THEGAYUK

Tag: London News

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

  • 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

  • First Trans and Gender Non-Conforming Swimming Group Opens In London

    Trans and Gender Non­Conforming Swimming Group (TAGS), after meeting with Lewisham council, have confirmed they have full private use of the training pool at the Glassmill Leisure Centre, Lewisham for a transgender safe swimming group.

    Facilities are accessible for individuals with disabilities and include a very discrete space with electric blinds on all windows to ensure privacy. There is a 20m Teaching pool with moving floor to alter depth. The Glassmill Centre also includes gender specific and gender neutral training facilities. Swimmers will have an hour and a half slot for changing and swimming. In additional, pool staff will be given training by TAGS to ensure that gender issues are covered and treated sensitively. There will be TAGS representatives to greet swimmers and take them to changing area. There are also accessible CCTV monitored parking at a very reasonable rate (£2 per hr) open until the centre closes and a cafe space to socialise. Parents of young people and carers are welcome to swim or spectate.

    TAGS is the only Trans Gender Non Conforming swimming group in London. This first swimming session is part of a three-month trial with Lewisham Council, so TAGS is seeking all interested swimmers to take the initiative to support the space by coming to the sessions. The cost will be £3.20 (lower for Lewisham residents) a session. The more swimmers at each session, the more TAGS can negotiate the cost down further.

    TAGS is organised by volunteers from the Gendered Intelligence Volunteer Society. Roberta Francis, the main volunteer, organised TAGS because she wanted to go to her local swimming group, but felt nervous. “I felt there was a big need for a swimming group in London to allow trans and gender non­conforming people the opportunity to have access to a safe space. Being able to swim is a basic right but for many trans people it can be really difficult because of how we are treated in the community as a whole,” Roberta said.

    Jay Stewart of Gendered Intelligence, said: “We know physical activity reduces mental distress. This is such a huge factor in trans people’s lives due to the pressures to conform to gender norms. I feel incredibly proud that this initiative has been led by some of our volunteers at Gendered Intelligence. The Gendered Intelligence Volunteer Scheme is all about strengthening the wider trans community and this is doing exactly that.”

    Anyone wishing to attend the TAGS swimming group can join their Facebook event here: https://www.facebook.com/events/269765326552514/ Or contact admin@genderedintelligence.co.uk for more information.

  • THEATRE REVIEW: You Should Be So Lucky, Above The Stag

    ★★★ | You Should Be So Lucky, Above The Stag

    For their opening play of the new season, Above The Stag have chosen a madcap comedy from the pen of Charles Busch, a New York writer and drag artist, who also played the male lead in the original New York production of the play.

    A modern day Cinderella story, the play concerns Chris, a shy and slightly eccentric electrologist who accidentally electrocutes and kills his customer, the elderly Mr Rosenberg, unexpectedly inheriting Rosenberg’s millions. This sets off a chain of crazy events, including appearing on a TV reality chat show, under the guidance of his fairy godfather Mr Rosenberg, who returns as a ghost to take care of his surrogate son, and make sure his wishes are carried out in the face of his vengeful daughter disputing the will.

    Apart from one brief scene in the TV studio, the entire action takes place in the one room of Chris’s Greenwich Village apartment, a very clever and elaborate set by David Shields. Busch is a seasoned writer, his writing reminiscent of 1930s screwball comedies, and the laughs come thick and fast.

    I had my reservations, though and these were much the same as those I had with last year’s Gay Naked Play, also directed by Andrew Beckett. Too much of it was played on one frenetic level, with a surfeit of mugging to the audience, and an energy level far in excess of what was needed in this small house. Chris Woodley’s Christopher started well, and in his first couple of scenes with Colin Appleby’s warmly gentle Mr Rosenberg, created a touching portrait of a slightly lost young man, but as events got more and more out of control, so too did his performance. Stacy Sobieski was on firmer ground as Christopher’s completely over the top drama queen sister, Polly, as was Ellen Vernieks as Rosenberg’s daughter, Lenore, but they too would benefit from reining things in occasionally, as could Lucas Livesy’s Walter.

    The role of the TV host Wanda Wang is being shared by several actors. On the night I attended we had a nicely nuanced performance from Ishani Basu.

