set is pitch perfect. This is a pub that you’d probably walk in and walk out of again in a hurry. Sticky looking tables, beer and a burger offers and a sense of dilapidation: it’s a pub we’ve probably all been in and wished we hadn’t. The characters fit in well and you can imagine a pub like this being stalked by enraged beautician Leona yelling at her good for nothing going to seed Chav man Bill and her promiscuous weeping friend Violet.

    Where the concept flounders is the language. Characters talk in a style befitting of 1950s Southern California and use old-fashioned America language that doesn’t translate well to the present day. The Jukebox has mournful violin music that Leona plays on repeat. There’s something distinctly dated about their attitudes and stances too/ It often feels jarring and stylistically wrong.

    The play is still worth seeing for three reasons: the concept, the set and the acting. The cast are universally strong and there’s something magnetic about Lizzie Stanton and Gavin Brocker (and I don’t just mean his too tight clothing or references to his cock which he has named ‘Junior’). The set is a witty and authentic interpretation. The third factor is the concept of the actors having free range. There’s a script and a set and actors. The rest is the actors’ choice on the night. They stand where they want, cry or don’t cry and choose just how dark or how funny the play is on any given night. Surprisingly, this works and there’s a strong chemistry that comes across with a naturalistic feel to the piece in spite of the incongruous language. That’s quite a feat given such lacklustre raw material.

     

    Confessional plays at the Southwark Playhouse until the 29th October

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Dirty Bones, Shoreditch

    The Americanisation of East London’s restaurant scene continues with the opening of the Shoreditch branch of Dirty Bones.

    PR Supplied

     

    Dirty Bones has a presence in both Kensington and Carnaby Street, but with the opening of the new Shoreditch location, it cements itself into a scene so hip even the beards have beards. Nestled conveniently steps away from Brick Lane right on very trendy Bethnal Green Road which includes both Dirty Burger and Cowshed restaurants, Dirty Bones corner location is in a perfect spot for passersby to get a whiff of what’s cooking and to be tempted to sample meals that are out of this world.

    Billing itself as ‘New York comfort food served in an environment with the the greatest old school, hip-hop, soul and funk music’, It’s once you’re inside you get the feeling that you’ve stepped into another time and place – high ceilings with a bar that takes centre stage in a room where every table is cozy and comfy in which to settle down and have a great meal. Dirty Bone’s vibe is so mellow that it doesn’t even feel like it’s a restaurant, it feels more like your very wealthy Auntie Bessie’s large living room in a plantation Savannah, Georgia. Dirty Bones has velvet banquettes, comfortably laid back (really laid back) seats and a western-style ambience. But of course, it’s the food that really matters.

    It was hard to decide whether to visit for lunch, dinner or for Sunday Roast, so to try something different I and my companion went for the Sunday Roast. But the Sunday Roast menu is not just about roasts; also on offer is a Flat Iron Steak, Spicy Chicken Burger, Baby Back Ribs, plus The Mac Daddy, and for vegetarians the Spiced Roast Veg Salad. We stuck to the roasts as this is what we fancied. I ordered the Fried Chicken Roast – two pieces (one breast and one drumstick) of spiced buttermilk fried chicken with honey spread on top. Two pieces were definiteIy not enough, but they were just perfectly cooked, brown on the outside and white on the inside, and delectable. It was accompanied, as most roasts are, by a huge smoky paprika Yorkshire pudding, truffle road potatoes, buttermilk mash, green beans, and sweet potato which had a bit of a kick to it. All this for £17. My dining companion went with the Brisket & Ox. The brisket was hidden in the Yorkshire pudding – Quelle surprise – and at £18 a good deal. The brisket and ox were, as you would expect, tender, moist and mouth-watering, and plenty of it, alongside the aforementioned accompaniments. We were suggested a side of the Taleggio (Italian cheese) & Smoked Cheddar Mac N’ Cheese, and we were so glad that we ordered it. It was one of the most authentic Mac ’n’ Cheese dishes I’ve had a long time – thick yellow cheese sauce which was consistently perfect – just yummy.

