THEGAYUK

Tag: UK

  • HOTEL REVIEW | NiteNite Birmingham

    On paper, the nitenite hotel in Birmingham looks like an attractive offer. For under 50 quid per night, two of you get to stay in the heart of Birmingham, near all the attractions and entertainments in Japanese inspired simplicity – but that’s where the attractive offer stops. ★★

    As a person that does a fair bit of travelling, I like to think I know most hotel chains, and what they have to offer, yes even the budget brands! So I was surprised to learn about a new chain hopeful – nitenite, just off Broad Street in central Birmingham. Based on Japanese design – the rooms are compact and supposedly complete. The hotel crams over one hundred of these rooms on one floor.

    If you’re looking for your creature comforts – and I include a window within that category you’re out of luck. As no rooms in this hotel have windows, they don’t have phones, hairdryers, handtowels, wardrobes or anywhere to put your baggage. The total floor space is around the size of two double beds, side by side and that includes the WC and shower, complete with opaque door – which is never a welcome feature, especially if you’re sharing.

    As a warning be careful when using the singular table surface as it has a deceptive curved edge. You run the risk of ruining your entire suitcase of clothing, if you place a cup of coffee near the edge and it simply falls on to your belongings. There’s simply no place to put your luggage anywhere. If you want a bedside shelf – or somewhere to put your glasses/water/book/ipad – then you’re also out of luck. There are no usable surfaces anywhere in the room.

    So What! – You might say – ‘I’m just there to put my head down after a night on the razz.’ Well don’t expect a peaceful night’s sleep.

    We stayed on a Saturday night, where on the hour every hour we were woken by the sounds of girls cackling, falling A over T, shouting, then screaming and then door slamming. Then came the noise of men- arguing and shouting. It was like some hideous campus experience, but without the education. I think around 3.49AM a rather burley sounding man, slammed his door so hard the entire floor seemed to shake, walked out into the corridor – said, ‘right I’m off to reception to complain about this… Let’s ‘**king ‘ave it…’

    In the morning I complained to reception and asked why they didn’t do anything about the noise, he shrugged and told me that they usually have security to deal with wayward guests. Now I don’t know about you, but a hotel that employs someone specifically for security to deal with drunken hooligans certainly isn’t a place I would be seen in again. If you do stay, either get completely blotto and become one of the yobbos that clearly patronise this establishment or bring earplugs/Calms/Tramadol in order to get a good night’s kip.

  • UK’s Deputy Prime Minister: Uganda Anti-Gay Law ‘abhorrent’

    The UK’s Deputy Prime Minister has said that the new Ugandan anti-gay law is an ‘abhorrent backwards step’.

    The UK’s Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, is joining the number of world leaders that are openly speaking out against Uganda’s newly signed law which could see gay people jailed.

    The new law proposes that anyone engaging in homosexual acts could face life imprisonment and that anyone who does not report the crime would also fall foul of the law. Even talking about homosexuality without condemning would be a crime under the new bill.

    For the first time the new bill also covers lesbian relationships.

    Taking to Twitter the Liberal Democrat leader said:

    ‘The Ugandan anti-gay law is an abhorrent backwards step for human rights. It should never be a crime to be LGBT.’

    In an interview with CNN Uganda’s President said that gay people were ‘Disgusting’ and ‘Abnormal’

  • THE BRITS 2014: Round Up

    The BRIT Awards, a night of celebrating the best in British music and handing out awards to deserving souls whose talent has shone though over the previous year. It should be a joyous occasion and make for great television, but sadly something has gone seriously wrong with this awards ceremony. Although having flashes of great moments, this year’s BRIT Awards were almost completely unbearable to watch. Want to know why?

    (more…)

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Amateur Girls St. James Theatre and UK Tour

    ★★★★★ | Amateur Girls St. James Theatre and UK Tour

    Julie is a 30 something auxiliary nurse living in a high rise flat in Nottingham with her cat, Lulu.

    She’s always up for a laugh with nights down at the local clubs with a sneaky bottle of vodka in her handbag, a penchant for Take That and a swig of wine at home in the evenings. She spends her days working with elderly people, making sure their physical needs are met and her spare time, making porn to meet another kind of physical need altogether.

    Amanda Whittington’s powerful yet hilarious play takes the form of an Alan Bennett style monologue that is 70 minutes long. Lucy Speed (best known as Natalie Evans in Eastenders) gives a magnificent performance and somehow the play carries the audience off to another world by the power of superb acting and clever use of sound. Julie’s accidental transition from ‘good-time girl’ to amateur porn star is credible and thought provoking as the piece examines the tension between choice and coercion in relation to women and sexuality. Watching Julie’s naïve progress and hearing her history unfold is a heart breaking experience yet Whittington manages to also make the story extremely watchable with masses of humour.

