Tag: Marilyn Monroe

All the latest breaking news on Marilyn Monroe. Browse THEGAYUK’s complete collection of news, articles and commentary on Marilyn Monroe.

  • Marilyn Monroe Movie Retrospective

    For the whole of the month of June the BFI are running a retrospective of movies of one of world’s greatest gay icons: Miss Marilyn Monroe.

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  • THEATRE: Blackouts

    Following a series of acclaimed performances, ‘Drag Fabulist’ Dickie Beau takes his first major solo show Blackouts across the UK in 2015.

    Conjuring the spirits of celebrated Hollywood icons in an innovative theatre experience, Dickie leads audiences on a bewitching adventure as he channels the ghosts of his childhood idols.

    Dickie secured exclusive access to audio tapes of Marilyn Monroe’s final interview conducted by journalist Richard Meryman. Published in LIFE magazine just two days before her death, Blackouts includes material never before heard in the public domain. As well as this rare audio footage, segments creatively appropriated from Dickie’s own recordings with Richard Meryman also form part of the story. Blackouts sees Dickie shape-shift through a shadowy soundscape of lost souls in a sensational trip to the subconscious underworld of his future self; bringing to life these audio artefacts.

    The show marks a significant development for Dickie’s trademark process of dissecting, then remembering (literally, putting back together and embodying), found sound. The digital script has been written entirely using this and incorporates much original source material, including the spellbinding Judy Speaks tapes – Judy Garland alone with a Dictaphone, making notes for a memoir never to be written. The resulting piece is a study of icons in exile from society and themselves, and the haunting impressions they’ve left behind.

    Tour Dates:

    Mayfest, Bristol Old Vic: Friday 15 & Saturday 16 May 9.30pm mayfestbristol.co.uk

    Chichester Showroom: Thursday 24th September 7.30pm www.theshowroomchichester.co.uk

     

    Further 2015 dates to be announced

  • Kerry Katona to play gay icon in new musical

    Kerry Katona is set to play gay icon Marilyn Monroe in a new musical about the blonde bombshell.

    The new musical about the life of the Some Like It Hot actress is due to open with Atomic Kitten singer turned reality star Kerry Katona.

    The news was broken by Norma Jeane: The Musical’s Twtter feed, which announced:

    “Its official Kerry Katona ‪@KerryKatona7 will be Marilyn Monroe in ‘Norma Jeane The Musical”

    The show’s writer Belvedere Pashun, who previously wrote Wag – The Musical said of Katona:

    “I needed an actor of huge talent, personality and experience – Kerry was at the top of my list.

    This show will change the shape of people’s perceptions of Marilyn Monroe, and we expect to announce a new star of drama on stage and screen with Kerry’s performance.”
    Kerry said:

    ‘I’m thrilled to have been given this opportunity to play one of the world’s biggest female icons and can’t wait to get to work. A successful career in drama has always been a main goal of mine and this role is a challenge but one I’m going to grab with both hands.’

    The show is due to open sometime after the end of September 2013.

    Marilyn Monroe was voted a gay icon by the writers of TheGayUK in May

  • MARYLIN MONROE | A vintage gay icon who defined bombshell

    In my opinion there is one and only one classic icon worth mentioning in Hollywood history. Whether gay, straight, bi or Thai, everyone knows and loves Marilyn Monroe in one way or another.

    While there are some more emblazoned gay icons to have emerged from history, the Judy’s, the Barbara‘s, the Bettes; for me it was always Norma Jeane that was most relatable to my cowered closeted childhood. Her line in How to Marry a Millionaire, “Men aren’t attentive to girls who wear glasses” immediately made me feel better about my new dorky frames.

    Born with an absent father, a mentally unstable mother Norma Jeane was bounced around various carers and foster homes. She was constantly uprooted and very often sexually assaulted or abused during this time and when she was just sixteen she was married off to her high school boyfriend in order to prevent her from being sent to another foster home. No wonder the girl grew up nuts, wouldn’t you?

    While most of us know her singing about diamonds or making out with a cross-dressing Tony Curtis, Marilyn appearing in over thirty movies which is an impressive number when you consider she died at age 36.

    Here was a woman who famously wore nothing but Chanel No 5 to bed, a woman who worked a billowing white dress and a subway vent to such a level its been parodied more times than anyone could count. The most widely recognised and most famously sexual actress of all time… but she still never found a nice guy. Now tell me you can’t relate to that. A woman every man fantasised about but one that none seemed to love. Now I’m not saying I’m the world’s most sexual freelance writer but I find comfort in the fact while I may STILL be single, even Marilyn Monroe had trouble with men.

    Marilyn’s famous relationships included the boy next door, the jock, the affair with the President (and his brother) and the famous Jewish playwright. All of which failed often leaving her heartbroken and unstable… total gay icon.

    Marilyn spent most of her life in therapy, looking at her childhood it’s no wonder. She was supposedly diagnosed with hypersexuality, sleep disturbances, substance abuse and disturbed interpersonal relationships… TOTAL gay icon.

    I love Marilyn Monroe; she always seemed to show me that even though you’re beautiful you can still feel insecure and that not everyone is how they seem on the outside. She was beautiful, fragile, loved to sing and dance and was always looking for someone to love. Would have been an amazing hag.

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