THEGAYUK

Tag: UK

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Macbeth, Birmingham Rep

    When a story is often told, there is a risk of it getting old, however, with Carrie Cracknell and Lucy Guerin’s Macbeth told the same story but through a completely new lens. It was Stargate meets Resident Evil bent of Macbeth. It had moving chambers and symbols that lit up, just like in the pyramids of the former film, and it had the underground facility feel of Resident Evil, with dim lights, almost appearing like they were trapped in the sewers. ★★★★

    Having watched Macbeth the film starring Michael Fassbender, expectations were always going to be high. With this production, you just didn’t know what you were going to get, which made it so much more exciting, and John Heffernan’s Macbeth was his own, and it was genius.

    The marvel that was the set made the show start before the actors had even walked on, as the tunnel type design, by Lizzie Clachan, let your mind loose imagining what would be happening first. The set is worthy of stealing all awards for a production’s visual masterpiece.

    When the show did start, and through to the end there were no disappointments with the visual of this Macbeth, as every scene was coloured differently with physicality that was otherworldly. Particularly the witches of Macbeth, played by Ana Beatriz Meireles, Jessie Oshodi and Clemmie Sveaas, who stunned the senses with their movement, voice and visual shapes they created as an instrument of telling the story. I was glad to see them throughout the performance.

    John Heffernan owned the show with his careful, precise, yet troubled portrayal of Macbeth, where the transitions of the character were strategic and well thought out. There were no exaggerations or contrivance, and there were plenty of shades of Macbeth oozing out of Heffernan, and I particularly loved the end where his last soliloquy was quiet and understated, giving it more a solid effect, as it drew people in to listen.

    Unfortunately, Anna Maxwell Martin’s Lady Macbeth was not on the same level. The way she spoke was too quick, making it hard to understand what she was saying, and also overly predictable with presenting herself as mad throughout, not showing much depth to the character. The mad scene became expected and obvious.

    Overall, a stunning visual and an outstanding version of Shakespeare’s Macbeth that needs to be seen all over the country and beyond.

    Macbeth plays at The Birmingham Rep until 30th January, 0121 236 4455

     

     

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Alright Bitches, Above The Stag

    THEATRE REVIEW | Alright Bitches, Above The Stag

    ★★★ Alright Bitches | Let’s go on a trip to Gran Canaria via Above the Stag Theatre in their newly-penned play ‘Alright Bitches.’

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  • Rainbow Lanyards Promotes Pro LGBT Environment in NHS

    A scheme which allows LGBT workers and their allies at a London NHS trust to wear rainbow lanyards has been hailed as a success.

    Last year Central and North West London Trust launched a scheme that introduced rainbow-coloured NHS lanyards for staff to reinforce the Trust’s values and promote an environment of openness in all the Trust’s services.

    Over a thousand staff members at the CNWL trust now wear the lanyards including 500 straight allies.

    Alison Devlin, CN WL’s Equalities and Diversity Manager, said,

    “The initiative has been a phenomenal success. Once a few people started wearing the lanyards then they quickly spread across our sites and services.

    “The lanyards are completely optional – Staff can choose to wear the rainbow version instead of the standard NHS blue ones to highlight their support for LGBT colleagues, patients and the public and to get people talking about LGBT topics in a more confident and open way.”

    Mrs Devlin first came up with the initiative after a Patient Experience Survey, carried out by The Advocacy Project (an independent advocacy organisation) on nine of the Trust’s inpatient mental health wards found that some patients preferred not to be open about their sexuality for fear of judgement from staff and other patients.

    Mrs Devlin continues:

    “This report really highlighted the importance of creating a more open environment and a better experience for LGBT patients. As a result of the findings we rolled out LGBT awareness training sessions for inpatient staff which, together with the lanyard scheme, has helped to encourage openness on the wards and transform the patient experience. They give a powerful message to people at a time when they might be feeling at their most vulnerable.”

    Lanyards are distributed with an information booklet that explains the scheme and includes signposting information to a variety of local, London-wide and national LGBT organisations. Staff are also automatically signed up to receive Straight Allies bulletins and educational links to further educate them about LGBT equality issues.

    Claire Murdoch, CNWL Chief Executive, said:

    “This was a really good initiative that raised issues in an unusual but everyday way and quite colourfully. We’re a diverse Trust and these small reminders add to a positive atmosphere.”