    Maybe the pacing will settle down a bit as the play gets further into its run. An entertaining evening none the less.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Ghost from a Perfect Place: Arcola Theatre, London

    ★★★★★ | Ghost from a Perfect Place: Arcola Theatre, London

    Multi award-winning playwright Philip Ridley returns to the Arcola with his contemporary classic Ghost From A Perfect Place, a scorchingly dark comedy where a monster from the past meets the monsters of the present.

    Twenty years after its premiere at Hampstead Theatre, Ghost From A Perfect Place has its first major revival under the direction of Russell Bolam, following his critically-acclaimed production of Ridley’s Shivered (Southwark Playhouse 2012).

    Back in the 1960s, Travis Flood led a gang that terrorised East London. Now, after an absence of many years, he returns to find his old turf in the clutches of a new kind of gang with a new kind of leader. Rio, the ruler of a mob of girls, instantly captivates Travis with her haunting beauty but soon a shocking story begins to emerge and it is one that shatters both their distorted memories.

    A stark half burnt out council flat in Bethnal Green sees Torchie (played by the excellent Sheila Reid) entertaining the returning gangster, Travis Flood (Michael Feast) as he waits to meet up with her prostitute granddaughter, Rio for sex. Torchie fondly regales him with tales of their ‘heydays’ and unfurls the terrible story of how her life fell apart.

    Ridley’s play is both hilariously funny and horrific in equal measures. The audience both laugh and wince as the play hurtles towards (a not unexpected) yet shocking conclusion. The cast are excellent with Sheila Reid (Madge from Benidorm) showing her skill as an actress. Michael Feast is a superbly edgy yet absurd Travis Flood and the two are more than ably supported by a cast of three young actresses as the terrifying Rio and her disciples.

    This production is a real triumph for the Arcola and the staging and direction are faultless. This is theatre at its gritty best and Ridley’s play has lost none of its relevance to disconcert, even after twenty years.

    Ghosts from a Perfect Place runs until 11/10/14

    Buy tickets here: http://www.arcolatheatre.com/production/arcola/ghost-from-a-perfect-place-by-philip-ridley

  • London’s New Year celebrations now to be ticketed and costing £10

    This year’s NY celebrations in London will make history, by becoming a paid for event and strictly ticketed for the first time.

    According to the Mayor of London, Boris Johnson, around 500,000 people turned up to hear the bongs of Big Ben at the stroke of midnight this year putting tremendous stresses on services including police and transport.

    Mayor Johnson announced today that the famous event by Southbank will now be ticketed to limit the numbers to 100,000. The public will be able to book up to four tickets.

    For £10 you will be guaranteed a good view of the celebrations and a ‘better visitor experience.’

    Tickets will be available from Friday 26th September. According to a statement from the Mayor’s office ‘Ticketing is not for profit – every penny of the £10 administration fee will be used to pay for the ticketing itself, and the extra infrastructure the decision to ticket will bring.’

    The Mayor of London Boris Johnson said: ‘London’s New Year’s Eve fireworks are phenomenally popular, not just in the capital, but across the world and we want to ensure it continues to be a safe, enjoyable and sustainable event for the long-term. After consulting with our partners, we are introducing ticketing to help manage crowd numbers and create a better experience on the night. For anyone without a ticket the fireworks are again being shown live and in full on television, meaning you can watch it in glorious HD colour without missing a single second. And don’t forget, there are hundreds of other New Year’s Eve celebrations to enjoy in bars, restaurants and clubs across the capital.’
    The Mayor’s decision has the full support of the emergency services, the relevant local authorities and other key stakeholders.

    To book tickets visit: http://www.london.gov.uk

    London isn’t the only city to charge for its celebrations. Ticketing the Edinburgh Hogmanay celebrations has led to a steady reduction in crowd numbers to more manageable levels. There is a £20 administration charge. In Sydney, Australia ticketing is in place for the prime viewing areas, including Sydney Opera House, Royal Botanic Garden & Domain Trust, Taronga Zoo and National Parks & Wildlife Services, however the wide and harbour location event footprint makes the Sydney celebrations a different operation to London, which is much more compact.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | War House, National Theatre

    ★★★★★ | War House, National Theatre

    First off, don’t hate me. Please don’t hate me, but I have to confess… I got up close and personal with Joey last night in Salford and had a great time.