    Whittington researched her subject, basing the play on the experiences of genuine sex workers and is drawn chiefly from the true story of one auxiliary nurse who worked in the ‘amateur’ porn industry whilst holding down a job in a hospital. The play never feels preachy or predictable and although Julie’s experiences aren’t always good they’re also not always terrible and are at times, really good fun for her. There’s a clever line that wavers constantly over whether she’s a victim, a woman using her sexuality to empower herself financially or a hapless naïve. I certainly left the theatre thinking about the theme.

    I was especially impressed with Speed’s Nottingham accent (I’m from those parts and as somewhat of an expert, can say that she did it really very well) and her performance is absolutely second to none. I laughed, winced, gasped and felt near to tears for Julie, thanks to the tremendous skills of Speed, a woman with fantastic talent.

    Fifth Word are definitely a theatre company to watch out for wit their previous Edinburgh Fringe smash hit success ‘Bones’, which was again an exceptional piece of theatre. I can’t recommend this play enough.

    Catch the play at the St James Theatre, London until 21st February:
    http://www.stjamestheatre.co.uk/events/amateur-girl

    U.K. tour dates until 15th March 2014:
    http://fifthword.co.uk/projects/spring-2014-tour-amateur-girl-by-amanda-whittington

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Happy Days The Musical, Sheffield Lyceum and UK Tour

    ★ ★ ★ | Happy Days The Musical, Sheffield Lyceum and UK Tour

    The Cunningham family are back in this new musical which transports the audience back to Arnolds Malt Shop for a huge slice of 50’s Americana, where Richie Cunningham and his friends and family rally the community to save their favourite local hangout from a corporate takeover. Along the way, they have dance contests, wrestling matches, learn about love, fulfil their dreams and rekindle old romances, all under the watchful eye of the ultra-cool Arthur “The Fonz” Fonzerella. But will their fundraising efforts be enough to save their beloved malt shop?

    Written by Garry Marshall, the original creative force behind the popular TV series, and with Henry Winkler (the original “Fonz”) on board as a creative consultant, this new musical rocks ‘n’ rolls onto the stage in this national tour.

    The first thing noticeable from the very start of the show was how well cast it was, with each of the actors looking remarkably like their television counterparts, in particular, Andrew Waldron who played Ralph. The show exploded to life with an upbeat ensemble piece as the opening number and from thereon in, the show progressed with an almost relentless barrage of songs, 21 in total, which, in a show with a running time of around 1 hour 45 minutes, meant that the next musical number was never more than a few moments away. The original songs were actually quite catchy upon first listen, but never memorable, with a fairly good weighting of up-tempo, rock ‘n’ roll tinged numbers interspersed with a couple of ballads.

    There was no faulting the vivaciousness of the young cast, all of whom threw themselves into the show with an almost unstoppable energy. The set was simple, mainly using fold out sections of the main set to create the different locations and whilst the set was never spectacular, it was functional for the production. The lighting and costumes were colourful and compounded the energetic feel of the show, with the whole thing feeling fresh and modern which juxtaposed with the 1950’s setting slightly.

    Former Sugababe, Heidi Range, impressed with her performance and a great singing voice which shone through particularly well in the ballads. Ben Freeman had an unexpectedly good singing voice although came across as a little aloof at times as he strutted across the stage as “The Fonz”. Cheryl Baker undertook an excellent turn as Marion Cunningham and Andrew Waldron provided an enjoyable comic performance as Ralph Malph. But the whole cast really gave it their all throughout the show and their enthusiasm was undeniable.

    One of the aspects where the show faltered was in its sound, with a number of the audience commenting on how the volume of the orchestra completely drowned out the casts ‘s voices on the majority of the musical numbers, making the lyrics almost inaudible and leading to the production to come across as “shouty” at times. This was a particular shame when other songs were appropriately balanced in terms of music and voices. The show also came across as a little forced and when the audience were encouraged to their feet for the final sing-along, it felt contrived and stilted.

    When you consider everything that this show has going for it, you would expect it to be greater than the sum of its parts. But despite the catchy songs, a decent cast and the colourful energy of the show, there was just something missing which led to the show feeling hollow and a little soulless. Happy Days comes across as a hybrid of Grease and Hairspray, but doesn’t reach the heights of either. It was an enjoyable enough piece of theatre, but ultimately, was fairly forgettable.

    Happy Days is currently playing at the Sheffield Lyceum theatre until 22nd February 2014 before continuing on its national tour.

    Information can be found at http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/event/happy-days-14/ or at the shows official website at http://happydaysthemusical.com/home

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Fat Man’s Wife

    ★★★★ | The Fat Man’s Wife

    It’s the early hours of New Year’s Day 1938 and Vera and Joe are just getting in from a New York society party. They’re still drinking, still niggling at each other and Joe is still hankering after some more partying and looking for a way to extricate himself and join the young actress he’s been having an affair with. Complications arise when Dennis, a naïve young playwright, arrives unexpectedly to make Vera an offer that could free her from her troubled marriage to ‘the fat man’.

