THEGAYUK

Tag: UK

  • Birmingham Drama School ‘Comes Out’ To Challenge Homophobia

    Birmingham School of Acting (BSA), part of Birmingham City University, is addressing gay preconceptions in a new theatre production where characters are scrutinised for being ‘straight’, in a society where everyone else is gay.

    Devised and performed by Outspoken, a company of graduates and students from BSA’s Applied Performance course, ‘Heterophobia’ tells the story of Ryan, a 15 year-old heterosexual male who is trying to ‘come out’.

    Tom Craig, who plays the role of Ryan and graduated from BSA in 2013, said “’Heterophobia’ is a really powerful piece as it makes you realise just how unfair sexuality prejudices are and the troubles that young people can feel are placed on them when expressing their sexuality.”

    The theatrical performance, developed in collaboration with Birmingham Hippodrome, sees Ryan develop feelings for classmate Alice and is later exposed to cyber bullying when peers learn that Ryan is heterosexual and attracted to someone of the opposite sex.

    The production follows on from the recent outrage and anti-gay climate at the 2014 Winter Olympics in Sochi and a report released earlier this year by Youth Chances warning that a generation of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people face a mental health crisis, with the neglect of LGBT issues by schools contributing to an environment of hostility of fear.

    Hannah Phillips, Course Director of Applied Performance at BSA and Director of ‘Heterophobia’, said: ‘The findings from the Youth Chances survey were very concerning, revealing that more than half of young gay people have suffered mental health issues and 40% have considered suicide. The School Report by the lesbian, gay and bisexual charity Stonewall, revealed that homophobic bullying is still widespread in schools, with three in five young people who experience homophobic bullying saying that teachers who witness the bullying never intervene. The development of social media means that this bullying then continues online out of school hours.

    ‘’Heterophobia’ is an urban musical which has been made to engage young people with these complex and sensitive issues and challenge normative stereotypes through spoken word, MC, dance and live video projection. ‘Heterophobia’ explores the ‘coming out’ of a heterosexual young male in a gay world, switching the roles of the oppressed and the oppressor!

    ‘Getting audience members to view this situation from another angle may help them to understand the impact that this type of bullying can have on young people.’

    ‘Heterophobia’ incorporates interactive digital technology and a fusion of art forms – dance, drama, original songs, film and animation, performance poetry and spoken word, as well as providing a new model of audience participation by welcoming spectators to explore and engage with the stage and set before each performance begins.

    Also featuring in ‘Heterophobia’ are two members of Antics Dance Crew, who appeared in Sky 1’s ‘Got to Dance’ and radio and television presenter Joanne Malin, who has recorded a mock news broadcast to be included in the production.

    Performances take place at Birmingham Hippodrome on Thursday 3 and Friday 4 April, with tickets priced at £5. For more information and to book tickets, click here.

    Approx. running 70 minutes running time.

    Schools performances (aimed at Key Stages 3, 4 & 5): Thursday 3 April at 1.30pm and Friday 4 April at 10.30am.

    Public performances: Thursday 3 and Friday 4 April at 7.15pm

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, UK Tour

    ★★★★★ | Matthew Bourne’s Swan Lake, UK Tour

    Matthew Bourne’s critically acclaimed production of Swan Lake is welcomed back to the stage on this national tour. Based on the traditional ballet, Bourne provides an updated and contemporary vision of Tchaikovsky’s masterpiece. The piece follows a young prince who is bored with his life of public duties and frustrated by his mother’s inability to truly show any affection towards him. His life escalates to the point where he contemplates suicide, but changes his mind when he appreciates the beauty and magnificence of the swans on the lake. But his saviours may also be his downfall as matters culminate in confrontation and rejection at the Grand Ball.

    Bourne’s signature contemporary twist on the classic ballet is simply outstanding and leads to a beautiful, moving and breath-taking pieces of theatre. This version is perhaps best known for using an all-male ensemble for the bevy of swans, but whilst there is no denying the dramatic impact that places on the piece, there are so many other elements which elevate this piece of dance to the dizzying heights it reaches.

    Starting with the music, the show preserves Tchaikovsky’s score and plays it beautifully, with the sound being crisp, crystal clear and loud enough to be the perfect balance of being dramatic but never intrusive. The costumes were lavish, even down to the finest details. The set was sturdily constructed and looked amazing. The use of lighting created an individual atmosphere in every single scene and an incredible use of shadows during one particular scene created a chilling environment. In essence, the whole production was of the highest quality and absolutely oozed an abundance of class and sophistication.

