THEGAYUK

Tag: UK

  • Theatre Review | Jersey Boys, Sheffield Lyceum

    ★★★☆☆ | Jersey Boys, Sheffield Lyceum Theatre

    From the streets of Brooklyn to the height of fame, Jersey Boys tells the story of Frankie Valli and the Four Seasons, their musical legacy, including Big Girls Don’t Cry, Walk Like A Man, Can’t Take My Eyes off You  and Working My Way Back To You is showcased in this musical biopic.

    Rising from humble beginnings to major success, the boys bond, bicker and battle their way to becoming one of the most successful groups of their generation; but their success comes with a background of prison time, heartbreak, family problems and the testing of loyalty.

    With a number of musical biopics doing the rounds, what makes Jersey Boys stand out from the crowd is that it not only has an interesting story, but it boasts a narrative which doesn’t shy away from the darker moments of the group’s story; and all of this is neatly packaged into a show which is surprisingly fast paced and has a slick and polished production. But the story has heart, and underneath the sequined jackets and the boys’ bravado is a story about friendship, loyalty and about making those around you your family.

    What leads this tour to stand out from previous tours is the excellent on-stage chemistry between the four leads. Their harmonies are excellent, their timing impeccable and their dance moves simple but tightly performed. Michael Watson as Frankie Valli hits his falsetto highs with ease, whilst Simon Bailey steals the show as the motormouth Tommy Devito, filling his character with a cocksure swagger and an overconfident arrogance; which is nicely juxtaposed by  Lewis Griffith’s subtle underplaying of the role of Nick Massi.

    Whilst the music takes centre stage, and the 33 musical numbers come thick and fast, the attention to detail stands out. The supporting cast, the costumes, the trademark choreography, the lighting and the live orchestra all added to the rounded production values of the show. Despite its gritty backstory, the show remains a foot stomping, singalong, feel-good affair, which encapsulates the spirit of the group and effortlessly brings the audience to their feet as the curtain falls.

    Jersey Boys is playing at the Sheffield Lyceum Theatre until the 30th June 2018 before continuing on its national tour.

  • The World’s first Pride tour just took place in Cornwall, UK

    The World’s first Pride tour just took place in Cornwall, UK

    An open-topped bus took pride across the UK’s most southern county, Cornwall.

    The world’s first pride tour took place in Cornwall this weekend, taking in 11 towns and cities across the UK’s most southerly county.

    Stopping off at Wadebridge, Launceston, Bodmin, St Austell, Truro, Falmouth, Heartlands, Hayle, Marazion, Penzance and Newquay, the touring pride allowed thousands of people to take part and witness the pride event. Some of the towns, like Bodmin, had never hosted a pride event before.

    The tour bus took off just after 9:00 AM in Newquay and returned over 12 hours later.

    The UK’s largest flag was unfurled on the beach in front of St Michael’s Mount in Marazion.

    In all, the tour took over 11 hours and covered over a hundred miles across Cornwall. At each the UK’s largest pride flag was unfurled and everybody who was in the vicinity was invited to fly the flag.

    Jake Hook, the Editor and Chief of THEGAYUK.com who were invited along for the day said, “It was such a privilege to join Nathaniel and Mathew and the rest of the wonderful Cornwall Pride team on this, the first Pride tour. It’s a brilliant idea, that allows for people who aren’t able to travel to one centrally located pride, which could be miles away, a way to celebrate pride closer to home. The motto of the day was definitely, ‘if you can’t come to pride, pride will come to you’. It was breathtaking to see so many people waving the rainbow flag and getting into the spirit of pride, no matter how they identify”.

    Cornwall Pride’s official pride is to take place on the 25th August 2017. To find out more visit their website.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Kiss Me Kate, London Coliseum

    ★★★★☆ | Kiss Me Kate, London Coliseum

    Kiss Me Kate London review

    If you want glossy and lavish then look no further than this stunning revival of Cole Porter’s classic 1940s musical. It’s a musical in the classic tradition with more hot hoofing than you can shake a fire extinguisher at, grand ensemble pieces galore and a raft of witty songs. Your nan would probably love this and I suspect she wouldn’t be alone. You’ll love it too.

