THEGAYUK

Tag: Manchester News

Get the latest LGBT+ Manchester news from THEGAYUK. Breaking news, features and interviews from the gay community in Manchester in England, UK.

  • MANCHESTER BOMBING | Trans GE2017 candidate Sophie Cook tweets her support for Manchester victims

    Sophie Cook has tweeted her support for the people of Manchester following a suicide bombing at Manchester Arena.

    Sophie Cook, who is standing for Labour in East Worthing in the GE2017 has tweeted her support for the victims and survivors of the Manchester bombing. Taking to Twitter she said, that she was “heartbroken” on hearing the news. The candidate also mentioned that her 13-year-old daughter was a fan of Ariana Grande.

     

    https://twitter.com/sophiecooktalks/status/866890210042408960

    https://twitter.com/sophiecooktalks/status/866789540119416833

     

    The politician also said that campaigning for the Ge2017 had also been suspended following the incident.

     

    https://twitter.com/sophiecooktalks/status/866897748578238465

    https://twitter.com/sophiecooktalks/status/866923635361099777

     

    Manchester Police have confirmed that a bomb has exploded at Manchester Arena, killing 22 people and injuring 59. They have been treating the incident as a “terrorist event”.

    Twenty-two people have been killed after a blast ripped through Manchester Arena during the end of an Ariana Grande concert. Up to 21,000 fans were in attendance of the concert.

    At around 10:3o/33 PM as Ariana Grande had finished her concert, thousands of people were streaming out of the concert venue went a bomb was detonated.

    Witnesses say that the bomb went off outside the auditorium.

  • PHOTOS | Manchester Bombing in pictures

    A bomb has ripped through Manchester Arena, killing over 20 people and injuring dozens more.

     

    Embed from Getty Images

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  • Police ask Manchester bombing concert goers to upload footage to help in investigation

    Police in Manchester are urging concert goers to upload footage from their phones and cameras to help them investigate the bomb that killed and injured dozens of people at an Ariana Grande concert in Manchester.

    Speaking at a press conference, Chief Constable of Manchester Police, Ian Hopkins urged concert goers to upload their footage to a special website to help in the investigation into the terrorist event that killed at least 22 people and injured a further 59.

    He said,

    “It is important that we all continue to remain vigilant, but also to go about our daily lives. We would ask people to be alert and report any suspicious activity to police on the Anti-Terrorist Hotline 0800 789321 or dial 999.

    If you have any images or footage from last night that you believe can assist us then upload them to Ukpoliceimageappeal.co.uk or Ukpoliceimageappeal.com

     

     

  • Ariana Grande speaks out after Manchester bomb attack

    “Broken”.

    Superstar Ariana Grande has spoken out after a bomb ripped through Manchester Arena where she had just performed to 21,000 fans.

    Taking to Twitter Ariana said that she was “broken” and that she didn’t have any words.

    https://twitter.com/ArianaGrande/status/866849021519966208

    Fans have rallied around the singer with thousands leaving positive messages of support. Nearly 500,000 have retweeted the message.

    A publicist for the singer that Ariana was OK. She was unhurt by the explosion that rips through the foyer.

    Manchester Police have confirmed that a bomb has exploded at Manchester Arena, killing 22 people and injuring 59. They have been treating the incident as a “terrorist event”. Amongst the victims there were children.

    Ariana Grande is an advocate of the LGBT+ community has countless fans who identify as LGBT. Her brother, Frankie Grande, who is openly gay, has spoken about how his sister was incredibly supportive when he came out to her.

     

  • Bomb rips through concert arena in Manchester: killing and injuring dozens of people

    A bomb has ripped through Manchester Arena, killing over 20 people and injuring dozens more.

    • Twenty-two people killed and a further 59 injured in suicide bombing

    • Up to 21,000 people attended the Ariana Grande concert in Manchester

    • Ariana Grande says she’s “broken” in the aftermath of the bombing.

    Manchester Police have confirmed that a bomb has exploded at Manchester Arena, killing 22 people and injuring 59. They have been treating the incident as a “terrorist event”.

    Twenty-two people have been killed after a blast ripped through Manchester Arena during the end of an Ariana Grande concert. Up to 21,000 fans were in attendance of the concert.