    Who is Joey? Joey has chestnut hair, flowing in the breeze, he’s strong, muscular, has great legs – all 4 of them… Joey is War Horse.

    Don’t know about you, but I’d seen the images of the stage play, I’d even sat through the snoozefest that was the film, but nothing, and I mean nothing prepared me for the stage play.

    The story is so well known, I don’t feel the need to go over it here but it’s simply boy meets horse, boy trains horse to pull a plough, WW1 begins and the horror starts.

    This current touring production is at The Lowry until 20th September so you have time to book your weekend away in sunny Manchester before it travels to Stoke and then off to South Africa.

    I think the main thing that makes this production so darn wonderful is the animals – and by animals I mean Handspring Puppet Company and their puppets and puppeteers. These are some amazing creations – so articulated, so well observed, not just in terms of the look, but in the way they are manipulated and worked. Their walk, the noises, even down to their breathing… these are nuanced performances… you eventually forget about the people working them and buy into them as “real”. Watch out for the amazing flying birds, and the goose!

    That isn’t to detract from the human cast, with Lee Armstrong giving one hell of a performance as Albert Naracott who trains Joey, and then follows him to war. Martin Wenner makes up the other half of this main human duo, playing Albert’s German counterpart, Friedrich. I love how the story weaves together both Albert and Friedrich, alongside the equine Joey and Topthorn.

    This story seems to flow better than the film for some reason, the horror of battle shown better in the drawings displayed constantly on a torn paper screen, the minimalist staging ripe for touring but leaves so much to your imagination, the dirt and grime, the gas attacks, the effect on the people in occupied France…

    We were lucky enough to get to do a quick Q&A with Martin Wenner, Lee Armstrong and the horses/puppeteers after the play, and I managed to grab some half-decent images to give you some scale of these magnificent creations. (see above)

    If you can, get tickets, sell your gran if need be but go see it live – it’s a whole new world! I’ve been to the theatre quite a lot, but have never, ever seen such a reception as this cast and crew received for this production. Standing ovation? Tick!

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Briefs: The Second Coming

    ★★★★★ | Briefs: The Second Coming

    ‘Cirque du Soleil’ meets ‘RuPaul’s Drag Race’

    The award-winning all male, all vaudeville, all trash brat-pack return to London with their cult variety hit, Briefs.

    Briefs is a madcap safari through extravagant birdbath boylesque, too close for comfort yo-yo tricks, valiant aerial acrobatics, irreverent interludes, ferocious fanfare and show-stopping drag artistes. The line-up is disorderly, and the show is still circus-infused. Expect the unexpected in this array of satire and skills as the BRIEFS boys present London Wonderground with burlesque…with balls!

    When I entered Wonderground on London’s Southbank I was amazed and instantly transported to a circus fairground. There was music, rides and a carousel alongside countless bars and food establishments. As I waited alongside my friend in a wooden dodgem car, I heard a bellowing lady exclaim that the show was about to start and that the audience should take their seats. I travelled into the Spiegeltent and was pleasantly surprised to see comfortable seating and a proper stage. I took a seat in the second row as I knew the front row would be in for a surprise. I was greeted by men in scantily clad suits. I sat down and the show began….

    We are first introduced to Fez Faanana who is the compère for the show, a mix between Frank N. Furter and Jason Momoa, who is not your standard drag queen. Then we are introduced to Thomas Worrell who certainly knows his flexible way around a ring. A contortionist who’s incredibly cute to boot! We are then let loose in front of Adam Krandle, a most mischievous character who is very good at rendering the audience into hysterics over the most inanimate of objects. Then we see the delights of Dallas Dellaforce, a drag queen who is Queen of the Queens, taking on embodiments of Marilyn Monroe and Audrey Hepburn. Later, we see the drop dead gorgeous Louis Biggs who is only 20 years old and certainly knows how to play with his toys! Finally, we see the King of Burlesque, Mark Winmill who is the headline act and it is certainly where he belongs. He delivers a culmination of the previous acts with added extra surprises that will leave the audience thirsty for more!