    Opera North’s witty revival of this foppish tale of theatre people bickering endlessly whilst they stage ‘The Taming of the Shrew’ is a real gem. They’ve polished up this antique till it positively gleams. The sets and costumes are things of beauty and at times exceed the pace of the show.

    There’s a perfectly executed tap set piece performed by suave young Alan Burkitt and the extended version of the classic ‘Always True to You in My Fashion’ is note perfect with a superlative performance from Stephanie Corley. Yes, it’s slightly uneven with occasional lulls in the first act but the second act is a blink and you’d miss it joy from start to finish.

    Miss this at your peril. It’s riotous fun and yes, it’s pretty darn hot but don’t fear, it’s also ideal for a sultry summer night in the air-conditioned Coliseum.

    Runs until 30th of June 2018 – tickets available from £11.90

     

  • New support for LGBT people affected by cancer in Merseyside

    A new project to improve services and support for people in the LGBT community who are affected by cancer has been launched on Merseyside.

    The Macmillan LGBT Cancer Project aims to ensure that the needs of LGBT people affected by cancer in the Liverpool City Region are acknowledged and addressed in the provision of services, information and support.

    A key part of the project, which is funded by Macmillan Cancer Support and hosted by Sahir House, is the Merseyside LGBT Health Survey 2018.

    The survey will help the team build a picture of the health of LGBT people, and identify where any gaps are, and tailor resources and services to meet the specific needs of LGBT communities in Liverpool, Halton, Knowsley, Sefton, St Helens and Wirral.

    Richard Hunt, Partnership Manager at Macmillan Cancer Support, who helped set up a similar successful scheme in Manchester, said, “LGBT people with cancer can often face disadvantage, inequality and discrimination. That’s why we have set up the Macmillan LGBT Cancer Project, and launched the Merseyside LGBT Health Survey, to get a greater understanding of the health of LGBT people across Merseyside.

    “If you are an LGBT person affected by cancer, or have cared for someone from the LGBT community who has experienced cancer, then we want to hear from you. We currently have a national picture of the challenges faced by the LGBT community, when they are affected by cancer, but not a local one. We need to understand the issues and experiences faced by the LGBT community across Merseyside, so we can work together to tackle inequalities, address any unmet needs and bridge any gaps in service provision, and to help improve outcomes for people affected by cancer.”

    Clare Carter and James Huyton have been appointed as the new Macmillan LGBT Cancer Programme Co-ordinators at Sahir House, which has been providing HIV support, prevention, information and training across Merseyside since 1985.

    Clare joins from the Terrence Higgins Trust, where she was involved in training, development and partnership work, while James joins from the LGBT Foundation and has a background in health promotion.

    Over the next 12 months, the pair will host various events and campaigns to engage with LGBT communities looking at issues relating to cancer, reducing isolation and increasing awareness, information and wellbeing. They will also be engaging with professionals, and providing training and support, to help them meet the specific needs of LGBT communities.

    Tessa Willow, Chief Executive of Sahir House, added: “Sahir House is excited to be working in partnership with Macmillan on this project, bringing this organisation’s extensive experience of engaging people from marginalised communities, including people from all parts of the LGBT spectrum. Sahir House is aware of the powerful affect discrimination can have on peoples’ abilities to access services on an equitable basis and the health inequalities that result from such discrimination.”

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Beirut, Park Theatre

    THEATRE REVIEW | Beirut, Park Theatre

    A disease is wiping out the human race, and those unlucky enough to be positive will die a slow death. This is the premise of the hard-hitting and surreally erotic play Beirut.