    From the almost monochrome opening scenes in the palatial bedchamber to the vibrant explosion of colour in the Swank Bar, the modern twists provided by Bourne provided for a fresh and vivacious production which constantly surprised and delighted in equal measures. A combination of clever nods to the source material added to the joy, for example, Bourne boldly stages a ballet within a ballet, poking some tongue in cheek fun at the romantic ballets themselves, of which Swan Lake is a prime example.

    The grace, elegance and sheer talent of the entire cast was undeniable and simply could not be faulted in any way. The infusion of different style of dance, from ballet to jazz and beyond was seamless and fitted the traditional score perfectly whilst the narrative aspect of the production was easy to follow and conveyed the story well.

    By replacing the female swans with a male ensemble, the show has been interpreted as being very homo-erotic, not least because of the relationship between the Prince and the Male Swan but the attractive cast quite rightly underplay the point, keeping the show more on the right side of sensuality as opposed to eroticism.

    From the opening scenes to the terrifying and tearful finale, this show has everything to recommend it including humour, style, spectacle, originality and genuine emotion. As a piece of theatre, it cannot be recommended highly enough.

  • REVIEW | Polari Literary Salon, The Southbank Centre

    ★★★★ | Polari Literary Salon, The Southbank Centre

    If you’ve not been to Paul Burston’s Polari Literary Salon, you must. I insist.

    I had my Polari Literary Salon cherry popped last night and it was stunning. An incredible, humbling and glorious array of literary talent showed their prowess on stage including: Carl Stanley, Nicolas Collins, Karen McLeod, Angela Clerkin and Maureen Duffy.

    A special mention for Karen McLeod, whose ‘humourless lesbian’ character Barbara Brownshirt had the room in tears with her odes to Judi Dench and cruelty free shoes.

    Also Angela Clerkin’s immensely enjoyable reading about her stage wetting Irish dancing nemesis provided light and shade against the often angst but thought-provoking poetic readings from Nicolas Collins, while Carl Stanley opened the evening with an intimate reading from his book about growing up gay in early 80s.

    An abundance of readings of poetry and excerpts from the author’s books, the evening provided a spotlight on some of the best queer writing, expertly hosted by the ever gorgeous and critically acclaimed Paul Burston.

    The next Polari Literary Salon evening at the Southbank Centre is on the 28th April and will star:
    Philip Hensher, Sophie Ward, Rebecca Chance, LaJohn Joseph and Kiki Archer.

  • Gay Marriage – The Fast Facts

    Same sex couples not in an existing legal partnership will be able to give notice of marriage from Thursday 13 March 2014, with the first marriages to take place on Saturday 29 March.

    Here are the key legal facts about marriage between same sex couples from Joanne Clark at law firm Lester Aldridge

    The majority of the provisions of the Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act 2013 come into force on 13 March 2014.

    In general terms, the law of England and Wales will apply in the same way to a marriage which has taken place between same sex couples as to a marriage between opposite sex couples.

    Married persons of the same sex will not be able to divorce on grounds of adultery or to have their marriage annulled on grounds of non-consummation.

    An existing civil partnership does not automatically become a marriage when the new Act comes into force but civil partners may choose to convert it.

    When a civil partnership is converted into a marriage, the civil partnership will end and the marriage will be treated as though it had existed from the date of the civil partnership. However, the regulations which will provide the procedure for converting a civil partnership into a marriage have not yet been made.

    Currently, the Civil Partnership Act provides that no religious service can be used at the signing of a civil partnership document. The Marriage (Same Sex Couples) Act however permits the marriage of a same sex couple in any appropriately registered building.

    There is provision in the new Act for same sex marriages contracted under foreign law to be recognised as marriages in England and Wales. This applies to existing marriages as well as those entered into in the future.

    No provision is made for civil partnerships entered into according to foreign laws to be converted into a same sex marriage.

    The intestacy rules will also apply to same sex married couples so that a spouse of a same sex marriage will benefit from their husband or wife’s estate.

  • Polari Salon Returns To Southbank On 17th March

    Paul Burston’s Polari Literary Salon returns on Monday 17th March.