    This absolute gem of a one-act play was only discovered in the papers of Tennessee Williams in 2000 and has never been performed in the U.K. before now. This is a rare opportunity to see a long hidden masterpiece. It has all the hallmarks of William’s work (the troubled marriage, the tortured souls and the heavy liquor consumption) as well as his lyrical yet tight dialogue. Surprisingly, it remains resonant today, with its themes of being trapped in a relationship that has changed out of all recognition since its rosy beginning.

    The three-person cast are all excellent without a weak link and with a particularly powerful performance from Emma Taylor as Vera. She captures a range of emotional nuances whilst slinking about the stage in her peignoir and negligee, like a caged beast, finally beaten down by captivity but with her eye on the gaps in the bars.

    The theatre itself is stunning in a beautiful location in Little Venice, just near to Warwick Avenue tube station. The only down side to the play being performed in such a beautiful old pub theatre, is the limitations this throws up. The seating was arranged in such a way that the audience felt a little obtrusive at times, but this is only a minor niggle. The actors managers to combat this finely and made the piece wholly believable.

    I’d heartily recommend this to any Tennessee Williams fans but also to anyone who isn’t yet a fan, this is great one act play that is as good an introduction as anything.

  • Violent Ex Lover Faces Jail After Battering Three Men

    A Glaswegian man faces jail after the court hears how he battered three lovers in an abuse case that spans 10 years.

    Kevin Conway, 29, a bank manager from Glasgow has appeared in court after three men accused him of battery and abuse, which spanned a decade.

    Paul Scrase, Mark MacDonald and Andrew Fleming all accused Conway of beating them whilst in a relationship with Conway.

    During one savage beating Conway hit Scrase over the head with a candle stick which left Scarse needing stitches and he head butted MacDonald breaking his nose. Fleming also told of how Conway had threatened to pour boiling water from a kettle on him.

    The abuse left Fleming ‘terrified’.

    The Daily Record reports that in other attacks Conway had threatened to have someone rape Fleming.

    Conway accused the men of lying and claimed that he had suffered domestic abuse, however, the sheriff rejected these claims.

    The Glasgow Sheriff court is a local court service in Scotland, based in the Gorbals area of Glasgow. The court deals with an assortment of cases including: Solemn and summary criminal cases, fine payments, and civil actions.

    Conway was convicted of 10 charges of assault.

    Paul Scrase said:
    ‘It’s a great sense of relief, the sheriff has seen exactly who he is and what ¬ behaviours he had demonstrated.

    ‘When the domestic abuse task force approached me I was shocked.’

    Conway will be sentenced later in February.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre and UK Tour

    ★★★ | Seven Brides For Seven Brothers, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre and UK Tour

    Set in the backwoods of Oregon in 1850, Adam Pontipee is a burly woodsman who lives on an isolated farm in the mountains. On a visit to town to trade goods, he decides to take himself a wife and meets the feisty Milly who agrees to marry him. But when they return to the farmhouse to start their married life together, Adam introduces her to his six ill-mannered, uncouth and rough and tumble brothers.

    But the brothers are diamonds in the rough, and following a little smoothing around the edges, Adam takes his brothers to the town social, where they meet and fall in love with their prospective girlfriends. But when the lovesick boys return to the farm, they pine for their girls, so decide to head to town and bring them back. But with the girls distressed at being kidnapped and the farm cut off from the town for the winter by an avalanche, will true love win through?

    This vibrant and colourful revival of one of the most popular musicals from the golden age of MGM Studio’s was great fun. The show itself is twee, old fashioned and, at times, very camp, but therein lies its utterly infectious charm. The songs include “Bless Your Beautiful Hyde”, “Going Courtin’” and “Wonderful, Wonderful Day” and were proficiently performed by the cast. The songs were interspersed with some exuberant and energetic dance numbers, with somersaults and acrobatics aplenty. Both the town social (the main set piece of the first act) and the finale were particular highlights. The stage was crammed full of talented singers, dancers and musicians, all of whom performed a number of well-choreographed and enjoyable pieces.

    In terms of the cast, Sam Attwater, who plays Adam was unable to perform on the night, and his shoes were ably filled by Alex Hammond. Hammond’s deep voice and gruffness in his singing neatly mirrored the wooden roughness of the wilderness setting. Helena Blackman, who was runner up on “How do you solve a problem like Maria?” was in fine voice and provided a good turn as the go-getting Milly. The rest of the brothers were made up of an attractive and very buff set of young men who proved that they had been chosen for their talent as well as their looks by being more than capable of some great dancing and singing. The remaining ensemble made up the townsfolk and nicely rounded out the cast.