    CREDIT: Loranc Sparsi
    Beirut, now playing at the Park Theatre, imagines what would happen, in New York City, where a disease is wiping out some of the population.  Meanwhile, one positive man called Torch (Robert Rees), and a negative woman called Blue (Louisa Connolly-Burnham), are in love with each other. How do they express their love? The disease is spread via bodily fluids – any fluids – including saliva, sweat, and kissing. So what do they do?
    Torch lives in a small underground bunker, and Blue sneaks in to be with him. But she’s breaking the law; negatives are not allowed to be with positives, but they clearly love, and lust, for each other. The two gutsy actors spend all of the time in the play (60 minutes) in their underwear, or sometimes less, but it’s not sexy, it’s hard-hitting, with raw intensity both actors convey in the emotions their characters are going through. Torch will definitely die and Blue will almost certainly live, that’s if she doesn’t give in and contract the disease from Torch.
    The backstory of this play has to be mentioned. It was written by Alan Browne, from San Francisco, in the mid-1980s, at the height of the AIDS’ crisis when gay men were dropping like flies. It was first performed at the Bay Area Playwrights Festival in 1986, and three years later Browne would die of the disease himself, at the age of 44. So we can assume that the unmentioned disease Browne alludes to is AIDS.
    But since Browne’s original intention was to not write a story about HIV and AIDS (perhaps he thought the future was going to be just like the plot of his play), it, in my opinion, would work much better as a play about that dreadful disease. However, it still is a brutal in-your-face show that is perhaps not as relevant now as when it was written, but it still makes for explosive, and well-acted, theatre.
  • Police make appeal after homophobic assault in Lambeth

    Police make appeal after homophobic assault in Lambeth

    Police are calling on witnesses after three people assault on London bus in Lambeth

    (C) MET POLICE

    Investigators have released a picture of a person they’d like to talk with in connection to an alleged assault on three passengers on board a London bus.

    The assault happened in March, but police are now looking for information on a suspect, who was asked to stop making homophobic remarks by fellow passengers.

    The assault happened at around 04:15hrs on Sunday, 25 March on board a N87 bus on Wandsworth Road, SW8.

    Members of the public were seated on the top deck of the bus when they overheard the suspect sitting in front of them swearing and making homophobic remarks.

    When asked to refrain from making such remarks, the suspect then proceeded to assault three passengers on the bus.

    The suspect is described as a black man with a shaved head and goatee beard wearing a smart blue suit, black shoes and grey scarf.

    Detective Constable Sarah Bunting of the Met’s Road & Transport Policing Command said, “This man is sought in connection with a homophobic assault on a bus.

    “If you know who this man is, or may be able to assist us in our investigation, please call 101 and quote CAD 1045/25Mar18.

    “The Met will not tolerate any form of hate crime and we strongly urge anyone who has been a victim of this sort of situation to call police and report it.”

     

  • The UK’s (possibly the world’s) first touring pride is happening in Cornwall

    The UK’s (possibly the world’s) first touring pride is happening in Cornwall

    If you can’t get to pride – Pride will come to you.

    Organisers of have created an ingenious way of ensuring anybody and everybody who wants to get involved with a pride in their county, but can’t make to one central location, can now do so, because this pride is going on tour (and there’ll be drag queens – squeal!) It’s been called a pop-up pride and a flash pride.

    The tour bus will be stopping off in 11 different locations on one day, the 23rd June. The stop offs include: Wadebridge 10:05 AM, Launceston 11.15 AM, Bodmin 12:35 PM, St Austell 13:55 PM, Truro 15:15 PM, Falmouth 16:30 PM, Heartlands 17:55 PM, Hayle 18:55 PM, Marazion 19:40 PM, Penzance 20:15 PM,  Newquay 21:55 PM.