    I have to say that it is one of the best shows I’ve seen in a long time. There is an effervescent mix of comedy, camp and cabaret. There are bearded drag queens, monkeys and more than enough eye candy; all blended together with an intoxicating mix of circus, spectacle and surprises.

    Final words: 100%! 5 out of 5 stars! Everyone must go see this show whether it’s for the circus, cabaret or camp elements or even to ogle at the hot half naked men. It is a show that I’m sure that will go down well for straight and gay audiences alike!

    Briefs: The Second Coming is on at the London Wonderground from Thursday 28th August – Sunday 28th September. Performance starts at 7:30 pm with a running time of around 75 minutes. Tickets prices range from £14 – £20.50 and are available here: http://www.southbankcentre.co.uk/whatson/briefs-the-second-coming-82977

    Follow the show on Twitter: @briefsfactory and #briefsboys and the boys on Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/briefsallmalecircuscabaret or their website: http://briefsfactory.com/

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Autobahn, The King’s Head Theatre, London

    ★★★★★ | Autobahn, The King’s Head Theatre, London

    Regarded as one of the most celebrated American playwrights, Neil LaBute has enthralled audiences all over the world with his layered characters, sharp dialogue and subtle social commentaries. Savio(u)r return to the King’s Head Theatre after the success of 2013’s Our Town with the London premiere of LaBute’s play, Autobahn, directed by Off-West End Award nominee Tim Sullivan.

    This short-play cycle follows colourful, complicated people making their way across America’s highways and their stops, starts, and stalls along the way. The London cast includes Sharon Maughan (Holby City, The Bank Job, She’s Out of My League), Henry Everett (Michael Grandage’s (A Midsummer Night’s Dream), Tom Slatter (Robot Overloards), and Zoe Swenson-Graham (Our Town).

    This cycle of seven short pieces stretching over 2 hours 10 minutes (with an interval to catch your breath) consists of scenes of people in cars. The stark set is a disembodied half of a car with a background scene projected on the wall and the 4 actors take various roles in the vignettes. Some of the pieces are total or almost total monologues with little interchange between characters whereas others are sharply written well-performed two handers.

    The concept of two people talking as they sit in a car might not fill you with excitement but the skill of the writing and the intensity of the dialogue soon drags you in. These are nasty stories at times with LaBute’s characters having only a thin veneer covering their insecurities, betrayals and crimes. Unfaithful wives, psychotic girlfriends, unrepentant addicts and willing abductees abound in the dark world that is depicted, yet at times the plays are also painfully funny.

    The cast are excellent and really bring life to the disparate and often desperate characters. This is a really unique theatre experience. The last outing for a LaBute play (Bash Latterday Plays at The Old Red Lion) ended up transferring to the West End. Catch this stellar production while you can. It deserves a wide audience.

    Autobahn runs until the 20th of September 2014

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope, St James Theatre, London

    ★★★ | Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope, St James Theatre, London
    “I became one of the stately homos of England.”

    From a conventional middle-class Surrey upbringing to global notoriety via his autobiography “The Naked Civil Servant”, Quentin Crisp was an extraordinary raconteur and wit. This new production, making its London premiere after an Edinburgh season, shows Quentin both in his beloved but squalid Chelsea flat as the 1970s dawn, and in his final years in his adopted New York, with the new millennium beckoning.

    The show draws on Quentin’s own writing and performances in a new script by Mark Farrelly, who also performs (West End credits include Who’s Afraid Of Virginia Woolf with Matthew Kelly). He is directed by the renowned Linda Marlowe, who has won awards for her own solo work such as Berkoff’s Women.
    Quentin Crisp was an extraordinary character. Sharp-tongued, controversial and seemingly fearless. Born in an age when gay sex was illegal and liable to land you in prison, he embraced what he was: a flamboyant and effeminate homosexual. Facing ridicule, beatings and scorn as well as the ardour of men in the back alleys of Soho, he became a notorious character. With the publication of his autobiography and subsequent television film of this, starring John Hurt, he took infamy and his waspish wit to a much wider audience. His one-liners were legendary as were his regular television chat show appearances.

    Alienating the gay rights movement of the 1970s and causing furore with flippant comments about anything from AIDS being a passing fad, homosexuality being a terrible disease and his views on Princess Diana, perhaps more shockingly, the seemingly very English based institution, moved to New York and made his home there in his later years.