    At around 10:3o/33 PM as Ariana Grande had finished her concert, thousands of people were streaming out of the concert venue when a bomb was detonated.

    Witnesses say that the bomb went off outside the auditorium.

    WHAT WE KNOW SO FAR:

    Police urge concert-goers to upload footage to national website

    Ariana Grande speaks out after the suicide bombing

    Manchester’s openly gay former Lord Mayor “sick and heartbroken”

    Friends launch a desperate bid to find Come Dine With Me star

     

    The victims include children. Fifty-nine people were injured in the blast, which has been described as being detonated by a “suicide bomber”. Victims have been taken to eight different hospitals in the Manchester area.

    It has been confirmed that the bomber died at the arena.

    Police have been treating the event as a terrorist event and is the worst attack in the UK since 7/7 where 56 people were killed in London in 2005.

    Speaking at a press conference, the Chief Constable Ian Hopkins called the bombing the “most horrific” incident that Manchester has faced.

    He said,

    “Families and many young people were out to enjoy a concert at the Manchester Arena and have lost their lives.  Our thoughts are with those 22 victims that we now know have died, the 59 people who have been injured and their loved ones.

    “We continue to do all we can to support them. They are being treated at eight hospitals across Greater Manchester.

    “To remind you, we were called at 10.33pm to reports of an explosion at the Manchester Arena at the conclusion of an Ariana Grande concert. More than 240 calls came in and emergency services were very quickly on scene”.

     

    Emergency numbers have been established for anyone who is concerned for loved ones who may not have returned home 0161 856 9400 or 0161 856 9900.

    Ariana Grande is an advocate of the LGBT+ community has countless fans who identify as LGBT. Her brother, Frankie Grande, who is openly gay, has spoken about how his sister was incredibly supportive when he came out to her.

    This article is a breaking news article and is being updated as more news comes in.

  • Manchester to become first UK city to officially record same-sex domestic abuse reports

    Greater Manchester police will be making history from today as it becomes the first city to officially record domestic abuse reports within the LGBT community.

    Following work between Greater Manchester Police, support service Independent Choices, LGBT Foundation and specialist trainers, code “D66” has been used in GMP’s City of Manchester division since June 2016 to record reports of domestic abuse in the LGBT community.

    Over 100 incidents have been logged in the pilot area since then and from today, Monday 10th April, officers in all areas of Greater Manchester will use the code.

    Since June, police and partners have had extra training to increase their understanding of the different needs of people who find themselves in domestic abuse situations. 

    No other police force in the UK has recorded this information before and it’s hoped that its introduction will add to Greater Manchester’s current work to capture trends and patterns and ultimately tackle the issue and support victims in the most effective way possible.

    Detective Chief Inspector Myra Ball from GMP said,

    “This is a huge step forward in tackling domestic abuse specifically within the LGBT community here in Greater Manchester, and shows our commitment to supporting all victims of domestic abuse in the best way possible, for them.

    “Over the six month pilot in just one area of Greater Manchester we logged over 150 incidents of LGBT domestic abuse. This code will help us to identify and monitor LGBT domestic abuse incidents, which in turn will help us shape any processes needed to tackle it.

    “Across the multiagency partnership we have identified the lack of monitoring in this respect and the partnership has funded a specialist LGBT IDVA (Independent Domestic Violence Adviser) at Independent Choices. We are also continuing our work on a national level with the national LGBT domestic abuse helpline at Galop to better understand the issues surrounding domestic abuse in the LGBT community and encourage victims and friends and family of victims to report the issue and have the confidence to come forward.”

    Nik Noone, CEO of Galop said,

    “Domestic abuse does not discriminate, and neither should the reporting of domestic abuse. The GMP’s D66 code will not only help break down barriers to reporting, we hope it will encourage other police forces across the country to roll out similar initiatives. Galop will be working hard to support this key development for LGBT survivors.”