    10.05 Wadebridge – Camel Trail nr. Lidl
    11.15 Launceston – Launceston Castle
    12.35 Bodmin – Town Council Court
    13.55 St Austell – White River Place nr. the Cinema
    15.15 Truro – Outside Hall for Cornwall
    16.30 Falmouth – Prince of Wales Pier
    17.55 Pool – Heartlands, outside the engine house nr. Red River Cafe
    18.55 Hayle – Penpol Creak. Park outside Spar
    19.40 Marazion – The Station House
    20.15 Penzance – Harbour
    21.55 Newquay – Killacourt

    The event is being called, Come Out For Cornwall and will take place on Saturday 23rd June 2018 and will be a celebration of being proud to be you as we travel throughout Cornwall in our ‘Pride Bus for the day’, visiting most of the major towns to spread the word about Pride and what it means as well as enforcing the message that Cornwall is an inclusive and accepting place to live work and visit, no matter who you are. To find out more click here.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Titanic, The Musical, Edinburgh Playhouse

    THEATRE REVIEW | Titanic, The Musical, Edinburgh Playhouse

    ★★★☆☆ | Titanic – The Musical – Edinburgh Playhouse

    Titanic - The Musical - National Tour review

    **This review was taken from the Sheffield production**

    Despite it being over 100 years since Titanic slipped under the waves, the fascination with the ship and those on board hasn’t faded, as evidenced by the packed house of this revival of Moury Yeston’s musical. The story of the ships maiden voyage and, ultimately, its demise is told through a wealth of characters from all classes of passengers and from the crew on board.

    The set, all sheet metal and rivets, towers above the audience instilling in them the impression of the sheer scale of the ship whilst a simple two-tier stage evoked an image of the decks and worked effectively. But from the off, the cast were on top form, as the magnificent ensemble belted out the opening numbers with such gusto that it reverberated in the chest, like the sounds of the engines of the great ship itself.

    And therein lays the strength of this production. Its cast was outstanding, and whether singing alone, in small groups or as an ensemble, the whole thing was beautifully sung and more akin to an opera than a musical. The three leads Philip Rham, Simon Green and Greg Castiglioni bounced off each other nicely as the Captain, owner and designer of the ship, and Niall Sheeny impressed as the stoker Fred Barrett. Whilst the direction was fairly minimal, the cast switched between their multiple roles seamlessly, spilling out into the aisles on occasions to engage the audience; whilst on a technical level, the lighting and sound design, the costumes and the balance between actors voices and orchestra were all absolutely spot on.

    Sadly, an overly long runtime, a handful of similar-sounding songs and a few too many story threads anchored down the first act to an extent, but the second act picked up the pace as the race to abandon ship took hold.

    What comes out of the production is an underlying theme of love between the characters, from the newlyweds to the eloping couple to the elderly husband and wife, and it is this which packs the emotional punch and brings the human cost of the tragedy sharply into focus.

    Book tickets to see Titanic, The Musical at Edinburgh Playhouse until 16th June 2018

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Reuben Kaye, Soho Theatre

    ★★★★★ | Reuben Kaye, Soho Theatre

    Never heard of Reuben Kaye? You will! Sick, slick, as gorgeously filthy as a pouting penis, Kay’s a living bigot’s nightmare, spunking left, right and centre over every sacred cow possible! Think a Dale Winton on acid, but – thank f*ck -one blessed with the chiselled, Greek-statue perfection of a 1950’s beefcake idol. Yes, this face, this presence, this glorious insult personified, is the joint king and queen of Australian cabaret, briefly condescending to take one awesome, comic dump on the UK’s half-starved notions of hilarity.

    Bursting on stage like some Satanic, lobster-red supernova awash with sequins and buoyed on precarious platforms, Kaye immediately sucks up every fraction of potential ridicule from tonight’s blackly comic zeitgeist. Like some fantastical Shirley Bassey reincarnated as a ripped gay ninja, Kaye’s scorchingly weaponised his scattergun satire, raising it – quite effortlessly – to the status of a lethally funny martial art.