    Director and choreographer Patti Colombo has added some nice touches, such as a variety of dance styles, ranging from some ballet inspired pieces to an abundance of lively barn dancing, and also including some musicians on the stage during some scenes or to act as bridging tool in scene changes. The music was typical of the country genre and in good keeping with the setting of the show, with violins, acoustic guitars and mouth organs aplenty.

    The detailed and effective set looked great, with the stage being easily and smoothly transformed from the forest to the town to the interior of the farmhouse. The set was awash with wooden buildings, furniture and props which fitting in nicely with the feel of the show. The lighting was well thought out with a green tinge enhancing the forest, good use of silhouette at times and a warm glow in the outdoor scenes. All of the costumes were colourful, with flowing gowns and smart tunics and added nicely to the vibrancy of the whole thing.

    Seven Brides for Seven Brothers a whole had a really light feel to it and was undemanding, foot tapping, enjoyable entertainment. The story itself is a little thin and quaint, but the reality is that this is good old fashioned entertainment which harks back to a more innocent time and is more than capable of entertaining the audience without the use of special effects or elaborate mechanical props. It is a credit to the musical itself to think that 60 years after being written for the big screen, the stage show can still bring a smile to the face of theatre goers.

    Seven Brides for Seven Brothers is currently playing at the Sheffield Lyceum until the 15th February 2014 before continuing on its national tour. For information and tickets visit
    http://www.sheffieldtheatres.co.uk/event/seven-brides-for-seven-brothers-14/ and the official website at http://www.sevenbridesthemusical.com/sights-sounds.html

  • TV’s Paul O’Grady to lead Russia protest in London

    TV star Paul O’Grady is to lead Russia Protest In London tonight.

    Tonight’s protest will be at Downing Street from 6PM

    Travel Stikes Threatens Success Of Protest

    Keep up-to-date with TheGayUK

    The protest has been organised by the international LGBT pressure group, All Out, and the Peter Tatchell Foundation.

    In London protesters are expected to gather near downing street from 6:00PM. the events have been created by mass petitioning site AllOut.org. Organisers are asking attendees to wear red.

    ‘Our protest is urging the British and Russian governments, and the International Olympic Committee, to uphold Principle 6 of the Olympic Charter, which prohibits discrimination. We are also calling on Olympic corporate sponsors – such as Coca Cola, McDonalds and Visa – to speak out against Russia’s anti-gay law and homophobic violence. So far, they have failed to do so,’
    noted protest co-organiser and speaker, Peter Tatchell, Director of the human rights organisation, the Peter Tatchell Foundation.

    For travel updates go to our Gay Protest Travel Update page

    TheGayUK will be Live Blogging from 6:00PM tonight

  • Channel 4 Dispatches To Air ‘Gay Hunt’ Documentary Tonight

    Channel 4 Dispatches To Air ‘Gay Hunt’ Documentary Tonight

    Channel 4 will broadcast a special Dispatches programme tonight about the abuse gay people suffer in Russia.

    CREDIT: Channel 4
    CREDIT: Channel 4
    A shocking documentary by the Dispatches team will be aired tonight by Channel 4 called ‘Hunted’ the documentary draws focus to the cruelty that many LGBT Russians face in their day-to-day life.

    In Russia it is claimed that only 1% of gay people dare to live openly because of the homophobic attacks on the gay community.

    Last year there are a number of attacks and even murders attributed to homophobia suffered by gay people.

    The show is on at 10PM on Channel 4.

  • MUST WATCH | Russia’s Gay Hunting Season

    MUST WATCH | Russia’s Gay Hunting Season

    If you do nothing else this Wednesday, sit yourself down in front of Channel 4’s Dispatches documentary “Hunted”.

    CREDIT: Channel 4
    CREDIT: Channel 4

    This deeply disturbing programme, directed by Ben Steele and reported by Liz MacKean, shows us a bleak picture of a Russia, where gay people are literally hunted down like animals, subjected to humiliating and painful abuse.

    Though homosexuality has been legal in Russia for twenty years, it has never been accepted. The recent Russian law banning propaganda of non-traditional sexual attitudes to minors, has only served to make worse anti-gay feeling, which is so deeply entrenched in Russian society, it is hard to know how to challenge it. Strengthened by the views of the powerful Russian Orthodox Church and those in power, vigilante groups carry out their crimes in full view, knowing that the police will do nothing to intervene.

    This brilliant film offers no easy solutions, but in talking to the leaders of these groups it exposes the problem at the very heart of Russia, “ the worst place to be gay in Europe”, where homophobia is normal and a contrary view, even if you are straight, is likely to get you in trouble.

    Not to be missed, “Hunted” airs at 10pm on Channel 4.

    http://www.channel4.com/programmes/dispatches/videos/all/hunted