    PR Supplied

     

    We knew that the roasts would’ve been plenty of food, but as a starter, we did order the Salt & Pepper Squid, and it was just sumptuous! Perfectly cooked, not too chewy or not too hard, with a delicious chipotle aioli sauce drizzled on top to make this dish the star meal. Though at £8 it’s a bit pricey but worth every penny. We wanted to order the Cheeseburger Dumplings but felt that would’ve been too much food, however, the table next to us ordered them, and yes, they are dumplings stuffed with hamburger meat and cheese. Genius! I’ll have them next time.

    I’ll be remiss if I didn’t mention Dirty Bone’s drinks menu because it’s almost a book! My companion sampled quite a few, from the ‘Dirty Mary’ (bloody mary), which she proclaimed it as being very tasty. It was rimmed, surprisingly, not with salt but with crushed pringles. She also went for the Mutt’s Nuts drink which she said was very strong, of course, it would be as it contained Woodford Reserve bourbon along with cinnamon & vanilla infused maple syrup, angostura bitters and a hint of lemon and apple. I went for one of the brunch drinks – the Pine Up – which as you’d guess is pineapple (fresh and juice) with Finlandia Vodka, celery and celery syrup. It was refreshing and fancily served in a long glass. I really wanted to go for the Spiked Iced Coffee – cognac, Mozart Dry Chocolate Spirit, and cream served on ice – but the thought of having a triple espresso drink at 4pm on a Sunday put me off. But Dirty Bones drinks menu really has something for everyone; wine, beer, juices, shakes and soft drinks.

    But it’s the food where Dirty Bone excels. It has such a huge menu depending on which time you go. I plan to go back and try dishes off their Dirty Breakfast menu – the Dirty Bun (sausage and bacon sandwich), Matcha Custard French Toast, short-rib crumpets, and lots more all catch my eye as dishes I really want to try. Their lunch & dinner menu is just as exhaustive where you can try the very popular chicken & waffles or classic burgers and hot dogs or alternatively the £10 lunch options which include a 30 day aged steak, the fried chicken or the spiced roast veg salad. Desserts are also a must. We had the Banana Toblerone-tella Waffles – caramelised banana, blueberry jam, peanut butter gelato and crushed nuts on a freshly baked waffle – just divine and a perfect way to finish a meal. We actually ordered two but the waiter only brought us one – oops.

    Dirty Bones is the perfect restaurant for its perfect location in an environment where the staff and customers, and especially the room, and the food, are very cool. It’s a former Public House with two upper floors, and this Grade II listed building retains much of its original character, including the eye beguiling staircase which leads to the upper floors. Prior to its current use the property traded as The Knave of Clubs pub which can be traced back to 1735. And there is also a top floor where Dirty Bones hopes to make it into a private bar area just in time for holiday Christmas parties.

    The menus at Dirty Bones really has something for everyone, and I plan to go back twice, once to sample their breakfast menu and then again to sample their dinner menu. I can’t wait to get my fingers dirty again!

    Address:
    1 Club Row, London, E1 6JX – 020 7920 6434
    Mon – Wed 8am – 11pm
    Thurs – Fri 8am – 12am
    Sat 9am – 12am
    Sun 9am – 11pm
    *Please note last food orders are available 90 min prior to closing times

    Website: http://www.dirty-bones.com

    Star Rating: ★★★★ (explained)

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Boys In The Band

    THEATRE REVIEW | Boys In The Band

    ★★★★ | Boys In The Band

    1the-boys-in-the-band-mark-gatiss-jack-derges-cdarren-bell

    “There’s one thing to be said about masturbation: you certainly don’t have to look your best”

    What was shocking to American theatre audiences in 1968 (and cinema goers in 1970 when the film was made) isn’t going to be daring or titillating anymore. The only thing that’s shocking is that viewers less than 50 years ago would be so outraged by a play about a group of gay men having a party with a lasagne and salad instead of Crystal Meth.  So what does ‘The Boys in the Band’ have to offer to the contemporary viewer? The answer is that the issues facing the men are scarily pertinent, still. The play came under fire from some for its negative portrayal of gay men but there’s something chillingly familiar about these boys.