    But, WTF? Let’s backtrack one moment, because frankly, context is everything, so pardon my presumption while I pump you full of backstory! In common with his closest, possible rival, the inexplicably ubiquitous but dramatically tepid Dusty Limits, our Reuben’s a gay Aussie, but – and it’s a huge butt – the comparisons stop right there. If Limits seems content to peddle mildly risque double entendres like some Poundland Julian Clary, Kaye is a living menage a trois, a one-man queer, Holy Trinity, the three queens of Priscilla compounded in one fabulously provocative presence!

    No wonder, then, he’s enjoyed rapturously received residencies at London’s Savoy and Rosewood hotels, in addition to constant bookings worldwide. And tonight – fittingly – he’s on brilliantly non-PC fire. His advice on drugs? Try them on someone else first, and if they’re still alive in an hour, do them, drugs and asshole! And he skewers the pitfalls of drug-f*cked sex perfectly: ‘Doing it doggy-style? Maybe turn around once in a while, check that it’s still the same person you started with!’.

    Get the picture? Yes, nothing and no one’s safe, especially the audience. ‘Ohh, I’d like you to clean my dildo’ Kaye quips to a shell-shocked punter, ‘I can literally feel your arsehole clenching in fear’. Christ, screw priests, parents and anguished, clueless counsellors- a Kaye a day keeps a gayboy at play! And forget Trump on Twitter -nothing escapes Kaye’s killer, cultural scalpel. ‘Consent? A term unknown to straight men…’. Too true, but there’s also praise for supernatural sluttishness; ‘Jesus – I love a man who can be nailed for three days straight and come back for more…’. Well, don’t we all, and Kaye’s scathing tornado of sexual surrealism is like first-time penetration – give in, and you’ll love it! Where else could a mutual love of Grace Jones and civil rights get mashed-up as ‘12 years a slave…to the rhythm?’.

    Exhilarating? You bet, and sure, Reuben gleefully slaughters three furiously sacred cows – racism, sexism and homophobia. Still, unlike the far fiercer David Hoyle, Kaye never critiques or challenges the LGBT moral axis underpinning his whole act. If brash, apparently fearless and flamingly flamboyant, Kaye shrewdly avoids any lurking, intersectional minefields of identity politics. And ironically, though he spits bile, venom and shade in a virtuoso blizzard of genderqueer radicalism, Kaye’s comedy is hamstrung by the binary assumptions he conforms to, but also attacks.

    So, unfortunately, in 2018, Kaye’s keynote, us and them stance is completely irrelevant to gender-fluid millennials like Cara Delavigne and St.Vincent, who see pansexuality as just another box to be ticked in today’s current, sexually unbounded pleasure menus. Oh, don’t get me wrong – Reuben is, by far, the most brilliant avatar of his chosen cul-de-sac, but his brand of oppositional comedy depends on totally punctured paradigms, and he’s been made obsolete by changes in gender discourse itself.

    But, who really cares? Who the hell goes to a comedy show seeking philosophical enlightenment? Sometimes- as Sigmund Freud once said -‘a cigar is just a cigar’, not a blatant penis metaphor, and sometimes, killer comedy is f*cking hilarious, whatever the subtext! So, let’s give a big hand – with optional, rectal consent – to Reuben Kaye, the living Shakespeare of confrontational cabaret. Comedy really doesn’t get any better than being mentally masturbated by a tall, dark stranger!

    At the Soho Theatre in London until the 16th June 2018

  • THEATRE REVIEW | San Domino

    THEATRE REVIEW | San Domino

    ★★★★★ |  San Domino

    San Domino is an island off the east coast of Italy that was once an island where people of a certain ‘way’ were exiled to by the facist Benito Mussolini government. He banished prisoners there to pay for their ‘crimes’ – some of the crimes being speaking out against the government. It was also a place where homosexuals were sent as well.

    A new show by the name of San Domino beautifully tells this story that very few people are aware of.