    The lanyards were rolled out in February 2015 during LGBT History Month and are promoted to staff continuously throughout the year.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Lady Lust, Birmingham Rep

    Lust be a lady tonight. ★★★★★

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  • LGBT Mental Health Charity Shuts For The Last Time

    LGBT Mental Health Charity Shuts For The Last Time

    The mental health charity, PACE has closed due to “local authority budgets”.

    The London-based PACE mental health charity aimed at helping the LGBT community is due to close on the 29th January 2016 citing cuts in funding and a tough financial climate.

    The 31-year-old company is due to cease all operations from the 29th January.

    A statement on the charity’s website said,

    “The decision to close the doors on PACE after 31 years of supporting the LGBT+ community is one that we have taken with a very heavy heart.

    “The financial climate is very difficult for small charities, especially those delivering services at a local level with continuing cuts to local authority budgets. Sadly despite work to support the charity raising the necessary income needed has proved increasingly hard and it has become clear that it is no longer financially viable for the charity to continue.

    “The staff and trustees will work to ensure that PACE’s clients are given as much support as possible during this difficult time and referred to other support services as far as is possible.

    “We would like to thank all those who have supported us and worked with us to deliver vital support services for the LGBT+ community. A very big thank you to all the staff and volunteers over the last 31 years wo have provided so much support and dedication to the community.”

    In November PACE released findings that showed that 34 per cent of young LGB people have tried to commit suicide in the last year, spelling out how necessary a charity, which focuses on the mental health of lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans people in the UK, is at this time.

     

     

     

  • COMMENT: Do We Need Gay Sports Clubs In 2016

    COMMENT: Do We Need Gay Sports Clubs In 2016

    As a sportsman (or someone who is not very good, but really enjoys it) I am someone who plays cricket for a ‘normal’ straight team and football for a gay team.

    The question is often asked now if we need to have gay teams, or if the gay community is becoming too inclusive?

    It doesn’t need me to tell people that a number of sports have ‘moved on’ in attitudes such as Rugby and cricket, which now have openly gay professional players. I also don’t need to comment that it’s a shame no British based professional football players feel that they can come out and be open with their sexuality. Of course, there may not be any gay footballers, but then pigs might fly as well.

    At a recent European Gay football tournament that I had the pleasure of playing in for Village Manchester in Hamburg, Thomas Hitzlsperger (ex Aston Villa, West Ham and German International to the uninitiated) attended the closing ceremony and presented the awards. Hitzlsperger came out as gay after his career finished and is now championed by many in the gay sports community, but one of my colleagues felt differently. He asked why if Hitzlsperger is so proud of his sexuality, then why did he wait till his career finished before he revealed it? There may be numerous answers, but I felt it was a poignant question.

    In a small way I can understand this. I personally didn’t come out until I was 31 for fear of being rejected by my cricket team. My fears were extremely ill-founded. I do get a bit of banter now, but it’s all pretty harmless, and I’d rather people feel they can joke about it, rather than be afraid to mention anything.

    The changing rooms for any sports teams are sacred places where all sorts of things (non-sexual for the dirty minded amongst you) go on. So it’s important that all sports people trust and have a respect for each other. Everyone, regardless of their sexual orientation should feel comfortable in what they are doing, and I’ve heard a number of stories from guys at Village Manchester that they have felt uncomfortable in ‘straight’ football teams. I believe that’s why gay teams work. People are free to be themselves, talk freely about who they are and enjoy each others company.

    I joined VMFC in 2014 and I can honestly say that its one of the best things I’ve ever done. That is where gay teams and clubs have a place in society. VMFC also has a number of straight members as well, making it fully inclusive for anyone who loves football. Now there is a perfect world – INCLUSIVE

     

    by Dan Fish | @rava1979

  • THEATRE REVIEW: The Snowman, The Birmingham Rep

    The Snowman is a children’s picture book created by Raymond Briggs and was first published in 1978. The Snowman was televised as a 26-minute animated adaptation on the 26th of December 1982, Channel 4, and it conquered many people’s hearts thereon. It is also a production that has graced The Birmingham Repertory Theatre since 1993. ★★★ (more…)

  • Poppers To Be Made Illegal From April

    The UK government has voted to ban Poppers and other “legal highs” in law that is due to come into force in April.

    The new law which is due to be enacted on April 1st, will mean that if you sell or offer Poppers to anyone you could land up in jail for up to 7 years.