    Uptight materialist Michael (Ian Hallard) has a drink and spending problem, although he’s currently on the wagon from the booze. He’s hosting a birthday party in his New York apartment for waspish self-proclaimed ‘pock-marked fairy Jew’ Harold (played by Hallard’s real life husband Mark Gattiss). Camp and flamboyant Emery has hired a muscular hooker as a gift. Soon to be divorced father of two, Hank is trying to make his relationship work within the constraints of monogamy whilst his partner Larry’s has a distinct inability to keep it in his pants in a world where sex is freely available. Bernard is struggling with the casual racist jibes of his friends and bookish Donald (Daniel Boys) is undergoing analysis to help him come to terms with being gay.

    I don’t know about you but these are a lot like the people in my social circle. Issues with drugs and alcohol, poor self-esteem, self-hatred, shame, looking down on effeminate gays, cruising the saunas too much, open-relationships versus monogamy versus the compromise of the odd threesome here and there? The boys of 1968 might have had different drugs and clothes and lived in a more oppressive society but the songs remain the same.

    It’s a funny play, starting with a sit-com-like first act where a random heterosexual re-surfaces from Michael’s past and lands at the party like a fly in the ointment. There are one-liners that pack a punch and Gattiss is the master of the arch eyebrow movement and gives a seemingly effortless performance as Harold.  Act Two is darker and becomes a sub ‘Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf’ as the men get steadily more drunk and play a caustic party game. The climax is poignant and dark in equal measures and there are some deeply affecting moments.

    Despite the odd patch where the script is heavy-handed, shows its age and the occasional clunky plot device flails, overall this is a great play and a worthwhile revival with a triumphant staging from director Adam Penfold. Well worth a visit.

    After the run at The Park Theatre in London the play moves to Manchester from the 3rd to the 6th of November, Brighton from the 8th to the 12th and Leeds from the 14th to the 19th of November.

     

    Follow Chris Bridges on http://www.twitter.com/chrisb715Twitter

  • The 60th BFI London Film Festival begins today with loads of gay films

    The 60th BFI London Film Festival begins today with loads of gay films

    This year’s London Film Festival looks to be the gayest one yet. There are about a dozen films with an LGBT theme, and some of them are in your face gay.

    king_cobra_01
    Here’s a preview of what to look for, and which films you need to do absolutely anything to get a ticket:

    King Cobra is definitely one of the most scandalous films to be shown at the festival probably ever! A young man travels to Los Angeles at the urging of a sleazy gay porn producer (Christian Slater) to be his next star. A parallel story has James Franco as another gay porn producer who is in a relationship with his young male star. There is lots of skin shown in this film which is based on the real life story of former gay porn star Brent Corrigan. And as a bonus James Franco’s character gets fcked and scked.  Do anything to get a ticket to this!

    A film that is getting a lot of attention from the mainstream press is the excellent Moonlight. It takes place in 19980’s Miami and focuses on one man’s journey through three stages of his life. He’s black and gay, and we witness key moments in his life that made him the man he is. Compelling, with excellent performances all around. Naomie Harris plays his crack-addicted mother. A must see.

    What would happen if a famous and well-known footballer was gay? Well, in The Pass, two aspiring Premier League footballers (Russell Tovey and Arinzé Kene) share a passionate night while sharing a hotel room right before a big game. That night profoundly impacts Tovey’s characters’ life. Hard-hitting stuff with great performances. And It’s worth the ticket price alone just to see Tovey lying on a bed, with his wide legs open, wearing tight white underwear. PHWOAR! If you miss this at the festival you can buy the DVD or streamline it on VOD next year as it’s unlikely this film will get a cinema release.

    Winner of the Queer Palm Award at the Cannes Film Festival, The Lives of Thérése documents Thérése Clerc’s death at the age of 88. She was very memorable in the documentary Les Invisibles who at the age of 40 divorced her husband to embrace a life of activism, which included fighting for homosexual rights.

    Lovesong is about a young woman who lives alone with her two-year-old daughter while her husband works away. One day a female childhood friend comes to visit and a romantic spark ignites. With Jena Malone and Riley Keough.

    Taekwondo is all testosterone and men who are in a country house near Buenos Aires where one of them brings along a friend who does not tell the rest of the group that he is gay. A are they or aren’t they a couple plot develops, which could possibly tear the close friends apart.