    Farrelly’s play has strengths and weaknesses. He manages to capture some of the wit, acidity and pathos of Crisp but at times this is slightly patchy. The script is stronger in the first half when Crisp is shown alone in his London flat, addressing the audience as he postures and quips with the thin veneer showing some vulnerability beneath. Although physically much sturdier than Crisp, he does manage, mostly, to convey an essence of Crisp’s character and demeanour. The second half, where Farrelly depicts Crisp performing in New York just before his death, felt much weaker with the relentless round of bon mots becoming a bit tired and the audience participation element feeling a bit unnecessary to the show. I did, however, laugh quite a lot and it was good to be reminded of some of Crisp’s better one-liners in this well-researched show.

    Quentin Crisp: Naked Hope is on at St James Theatre until the 7th of September 2014

    Buy tickets here: http://www.stjamestheatre.co.uk/events/quentin-crisp-naked-hope/

    The show will also be touring the U.K. from October with shows at Greenwich, Cardiff, Dundee and Hemel Hempstead.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Odd Shaped Balls, Etcetera Theatre, London

    ★ ★ ★ ★ | Odd Shaped Balls, Etcetera Theatre, London

    After a four-week run at The Edinburgh Festival with stellar five star reviews and award nominations, Miller Theatre Productions returns with Odd Shaped Balls for a limited run at the Etcetera Theatre in Camden.

    Odd Shaped Balls is a new play exploring the difficulties faced by gay sports stars through the eyes of a young rugby player. Brothers, Richard D Sheridan (playwright) and Chris Sheridan (actor), forged the show after witnessing a real life incident of homophobic bullying in the sport that they love.

    When rising rugby star James Hall is publicly ‘outed’ by his ex, his life becomes a struggle of dealing with increased media attention and the pressures of being labelled a role model on and off the pitch, while trying to adapt to changes in his personal relationships. The show takes an honest and often comical look into the changing room banter of male sports teams and their relationship to their fans and how it can intimidate players to live a lie.

    With rave reviews and a fascinating subject matter, this play looks like it’ll be well worth checking (as does Chris Sheridan, judging by the publicity shots).

    Odd Shaped Balls is on at the Etcetera Theatre from 18th to 20th of September.

  • Older LGBT Londoners To Benefit From £75,000 Charity Grant

    Age UK Camden (AUC), a Camden based charity, has received £75,000 over two years from the City of London Corporation’s charity, City Bridge Trust, to boost its Opening Doors London (ODL) project for Older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) people.

    As the largest Age UK group in London, AUC works with around 7,000 older people in Camden, improving their lives through a wide range of services including day centres, information and advice service, volunteering and counselling. The ODL project, which is the largest of its kind in the UK, was established to address the needs of the older LGBT community across the capital and ensure they have access to specialised support and advice for their later life planning.

    It is estimated that there are as many as 150,000 LGBT people aged over 50 living in London, many of whom suffer from mental health problems, as a result of decades of discrimination and social exclusion. ODL supports almost 1,000 older LGBT Londoners, and this grant will be used to recruit two full time Development Coordinators to further develop vital services and strengthen referral networks.
    Stacey Halls, Opening Doors London Project Manager at Age UK Camden, said, ‘This substantial grant from the City Bridge Trust is incredibly important to us, as demand for the support and services offered through Opening Doors London (ODL) for older Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) Londoners continues to increase significantly. In addition to lobbying and campaigning with, and for, older LGBT people to ensure that services can meet their needs, ODL also provides a wide range of services and activities which aim to reduce social isolation and help to improve the overall health and well-being of older people from LGBT communities.’

    Jeremy Mayhew, Chairman of City Bridge Trust, said, ‘Over the past three years, City Bridge Trust has been working with AUC on this ground-breaking ODL project to expand its reach from five central London boroughs to all the North London boroughs; it is now developing throughout the capital. We are delighted to continue our support for this crucial project for older LGBT people, which provides a lifeline for this community, enabling their voices are heard and their needs are met.’

    City Bridge Trust is the grant-making arm of Bridge House Estates, whose sole trustee is the City of London Corporation. It addresses disadvantage by supporting London charities and providing grants totalling around £15 million annually.