    Now playing at the Tristian Bates Theatre in Covent Garden, ten men, in 1939, are having a great time in a bar in Catania, Sicily. They have not committed any crimes, but a knock on the door will change all their lives forever. According to the government, they were degenerates because it is suspected they were homosexuals and thus were sentenced to five years. These men include men from all walks of life, including older Carlo (Matthew Hendrickson) and young handsome Claudio (Alexander Hulme). San Domino tells the men’s stories, through dialogue and music, in a show that is poignant, dramatic and superbly acted, especially when the show moves from the jovial atmosphere of the bar where the men are being themselves to the camp where they share bunkbeds and are kept under careful watch of the prison guard and the very mean chief of police.

    Andrew Pepper is just superb as the androgynous Pietro, sensitive and always looking for love in all the wrong place, and Pietro never holds back and says what’s on his mind. The rest of the cast really work well together in a show that really is a must see.

    San Domino first previewed to an enthusiastic audience at the Courtyard Theatre in London, then played to a full house at the Arcola Theatre’s Grimeborn Festival in 2014. With Book & Lyrics by Tim Anfilogoff, and music composed by Alan Whittaker, with Direction by Matthew Gould, San Domino excellently tells the story of the one night in 1939 when many gay men were rounded up. It’s a story that should’ve been told years ago.

    Photo provided by KWPR / Grant Neal & Joe Etherington

  • THEATRE REVIEW | An Officer and a Gentleman – The Musical – National Tour

    ★★★☆☆ | An Officer and a Gentleman

    Officer and a Gentleman review

    Based on the classic film of the same name, An Officer and A Gentleman tells the story of Zack Mayo, a trainee fighter pilot who is from the wrong side of the tracks and is trying to make his way through the Naval Academy. Paula is a local girl working in a factory where she and her colleagues see the only way of escaping their humdrum lives is by being swept off their feet by a pilot and whisked away. But what starts off as a little bit of fun between the two of them becomes something more, but will either of them admit their true feelings?

    The show, and the first act in particular, thunders across the stage with dizzying speed and a relentless energy, in a production which is noisy, loud, bold and incredibly unsubtle; where a collision of lighting, sound, projected images, live music and a barrage of costume changes combine to be the absolute antithesis of the “less is more” school of thought.

    Jonny Fines makes for an appealing enough lead as Zack Mayo, with his ridiculously ripped form and a wry smile, nestling in nicely alongside his fellow recruits who appeared to have been hand-picked primarily for their pecs and ‘ceps appeal.  But despite the testosterone-fuelled world depicted in the story, the stage belonged firmly to the female ensemble, bringing some decent vocal performances to lift the broadly functional performances of the cast.

    Nikolai Foster’s direction takes the scattergun approach of throwing sufficient tricks, bells and whistles at the audience in the hope that some of them will stick, with a roughly even split of hits and misses. The show is set to an eclectic mix of 80’s classics, the musical numbers varied in terms of quality and performance, with a belting rendition of Alone by Emma Williams only serving to highlight the pub circuit stylings of some of the other musical numbers. There is a mix of soft rock classics (“I Want to Know what Love is”, “The Final Countdown”), some bubble-gum pop (“Girls Just Wanna Have Fun”, “Material Girl”) and some of the lesser celebrated 80’s staples (“Hearts on Fire”, “Working for the Weekend”) compounding the scattergun feel of the show, but not necessarily in a bad way.

    But that is where the show really hits its stride. It never pretends to be anything other than what it is intended to be, namely a fun, cheesy and fairly corny slice of entertaining escapism. By the time the show draws to a conclusion with its iconic ending set to a sweeping rendition of Up Where We Belong, you can’t help but be suckered in by the feel-good factor of this slice of 80’s cheese.

    An Officer and A Gentleman is currently at Sheffield Theatres until the 9th June 2018 before continuing on its national tour

    BOOK TICKETS HERE