    A last ditch effort was made to exempt alkyl nitrites (poppers) from the Psychoactive Substances bill, however it failed 309 votes to 228.

    Speaking about the new law and the way in which it is written Lord Paddick told THEGAYUK:

    “it’s any substance that changes your mental state like making you feel happy.

    “So suppliers of air fresher for example and potentially florists could be arrested because the scent given off by roses makes people feel romantic, makes them feel better.

    Last week Conservative MP Mike Freer shared a document from the Advisory Committee of the Misuse of Drugs which said that poppers were “not seen to be capable of having harmful effects sufficient to constitute a societal problem.”

    In 2013 two men were found to have alkyl nitrites in their system after they died, however their deaths were not linked to their usage of poppers.

    In 2013 there were 8,416 alcohol-related deaths in the UK.

  • Jonathan Larson to be celebrated in a one-off musical

    The Life and Times of Jonathan Larson will be celebrated in the one-off show ‘Seasons of Love’.

    Who is Jonathan Larson you might ask? He is the Broadway composer and genius behind the smash hit musical ‘Rent.’ ‘Rent’ is one of the most successful and award-winning musicals of all time. It tells the story of a group of young men and women seeking out a living in Manhattan’s Lower East Side. These young men and women have lots of real life issues that dominate their lives; poverty, drugs, volatile romances, and HIV

    Larson composed Rent while at the same time waiting tables at Manhattan’s famous Moonstruck Diner. On the first day of its off-Broadway 1996 preview, Larson died unexpectedly at the age of 35. It was a shocking blow not just to the people close to him, but also to the actors and the rest of the crew. The show then premiered as planned and went on to critical and commercial success. ‘Rent’ was moved to Broadway in April 1996 after an extreme demand for tickets and excellent reviews. It went on to win four Tony Awards, including three for Larson (Best Musical, Best Book of a Musical, and Best Score). ‘Rent’ went on to become the 10th longest running show on Broadway, closing in June, 2008. Various productions have toured around the world, including three different productions in London. It also went on to win the Pulitzer Prize for drama.

    It’s not just the story that is poignant and timely for its time, it’s the music that’s most memorable and emotional in telling the story of these young people struggling to survive. Songs such as Seasons of Love, One Song Glory, Light My Candle and Santa Fe all convey the emotion and heartbreak and feelings these young people have and share.

    And for only night only, on Monday, January 25th, at London’s Shaftsbury Theatre, several West End performers will sing songs from the show. Debbie Kurup, Krysten Cummings and Damien Flood, all previous cast members of ‘Rent,’ will perform some of the songs and will reflect on their memories of the show. Anton Stephans from the last series of the X Factor will also star in the tribute.

    The concert will also include music from some of Larson’s earlier works, ‘Superbia’ and ‘tick, tick… BOOM!.’

    For tickets to this one-off show, please visit: www.seasonsoflarson.com

     

     

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Botallack O’Clock

    THEATRE REVIEW | Botallack O’Clock

    Dangling for 70 mins in a smoky room, adjacent to a stained mattress with Dessert Island Discs emanating from a Bush radio, alongside tick tock tick tock, Beethoven and the squiffed fantasies from an abstract artist who will drink to your health, insult if you were christened Darius or if you work for Blue Peter, might cause you to fornicate with a portrait and Monster Mash with a bear. ★★★

    Writer and Director Eddie Elks interprets a suspended hour at 3am for artisan Roger Hilton CBE in his Cornwall basement/bedroom/studio, aided with a bottle of Teachers malt, a talking wireless and a paint-water-thirsty feline.

    Attempted gherkin stabbing, a wife-eating crocodile composition, hide and seek with some teddy trouser pulling-down nonsense is enough to keep Hilton awake in the wee hours – will it keep your mince-pies open?

    Turbulent and bonkers with glimmers of merriment as you delve deeper into the whisky-hazed, gifted mind of a boob-admiring canvas-and-oil prize winner.

    Think self-indulgent luvvie in a student’s bedsit.

     

    Botallack O’Clock run until 6th February 2016 at the Old Red Lion Theatre, 0844 412 4307

     

  • Restaurant Review: Slug and Lettuce @ Brindley Place, Birmingham

    Slug and Lettuce is a cocktail bar that serves food, and it is a place where I have always had a good time, having booked it for my birthday a couple of years ago. Last night was the first time I had ever eaten there, and it was my guest’s first time there too. (more…)