    On the 17th March, Paul Burston’s Polari Literary Salon returns to the Southbank Centre in London and will have readings from leading gay and lesbian authors Maureen Duffy, Angela Clerkin, Andrew Asibong, Nicolas Collins and Carl Stanley.

    Maureen Duffy heads the bill. A leading lesbian author and poet, her many novels include the classic The Microcosm.

    Her latest, In Times Like These, is a fable that puts politics to its ultimate test. Jill Gardiner describes it as ‘a pacy, exciting read, centered around an out-lesbian MP and her artist girlfriend, whose well-established relationship is very much of our times.’

    Paul Burston’s celebrated Polari salon provides a platform for new and emerging LGBT literary talent and showcases the very best in queer writing.

    Weston Pavilion at Royal Festival Hall

    At the end of 2013, Time Out announced that it was to cut the LGBT Listings pages from its printed edition in London – the section was edited by Paul Burston.

  • Gay Men Who Have Been Assaulted In Soho Asked To Contact Police

    Detectives in Ealing are appealing to members of the male gay community, who have been befriended in the Soho area of London and then assaulted or robbed either nearby or outside of central London, to contact them.

    • Gay Males are being targeted and the robbed in the Soho area in London
    • Men have been robbed and or assaulted
    • Police urge gay males who have had this done to them to come forward.

    Acting Detective Inspector Nick Doherty said: “If you have been a victim to this type of crime and it has previously gone unreported, I urge you to come forward and tell police. I believe they may be victims within the gay community who have been targeted and subjected to these attacks and I am determined to bring the person responsible to justice”

    If you are or know of anyone who has been a victim of this type of crime, please contact Ealing CID on 020 8721 7050 / 07824 598 361 or 101. Alternatively, call Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111 or online at www.crimestoppers-uk.org. Please quote reference 2505191/13.

    All calls are treated confidentially and with the utmost sensitivity.

  • Man celebrates amazing 13 STONE weight loss

    A gay man from Manchester is celebrating a whopping 13 stone in weight loss after pioneering surgery.

    • At his heaviest Gareth weighed 30 STONE
    • Tried surviving on PEANUT BUTTER and MILKSHAKES diets
    • Lost 13 stone with gastric bypass

    Gareth Roberts, 36, is celebrating with his partner after managing to lose over 13 stones in weight after undergoing a gastric bypass.

    Gareth, who grew up in Wythenshawe, Manchester, but now lives in Baroda, an Indian city between Mumbai and Delhi, said: “The surgery has completely changed my life for the better and opened up so many new things to me.

    “My partner Marco is an engineer who had the opportunity to go and work in India – before the operation, I never would have had the confidence to even contemplate going to live over there. But now we are enjoying a whole new life together there.”

    The 36-year-old added: “Health-wise I knew it was only a matter of time before my weight started to catch up with me.

    “I already had raised blood pressure and my weight was affecting my mobility as well as putting strain on my joints – I knew it wasn’t going to be long before things got worse. But now I am feeling fitter and more active than I ever have in my life.”

    Gareth underwent his procedure in 2011 at Spire Manchester in Whalley Range, one of five hospitals which make up the Spire Weight Loss Surgery (SWLS) specialist bariatric surgery network.

    Gareth had struggled with his weight since childhood, and admits over the years the problem had escalated to the point where he had lost control over what and how much he was eating.
    He said: “I used to live in an open plan apartment and I’d be sitting in the living room, next to the kitchen, and almost hear the food calling to me in my head. If I knew there was a multi-pack of crisps in the cupboard you could guarantee they’d be gone by the end of the night.”

    Over the past 20 years he had made numerous attempts to shed the excess pounds in all manner of different ways, surviving on diets consisting of everything from milkshakes to peanut butter.
    He did once lost five stone through a slimming club but would always end up piling the weight back on, and more.

    Gareth remembered: “There would be a sense of camaraderie at the clubs, but you’d often also encourage each other to be bad. You’d congratulate each other on being good all week and losing 3lbs so then you’d tell yourself you deserved a treat that night – and put on all that you’d lost again anyway.”
    The former manager in social care, who now volunteers with a charity in India, said the bypass procedure carried out by Mr Alan Li, one of Spire Weight Loss Surgery’s expert surgeons, was now giving him confidence with food for the first time since he was a child.