    People in Greater Manchester are encouraged to get comfortable talking about domestic abuse in all its forms – including coercion and control – thanks to the ‘Sitting Right With You’ campaign. The campaign gets people thinking differently about domestic abuse and encourages victims or concerned friends and family to take that first step towards help and support.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Yank! The Musical

    ★★★★ | Yank! The Musical

    Yank! The Musical review
    credit Anthony Robling

    Manchester’s Hope Mill Theatre is the perfect setting for this MGM-style musical which is performed with style and honesty.

    This new musical, written by brothers David and Joseph Zellnik, is having its premiere at the Hope Mill Theatre in Manchester. It is an apt location for this innovative piece which buckles the trend of new pop-musicals. Yank! is billed as World War II love story. While ostensibly this is true – it’s actually much more than it gives itself credit for.

    The show centres around Stu, a young gay man, who is drafted into the army to fight in the Second World War. He struggles to find his literal and metaphorical place amongst the pseudo-masculine military men – a mission which is only complicated by his complex relationship with his fellow squadron Mitch.

    Musically and stylistically, Yank! has all the makings of the classic MGM musical. Though the second act goes to places which are considerably more candid and poignant that you might expect from a show consisting of tap-dancing men in khaki.

    Scott Hunter plays the timid Stu with a fragile believability and Barnaby Hughes’ Mitch has all the charisma you’d expect from an, albeit untraditional, leading man. The ensemble cast are also strong all-rounders and support the principle cast in moments of hilarity and sincerity alike.

    Despite the show being set almost 80 years ago, the tropes of this new musical are as current as ever. Substitute the frontline with a school playground, workplace or a homophobic family home, and you’ll see that the struggles of young gay men are not confined to the stories of history.

    The tropes surrounding institutions and homophobia couldn’t be more timely. In recent years we’ve seen the legalisation of gay marriage, the story of Alan Turing been turned into a Hollywood film, and scores of gay men being posthumously pardoned for sexual offence crimes.

    Baker, the show’s director, said that he didn’t want these stories to get lost from history. With this charming new musical hopefully set to become a staple of musical theatre repertoire, the story of Stu and Mitch, and the men they represent, will hopefully live on for years to come.

    Yank! The Musical plays at the Hope Mill Theatre until 8th April 2017

  • FIRST LOOK | Gay musical YANK! pictures

    FIRST LOOK | Gay musical YANK! pictures

    War-time gay love story Yank! has released its first look pictures… and they look incredible!

    credit Anthony Robling

    The long-awaited European Premiere of war-time love story Yank! is now open and running preview performances in Manchester ahead of its official opening on Wednesday evening at the Hope Mill Theatre, already standing ovations have taken place at each of the five preview performances.

    The musical will run until Saturday 8 April at Hope Mill Theatre.

    credit Anthony Robling

    The musical tells a gay love story set in the midst of World War Two. Based on the real history and events of WW2, it focuses on the life of Stu, a scared Mid-Western youngster who is called up to serve in the forces in 1943. He becomes a photographer for Yank Magazine, the journal ‘for and by the servicemen’. The musical explores what it means to be a man, and what it is to fall in love and struggle.

    credit Anthony Robling

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Funny Girl, Palace Theatre, Manchester

    ★★★★ | Funny Girl, Palace Theatre Manchester

    In the opening lines of the show, Fanny Brice declares, ‘That’s where I live, on stage.’ In a rip-roaringly fantastic return to the show by Sheridan Smith; it’s impossible to believe she belongs anywhere else.

    The narrative of Funny Girl lacks originality. The rags to riches rise to fame, peppered with a predictably turbulent love story. These are popular tropes of the post-war musical, and Funny Girl is no exception. Act one of Isobel Lennart’s book just about generates enough excitement to retain one’s interest in the story. Act two doesn’t fair too well in this department. Michael Pavelka’s sparse, asymmetrical set design left the stage feeling desolate at times. And, while some have interpreted the precariously tilted proscenium arch as a representation of Fanny’s life – I think it’s a metaphor too far for this light-hearted musical comedy. However, like many things in this production, the lack of dramatic pace and uninspiring set design dissipates in a heartbeat when Smith is on stage.