    Another Argentinian film is La Noche. A young man moves around Buenos Aires at night, picking up guys, going to clubs, scoring drugs and having lots of sex. I’ve not seen this one yet but by the look of the poster it looks hot!

    One of the most popular films at the Flare Film festival earlier this year, Who’s Gonna Love Me Now excellently tells the story of Sar, an Israeli who has been driven away from his family’s traditional values and starts a new life in London where he joins the Gay Men’s Chorus. It’s beautifully told and directed and is a must see film.

    Gay director Tom Ford presents his second film (the first was the well-received A Single Man) with Nocturnal Animals. One of the festival’s must-see films, it focuses on Susan (Amy Adams), a glamorous and accomplished Los Angeles gallery director whose current marriage appears to be unravelling, and who fuels her insomnia by reading the manuscript of a disturbing novel – written and sent to her by her ex-husband (Jake Gyllenhaal). Expect lots of lush scenery and fabulous costumes.

    The latest from gay director Francois Ozon, Frantz tells the story of a young woman who mourns the tragic death of her fiancé in the aftermath of WW1. She eventually finds solace with a stranger, a man she sees putting flowers on her dead husband’s grave. But who is he really? Typical Ozon melodramatic plot, but will it be another Ozon classic?

    Wunderkind and gay director Xavier Dolan (Lawrence Anyways) presents his latest film, It’s Only the End of the World. A terminally ill writer returns home to break the news of his debilitating condition to his estranged family. It’s lots of sadness and sorrow – typical of a Dolan movie. With Marion Cottilard.

    Stars so far confirmed to walk on the red carpet include: Oyelowo, Pike, Sigourney Weaver and Liam Neeson (A Monster Calls), Casey Affleck, Nyong’o, Renner, Kidman, Patel, Ford and Taylor-Johnson, and Cotillard. Too bad Franco is not showing up.

    There is so so so much more going on at the festival. Grab a program if you see one around town, or go to the website mentioned way below.

    The 60th BFI London Film Festival will screen a total of 193 fiction and 52 documentary features, including 18 World Premieres, 8 International Premieres, 39 European Premieres. There will also be screenings of 144 short films, including documentary, live action and animated works.

    Taking place over 12 days, the Festival’s screenings are at venues across the capital, from the West End cinemas – Vue West End and the iconic Odeon Leicester Square; central London venues – BFI Southbank, BFI IMAX, Picturehouse Central, the ICA, Curzon Mayfair, Curzon Soho, Haymarket, Prince Charles Cinema and Ciné Lumière; and local cinemas – the Ritzy in Brixton, Hackney Picturehouse and Curzon Chelsea. Festival visitors will be able to enjoy a brand new cinema experience with Competition and Strand Galas presented at the new Embankment Garden Cinema, in the beautiful Victoria Embankment Gardens.

    Festival Information & Ticket Booking:

    Telephone Bookings: 020 7928 3232 between 10:00 – 20:30
    Online: www.bfi.org.uk/lff

    In person: BFI Southbank Office: 11:00 – 20:30

    THE 60TH BFI LONDON FILM FESTIVAL IS IN PARTNERSHIP WITH AMERICAN EXPRESS®

  • X Factor’s Anton Stephans finds the joy of dick in new show

    You may remember Anton Stephans from last year’s X FACTOR, well he’s about to join the cast of Moby Dick – the musical, in London.

    Anton Stephans is about to return to the theatre after a life changing year after appearing on last year’s X Factor. The singing star, who came fifth in the 2015 series of ITV’s flagship show is “delighted” to be returning to his first love – musical theatre.

    Speaking with THEGAYUK he jokes, “there are loads of dick jokes. I love it… ‘3 years at sea and still no sign of dick…’.”

    The musical, which hasn’t played in the UK since 1992, will return to the London stage at the Union Theatre in Southwark – to celebrate the show’s 25th anniversary.

    The show is about the anarchic and nubile girls of St. Godley’s Academy for Young Ladies. Money for the school has run out and it’s threatened with closure. Determined to save their school from bankruptcy, the resourceful girls, and their unflappable headmistress, played by Anton, come up with a plan to keep the school afloat.

    Using whatever they can find, the girls mount an original production as a fundraiser – a musical version of Herman Melville’s classic novel Moby Dick, featuring their own headmistress in the coveted role of Captain Ahab.