    “This is one of the major benefits for me,” Gareth said.

    “The surgery has given me a tool to not only lose the weight, but to alleviate the fear that always lived in me whenever I lost some weight that I was going to pile it all back on again. Having the operation is a life-changing decision, but it brings life-changing results.”

    He praised Spire Weight Loss Surgery and its team of specialist nurses, expert surgeons and helpful dieticians for their advice and support over the past two years.

    “I had such a positive experience with Spire Weight Loss Surgery – they were so supportive from the very start and still are today, two years on. I’ve always felt like they were there for you and you could ask them anything. It’s a very friendly, nurturing environment.”

    And he said he was feeling the difference in all areas of his life.
    Gareth said: “I can actually move and breathe now – I can run up the stairs without gasping for breath!

    “My partner is quite active – he enjoys things like mountain hiking and going on roller coasters which I just couldn’t physically do before because of my size. I was missing out on so many things – you try to pretend it doesn’t matter, but it does.

    “That’s not me any more. I’m so much physically fitter – after all I’m no longer dragging another person around with me! I enjoy swimming and walking and I work out at the gym. I’m also happy to fly back regularly to Manchester to visit friends and family on my own – something I would have dreaded before I lost the weight.

    “After years of dieting, I finally feel like I’ve got control back over food and over my life.”

    For more information about Spire Weight Loss Surgery, please call 0800 142 2200 or email weightloss@spirehealthcare.com or go to www.spirewlsurgery.com.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Westend Fest, The Actors’ Church

    ★★★★ | Westend Fest, The Actors’ Church
    The West End was treated last Sunday evening to not one but two glittering charity fundraisers. I opted to visit the always-fun WestEnd Fest, held at St Paul’s Church in Covent Garden over the larger and more-publicised West End Unites event at the Lyric.

    With a line-up consisting of many of the West End’s best-loved names, WestEnd Fest is an evening of song, dance and lots of laughter organised by actress Sabrina Aloueche and musician Richard Parnell Page. This show’s theme, “Songs you love… BUT SHOULDN’T!” paved the way for these West-Enders to belt out some of their favourite pop tunes.

    I was struck, initially, by just how perfect a venue St Paul’s Church is for a celebration of all that the West End has to offer. This peaceful haven, in the very heart of Covent Garden, is known as The Actors’ Church, and is a perfect setting for the evening of heavenly pleasures we witnessed.

    David Ribi and Rosie Ladkin opened the show with a tribute to that guiltiest of pleasures, High School Musical. The evening continued in much the same vein, with songs from various musicals including Frozen, The Little Mermaid, The Jungle Book and Love Never Dies, as well as tributes to Maria Mackee, Celine Dion, Avril Lavigne, Justin Timberlake, and Belinda Carlisle with Justin Bieber (an unlikely pairing, admittedly, but one that Rob Houchen somehow made work in his inventive and original arrangement).

    David Ribi also closed the evening as part of WestEnd Fest’s very own boyband, Wrong Direction. Known for being a member of top One Direction tribute act Only One Direction as well as his numerous acting and presenting credits, he was perfectly at home in such an environment and this shone through in his performance.

    The performers were simply too numerous to critique each one, but each sang to their strengths, and clearly enjoyed the opportunity to perform their best-loved guilty pleasures. Extra-special mentions, however, must be given to Rebecca Caine, Aaron Sidwell, Tori Allen Martin, Lauren Samuels, Kieran Brown and WestEnd Fest’s co-founder, Sabrina Aloueche for making my spine tingle with their outstanding performances.

    The evening also showcased a selection of songs from two new musicals which are both worth watching out for. ‘The Mill on The Floss’ is a catchy production of George Eliot’s tragic story of the battle between morality and desire; while ‘Twenty Seven’ is a new story with a superbly emotional score, performed with gusto by the supremely talented Ross William Wild and other members of its excellent cast.

    WestEnd Fest is a bi-annual fundraiser for the Cystic Fibrosis Trust and CRY UK, a children’s cardiac arrest charity. Based on the quality of last Sunday’s show, I urge you to buy tickets as soon as the next one is announced.

    Follow @WestEndFests on Twitter or ‘Like’ their Facebook page to be the first to hear when tickets go on sale.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | A Hard Rain, Above The Stag

    ★★★ | A Hard Rain, Above The Stag

    Writers Jon Bradfield and Martin Hooper, well-known for their successful pantomimes at The Above The Stag Theatre, have for the first time turned their hands to drama, and this new play is the result.