    The show is an unapologetic star-vehicle for the lead role, which was popularised by Barbara Streisand in the 1969 film – an indisputably tough act to follow. But Funny Girl is the story of vaudevillian Fanny Brice, and her meteoric rise to fame in the Ziegfeld Follies – a story which has distinct echoes of the show’s star Sheridan Smith. Smith herself is fast becoming the doyen of British theatre, and with performances like this, the hype is more than justifiable.

    She sings with ample vocal ability and dances with confidence and flair. But Smith is ostensibly an actress – and it is her sublime characterisation, which never falters, where her unique ability to captivate is most alive. Her character Fanny claims to have ’36 different expressions’. To say Smith has expression is to dilute the honesty of her performance. In the wrong hands this role can be two-dimensional, but Smith’s astute comic timing, palpable likeability and wholly believable vulnerability chimes the chord of truth every second she is on stage.

    The ensemble also gave a solid performance, and orchestra was in fine shape too. The same could not be said for my legs after being sat in the grand tier of the Palace Theatre in Manchester for three hours. I normally give the note: ‘restricted legroom’ a perfunctory glance and have no problem. I think, the tangible desire for the audience to jump to their feet was to congratulate Smith on a stellar performance – but the audible sigh of relief from my fellow grand tier survivors leaves one to wonder. Seat issues aside: a star was not born at the Palace Theatre this week, but rather cemented into history as one of our most talented leading ladies.

  • TODAY IN GAY | 20,000 protest the Government’s Section 28 in Manchester

    TODAY IN GAY | 20,000 protest the Government’s Section 28 in Manchester

    In 1988 over 20,000 people took to the streets of Manchester to protest the Conservative Government’s controversial anti-gay legislation known as Section 28.

    (C) BIGSTOCK

    Section 28 of the Local Government Act 1988 meant that local authority employees, including school teachers, could not “intentionally promote homosexuality or publish material with the intention of promoting homosexuality” or “promote the teaching in any maintained school of the acceptability of homosexuality as a pretended family relationship”.

    Section 28 was supported by a number of religious groups including, Salvation Army, the Christian Institute, the African and Caribbean Evangelical Alliance,[citation needed] Christian Action Research and Education, the Muslim Council of Britain, and groups within the Catholic Church and the Church of England.

    It became law in England, Scotland and Wales on the 24th May 1988 under Margaret Thatcher‘s Tory government. Section 28 was repealed in 2003 by the Labour government. The Scottish government was able to repeal this bill in 2000 and was, in fact, one of the first pieces of legislation enacted by the new Scottish Parliament.

    Watch this incredible footage of the protest in Manchester.

  • Two men hospitalised after brutal homophobic attack in Trafford

    Two men hospitalised after brutal homophobic attack in Trafford

    Police in Greater Manchester are asking the general public for help in identifing suspects in connection with what they are calling a homophobic attack on a tram in Trafford.

    Homophobic attack in Trafford

    Officers are trying to identify the man and woman pictured following what they are calling a homophobic attack on a tram in Trafford, just weeks after another homophobic incident in Oldham, just 11 miles away in Oldham.

    Two men in their 40s were travelling on the Metrolink from Media City into the city centre on the night of Sunday 22 January 2017 when they were allegedly attacked on the tram, just before it stopped at Cornbrook station. Police are looking for one man and two women became involved in a verbal altercation with the victims.

    They then launched a violent attack on them, punching and kicking them while subjecting them to homophobic abuse.

    Both victims needed hospital treatment.

    One of the women is described as a white, with long brown hair in a ponytail and was wearing a dark cap. She was also wearing a black hoody with a white square and white lettering on the front of it.

    Detective Constable Claire Phythian, from GMP’s Trafford borough, said,

     

    “This was a disturbing attack on two innocent men as they made their way home.

    “We are doing everything we can to find those responsible for it and with that, we need the public’s help with any information about the incident.

    “If you recognise the people pictured, or have any information about them, then please contact police. If you were on the tram at the time of the offence and witnessed the attack, please also call us.

    “We take all reports of hate crimes extremely seriously and the message is clear – they will not and never will be tolerated in Greater Manchester.”

    Anyone with any information should call 0161 856 7677 quoting incident number 2269 of 22 January 2017. Alternatively, information can be passed on anonymously by calling Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.