    Speaking about why now was the perfect time for the show to return, Anton said,

    We have something utterly hilarious. There are so many bad things going on in the world and it’s good to have a moment where you can laugh your arse off. It’s very sill and very traditionally British. I love all things British like that. That kind of humour, we do it best.

    It will be directed and choreographed by double Olivier Award nominee Andrew Wright, who said,

    “I am thrilled that Anton and Brenda will be leading our 10 strong company of Moby Dick. Each and every member of the cast is unique as well as supremely talented. I’m so excited to create the madcap world of Moby with them.”

    Tickets are available starting at £15 from the Union Theatre Box Office and www.uniontheatre.biz, 020 7261 9876

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW: VQ Restaurant

    If you’ve ever been to America you’ll know that diners are a staple of the culture and way of life. VQ Restaurant, now with three branches in London, is looking to fill a diner gap here in London, and it succeeds.

    With already established locations in Bloomsbury and Chelsea, and now Notting Hill, VQ (Vingt-Quartre, or 24) offers American style food in a restaurant with a very modern design which makes you feel that you are not in a greasy spoon cafe but in a very classy and posh diner.

    What is not posh are the prices. Like American diners, VQ offers an extreme range of food that you can have anytime, including breakfast. How many restaurants do that? If you fancy buttermilk pancakes, at say, midnight, they’re there to order. If you want a hamburger or pasta or salad at say, 11:00 a.m., feel free! As a matter of fact, VQ has just one menu, and not separate menus for breakfast, lunch and dinner – brilliant!

    A friend and I visited the new Notting Hill branch, just a few steps away from the tube, and were placed in a very cozy table in the back, next to a wall that reminded us of a lava-lamp. Since the menu is so big, and with sections such as Burgers Hot Dogs and Sandwiches, Classics (Fish & Chips, Chicken Milanese, Ribeye Steak and Ribs), Omelettes and 24 hour breakfast, not including the starters and sides, plus drinks, it took a bit of time for us to decide. I went with the Club Sandwich with sweet potato fries. What I received was a massive club sliced in four sections containing chicken, bacon, melted cheddar, lettuce, tomato and mustard mayonnaise. It was so big I could not finish it all, though it didn’t help that I had also ordered the chorizo sautéed new potatoes and red onions as a delicious starter which was a meal in itself. And at only £9.95, the club sandwich is a excellent deal and could be shared by two people alongside starters or desserts. My friend ordered the breaded butterfly king prawns with sweet chilli sauce as a starter – at £7.95 it was quite a steep price for just four, but they were good. His main course was the ribeye steak, which was cooked to perfection, accompanied by the delicately smooth peppercorn sauce, but at £21.95 it’s not quite a steal. As a side dish (what was I thinking?), I ordered the cole slaw which I thought would be a complement to the sandwich. It was a massive massive portion for just £3.95, but too mayonnaisey for my tastes. Deciding that we could not stuff our faces with banoffee pie, apple crumble, eton mess (you’ll have to go to VQ so they can explain it to you), brownie or drizzle cake, we both went for the fruit salad. It was extremely divine. Soaked in mango juice, with all sorts of fruit in a medium sized bowl, beautifully presented – one of the best fruit salads I’ve had in a very long time. Their drinks menu is just as diverse as their food menu. This includes selections of white rose and red wines, vodka, gin, whiskey blends, bourbons, tequila, rums, a great beer and cider selection, as well as hot iced and soft drinks, plus virgin cocktails. We had what was the best bargain on the menu – fruit smoothies – ranging from £2.95 to £4.50 – served in jam jars. I went for the Six-a-day, which included spinach, banana, melon, pineapple, grape and apple – delicious. My friend went for the Berry Boost, a selection of three berries. Great bargains for very delicious and refreshing drinks.

    Having previously visited the Bloomsbury branch, which is open all night, every night, I’ve had the burgers and they are much better than the burgers you get at Five Guys or Shake Shack (and starting at £6.95 a better value as well). They come in several types from chicken to pulled pork to falafel, to of course beef. VQ Restaurants also have great pasta choices (Mac ’n’ Cheese, Penne, Linguine with Smoked Salmon, and Spaghetti Bolognaise), an excellent salad selection (Caesar, Cobb, Salmon Lentil and Quinoa, or the VQ Salad which includes pomegranate, feta, baby beetroot, butternut squash, mixed leaves, honey roasted pine nuts, dijon vinaigrette.