    A Hard Rain is set in a gay bar in New York in the days running up to the Stonewall Riots. The gay bars and clubs are run by the Mafia, who pay off a corrupt police force, which, from time to time raid the bars anyway, just to show everyone who’s boss.

    This bar becomes the backdrop for the story of a disparate set of characters; the drag queen and former Vietnam soldier, Rub; the closeted mafia owner of the bar, Frank; the young single mother barmaid Angie; the kind-hearted young cop, Danny; Ruby’s young high-flying bank employee boyfriend Josh; and Jimmy, a streetwise teenager who turns tricks to make a living.

    I don’t know how the collaboration between Bradfield and Harper works, whether both writers contribute to each scene, or whether each writer takes a different scene in entirety. Either way, the various individual scenes are well realised and play out very well, with a good sprinkling of witty one-liners to relieve the often gloomy nature of the scenario. The problem for me is that the various scenes did not coalesce into a coherent whole. There didn’t seem to be any direction to the narrative, no sense of it driving forward to that historic moment of the Stonewall Riots. At 90 minutes, Act One just meandered along, whereas Act II seemed rushed, as if the writers suddenly realised they had a lot of loose ends to tie up, their final point rather clumsily made. The numerous scenes meant that there were a lot of scene changes, the sheer mechanics of which continuously held up the action, hardly helping the flow, and I did wonder if the scene changes could have been simplified in some way.

    Though I had reservations about the play itself, I had very few about the performances. Michael Edwards, in the central and extremely difficult role of Ruby, carefully revealed the vulnerability behind Ruby’s tough exterior. His performance was superbly seconded by a touchingly real and beautifully nuanced performance from Oliver Lynes as his boyfriend, Josh. Stephanie Willson was just perfect as the warm-hearted Angie, and James El-Sharawy a suitably cocky Jimmy, though we saw that underneath all the chutzpah, he was really just a nice kid who wanted to be liked. Neither Nigel Barber as Frank nor Rhys Jennings as Danny let the side down, though they both had less to work with, their characters less finely drawn.

     

    Ultimately, though, what sounded like a nice idea never quite came off.

     

    A Hard Rain plays at Above The Stag until March 30th.

     

    Visit: http://www.abovethestag.com

  • Gay wedding to become a musical

    One of the UK’s first gay weddings is set to be staged as a musical and filmed by Channel 4.

    Channel 4 is set to broadcast one of the first gay weddings – and Stephen Fry will be introducing the event.

    The wedding is between Benjamin Till and Nathan Taylor, who decided to turn their wedding day into a musical event, with sung vows, sung readings and show-stopping ensembles featuring the whole congregation of family, friends and special guests.

    Benjamin and Nathan have been together 12 years and say:

    “We’ve been together for nearly 12 years, and never thought we’d get the chance to get married, for real. Doing what we both do for a living has meant that we’ve spent our entire lives expressing emotion through song, so getting married in a musical, particularly one that we’re writing ourselves, felt like the most natural thing in the world.”

  • Investigation Opened Over £28,000 of Fake Beyoncé Tickets

    The British Transport police are opening an investigation after more than 100 cases of ticket fraud reported at the Phones 4 U Arena in Manchester.

    Detective Constable Mike Dermody said: “It seems that someone has been selling fake tickets to concert goers who only realise the tickets aren’t genuine when they get to the venue.

    “We believe there have been more than 140 sets of fake tickets sold, though only seven victims have come forward so far.

    “In most cases the tickets have sold for at least £100 each and each victim has bought at least two tickets, so we are potentially looking at a fraud worth more than £28,000.”

    DC Dermody added: “Each transaction has taken place over the internet, using public selling websites, with the victims arranging to meet someone in Manchester to pick up the tickets.

    “I believe the victims of this fraudster will be spread far and wide as people travel from all over the UK to see Beyonce.

    “I am, therefore, appealing to anyone who has been sold fake tickets, but has not yet spoken to police to come forward.

    “We have a number of leads, but need as many people as possible to get in touch.”

    If you have any information about the fraudulent tickets please call Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or British Transport Police on 0800 40 50 40. In all calls please quote BTP log NWA/B5 of 28/2/14.