    So a visit to VQ is a must, anytime – day or night. Their restaurants are relaxed, friendly and are really cool, all in central locations, and with very friendly and attentive staff. Hats off to Geoff at the Notting Hill branch. A very nice and smart young French man, he took very good care of us, who loves his job, and is perhaps one of the happiest guys in London. And that’s what a visit to VQ diner will make you feel, happy.

    Reviewed by: Tim Baros

    Address: Notting Hill – 24 Pembridge Road, W11 3HL –

    020 3745 7224 –

    7am every weekday morning (8am Saturday & Sunday) until 3am on Thursday-Saturday, 1am on Monday-Wednesday and midnight on Sunday
    Bloomsbury – 111A Great Russell Street London WC1B 3NQ – 020 7636 5888 – 24 hours
    Chelsea – 325 Fulham Road London SW10 9QL – 020 7376 7224 – 24 hours

    Website: http://www.vqrestaurants.com

    Star Rating: ★★★★★ (explained)

    VQ Restaurants serve all-day breakfast / brunch, lunch and dinner, with cocktail serve as well

  • THEATRE REVIEW | No Man’s Land, London Wyndham’s Theatre

    THEATRE REVIEW | No Man’s Land, London Wyndham’s Theatre

    ★★★ | No Man’s Land takes place over an evening of drunkenness and a morning of sobriety, as Hirst, an upper class writer, and Spooner, a down on his luck poet, exchange stories, anecdotes and reminiscences over copious amounts of scotch; and subsequently, the following morning’s breakfast. Their stories of mutual experiences, acquaintances and relationships are tainted with the distinct flavour of one-upmanship as the pair debate what may or may not be a shared history in Harold Pinter’s absurdist play.

    Picture Credit Luke Fontana (PR Supplied)

    No Man’s Land reunites Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart on the London Stage and it is not difficult to see why Pinter’s play resonates with the two lead actors, containing its long passages of complex prose to articulate their way through; and a pair of strong lead characters truly dominating the stage throughout the duration.

    With an abundance of strangely compelling verbal sparring between the two, McKellen’s magnetism and stage presence remains completely undeniable with a seemingly effortless performance which demonstrates why he is such an esteemed theatrical figure; whilst Stewart’s (appropriately) muted performance during the first act flowed into a more confident and surefooted second act, with the opportunity for him to revel in the demonstration of his craft. In the two supporting roles, Damien Molony and Owen Teal held their own as Foster and Briggs (a pair with a somewhat homoerotic undertone to their characters), stepping up to the challenge of sharing the stage with the two heavyweights. Sean Mathias’ direction gave a steady steer around Stephen Brimson Lewis’ quasi-symmetrical and somewhat charming set.

    The difficulty with the play is that the narrative is inaccessible to the Pinter novice. Pinter’s absurdist play is just that, never really explaining the set-up, the characters, their identities, or their motivations. Their role in each other’s lives remains unclear and the play leaves the audience to draw their own conclusions and reach their own interpretations. Discussions with others have produced a number of differing explanations and theories, with the post show chatter as varied as the scripted anecdotes portrayed on stage. On a personal level, a play with a straighter narrative and less deliberate obscurity would have been far more preferable. I couldn’t honestly say that I enjoyed the actual play itself; but that did not detract from the sheer joy and superb opportunity of seeing two of this country’s finest actors doing what they do best.

    No Man’s Land is more of an experience rather than a gentile evening in the West End. An intensively poetic and wordy script provides for a sometimes difficult and challenging watch for those not familiar with Pinter’s work, but whilst the play is not for everyone, the opportunity to see two titans of British theatre is well worth it, and not one to be passed by lightly.

    No Man’s Land is currently playing at the London Wyndham’s Theatre until 17th December 2016. Visit http://www.delfontmackintosh.co.uk/Tickets/NoMansLand/NoMansLand.asp for further details. Many thanks to Sheffield Theatres (www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk) for facilitating this review.

     

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Kenny Morgan at the Arcola Theatre

    THEATRE REVIEW | Kenny Morgan at the Arcola Theatre

    ★★★★ | Kenny Morgan

    If you missed “Kenny Morgan” this summer then you have a second chance. The play is back for four weeks at The Arcola Theatre in Dalston and remains an evocative and beautiful treat of a play with a host of polished performances.

    Theatre review for kenny thomas
    CREDIT: Idil Sukan

     

    Kenny Morgan was a young actor who had had a promising career in 1940’s British films. He had also had an on/off relationship for ten years with Terrence Rattigan, a high profile British playwright. In 1949 Kenny gassed himself to death in a down at heel Camden Town flat that he was sharing with a young actor who he’d left Rattigan for. Terrence Rattigan’s play “The Deep Blue Sea” echoes Kenny’s story to a degree but with gender switching to suit the times (and the Lord Chamberlain’s office).

    Set in a mould encrusted flat with gas pipes defining the space, this play depicts Kenny’s despair. Sounds grim but it’s not. It’s witty and warm as well as devastating. Paul Keating is superb as Morgan, delicately easing us into his despair and leaving the audience frustrated and helpless but never less than sympathetic. Mike Poulton’s script is tight and detailed and achieves a difficult task: retaining dramatic tension even when we know the inevitable ending. The dialogue and set feel wholly authentic, transporting the viewer to 1940s London along with its restrictions. There’s something claustrophobic and terrifying about Kenny’s world where being gay is illegal and can land you in prison, as can attempting suicide.

    Although Kenny is a different beast from most of us in contemporary Britain, there are plenty of parallels and as well as the beauty of the piece; this makes it well worth a visit. Who hasn’t felt heartbroken and despairing and been laid low by loving the wrong man? Kenny has fallen for a man who doesn’t even claim to love him, has stopped sleeping with him and is still sleeping with women and men behind his back. Not an unusual story. Neither is the story of his relationship with Rattigan. Unable to be out in public Rattigan maintained elaborate ruses to keep his homosexuality both from the public and from his family. I’m sure I’m not the only one who’s met men like that? Who hasn’t struggled to understand someone else’s depression or even their own? Although his misery is tangible, it’s difficult not to want to try to solve Kenny’s issues.

    The play isn’t as bleak as it sounds on paper. There are fine comedic moments and the pace is brisk. There are also touching moments of human kindness as the people around Kenny try their best to help. My recommendation is to just see this. You’re unlikely to see a finer play with a gay theme any time soon.

    Kenny Morgan plays at the Arcola Theatre until 15th October

     

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  • Who wants to see Culture Club?

    Who wants to see Culture Club?

    The legendary 80s group, Culture Club are making a return to the stage as Boy George reunites with his band mates.

    Boy George
    CREDIT: PR Provided

    One of the biggest bands of the ‘80s is back AND with the original line-up, playing their only UK show this year on Wednesday, December 14th, at The SSE Arena Wembley, London, with special guests, in their only UK performance, Kid Creole and the Coconuts.

    The overwhelming excitement and outstanding rave reviews garnered on their world tour have driven the group to announce a homecoming show in London where the band will perform favourites from their albums including Kissing to Be Clever and Colour By Numbers, as well as their latest album Tribes.

    Known for dominating the charts worldwide with their classic hits including “Karma Chameleon,” “Do You Really Want To Hurt Me” and “I’ll Tumble 4 Ya”. There is not a country in the world that doesn’t know the names of Boy George and Culture Club.  The Grammy Award winners have sold in excess of 100 million singles and over 50 million albums, and were one of the biggest pop bands of the 1980s.

    They achieved seven straight Top 10 hits in the UK, nine Top 10 singles in the USA and nine Top 20 singles in Australia.  They had number 1 singles in over a dozen countries and multiplatinum album sales across the world, and were the first group since The Beatles to have three Top Ten hits in America from a debut album.  They were also the first group in music history to have an album certified diamond in Canada.

    The original band line-up is Mike Craig (bass guitar), Roy Hay (guitar and keyboards), Jon Moss (drums and percussion) and flamboyant front-man Boy George (lead vocals).