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Tag: UK

  • THEATRE REVIEW | Young Frankenstein, Garrick Theatre, London

    ★★★★★ | Young Frankenstein

    THEATRE REVIEW | Young Frankenstein, Garrick Theatre, London

    The classic comedy Young Frankenstein has finally made it’s way to the West End, and it’s just as funny, or perhaps even funnier, than the hit 1974 film.

    Mel Brooks, still kicking around at the age of 91, directed and co-wrote (along with Gene Wilder) the Oscar-nominated film. Brooks wrote the music and lyrics of the stage version which had it’s Broadway debut in 2007 to rave reviews and several Tony award nominations. Its arrival in the West End is welcome because there is a lack of stomach-splitting comedies on offer, and Young Frankenstein is not only stomach splitting – it’s laugh out very loud funny!

    Scientist Frederick Frankenstein (Hadley Fraser), who insists his last name is pronounced Frankensteen in order to disassociate himself from his grandfather – the mad scientist Dr Victor von Frankenstein, and which becomes a running joke throughout the show, learns that he has inherited a castle in the town of Transylvania Heights from his grandfather. He decides to check it out and boards the Queen Mary Shelley ship (Shelley is the original author of the book of Frankenstein), says goodbye to his fiancé Elizabeth (Dianne Pilkington) who sings the camp song ‘Please Don’t Touch Me’ in reference to her devotion to Frederick. Once Frederick arrives in the town, he is greeted by Igor (Ross Noble), a man with a hump on his back which keeps on changing sides. Frederick also hires an assistant to help him at the castle, and this assistant is the blond, beautiful, buxomy and German Inga (a wonderful Summer Strallen – who practically steals the show with her looks, and dumbwitnedness). They ride up to the castle on a wagon to the tune of ‘Roll in the Hay (because they are literally on hay and during the bumpy ride Inga practically exposes almost every part of her body – it’s too funny to be seen! Once in the castle (the production designer cleverly takes up deeper and deeper into the castle through the use of darkness and doors that continually reveals amazing new sets). There we meet the fabulous housekeeper Frau Blücher (Lesley Joseph) who has an absolute scene-stealing number with the song ‘He was my Boyfriend’ in reference to Victor Frankenstein. While in the castle, Frederick and Inga find a secret entrance to the laboratory, which inspires Frederick to create a monster in memory of his grandfather. Well, Igor gets a corpse for the experiment, but it’s not exactly what Frederick had in mind, nonetheless, a monster is born, but knocking on the door are the town’s villagers, led by the one-armed and one-legged Inspector Kemp (Patrick Clancy) (it literally cost him an arm and a leg! Tha dump!). He and the townspeople know that something is up in the castle, that many years ago bad things happened there, and they want to find out exactly what is going on in there. And the rest, as they say, is history.

    Young Frankenstein continues with the laughs, and laughs, and laughs, culminating in the rib breaking song ‘Puttin on the Ritz’ sung by The Monster, Frederick, Inga, Igor and company. This show has got to be the funniest show I’ve seen in the West End in a long time (funnier, I think, than ‘The Book of Mormon’). And all the cast are excellent, but Strallen and Joseph are lucky enough to be given show-stopping songs to sing, and Noble as Igor is just too good to be true, and let’s not leave out Shuler Hensley who plays, to great effect, The Monster. This show is just about perfect for a comedy, and Director and choreographer Susan Stroman has created a masterpiece, while kudos goes to set designer Beowulf Boritt. It’s a shame that this show is at the small Garrick Theatre, it needs a bigger theatre just so that more people are able to see it and enjoy it, but nonetheless it’s one you definitely don’t want to miss!

     

    Young Frankenstein plays at the Garrick Theatre, book tickets now

  • Woman jailed for the murder of her girlfriend

    A woman in Wigan has been jailed for the murder of her girlfriend, following a campaign of domestic abuse.

    Becky Reid (7/11/84) of Hayward Road, Atherton was found guilty of the murder of Lyndsey Vaux, and section 18 assault relating to another woman, aged 37, after a trial at Manchester Crown Court, Crown Square.

    Reid received a life sentence for the murder of her former partner Lyndsey Vaux, 30, a mother-of-one, and will serve a minimum of 20 years.

    On Sunday 22 May 2016, Lyndsey Vaux from Platt Bridge was taken to hospital in suspected cardiac arrest, where she sadly died later that morning.

    A Home Office post-mortem found that Lyndsey had died from multiple injuries and police launched an investigation into her death.

    Campaign of Domestic Abuse

    During the trial, the court heard how in 2014 Lyndsey lived with Becky Reid on Sydney Street in Platt Bridge. Over a number of years, Lyndsey was attacked and abused by Reid, with neighbours seeing her around the area with many different injuries including black eyes, cuts to the lip, a cauliflower ear, bruising to the face and body, and a heavy limp.

    Specific attacks were also seen with the court hearing how neighbours witnessed Becky Reid attacking Lyndsey in the street more than once.

    On one occasion, Lyndsey tried to walk away, but Becky punched her in the face, and she fell to the floor, pleading with her to stop. Becky continued to attack her and stamped on her face and body, whilst Lyndsey lay in the road.

    On another occasion, Lyndsey was stood in front of her house and Becky Reid was stood in the doorway. She attacked Lyndsey, punching and kicking her as she lay on the pavement, before dragging her into the house.

    The court also heard how mother and daughter, Gillian and Becky Reid also attacked another woman in 2008 causing her facial fractures.

    Senior Investigating Officer Bob Tonge of GMP’s Major Incident Support Unit said, “Lyndsey Vaux was subjected to years of horrific domestic abuse at the hands of her girlfriend, and no decision made here today can bring her back.

    “Some neighbours knew about this abuse and did nothing. Had they given us the information that they gave us after Lyndsey’s murder then we could have saved her life, and this should act as a stark reminder that we all have a responsibility to stand up to this kind of crime.

    “We’re working extremely hard to tackle domestic abuse in the LGBT community, having introduced a specific recording method to track it and taking our frontline officers through training on how best to support victims, but we do need the public’s help to continue to tackle domestic abuse in all of our communities.

    “My thoughts are with Lyndsey’s family at this difficult time, and I hope this sentence goes some way to finding them justice.”

    Help for Domestic Abuse victims

    Lydnsey was a victim of Reid’s “campaign of domestic abuse” she tragically died after being admitted to hospital following one attack.

    Victims in the LGBT community, and those worried about member of the LGBT community, can call Galop on 0800 999 5428.

    Female victims, and those worried about women, can call the Greater Manchester Domestic Abuse Helpline on 0161 636 7525. Male victims, and those worried about men, can call The Mens Adviceline on 0808 801 0327 or can visit www.mensadviceline.org.uk.

    Greater Manchester’s multi-agency response to same-sex DA, has also invested in a specialist LGBT Independent Domestic Violence Advisor, who works from Independent choices.

    There is lots of information for victims, offenders, loved ones and practitioners on the end the fear website at www.sittingrightwithyou.co.uk.

     

    Reporting: Greater Manchester Police

  • G-A-Y Late granted an extra hour trading

    G-A-Y Late, one of London’s busiest gay venues has been granted an extension of its opening hours.

    G-A-Y Late granted an extra hour trading
    Extra trading time at G-A-Y late means that operating hours at G-A-Y on Old Compton Street must be decreased by one hour.

    Customers will be able to enjoy an extra hour of G-A-Y Late, the Jeremy Joseph owned gay bar in central London. Management will now be allowed to serve customers until 4 AM.

    G-A-Y had wanted to extend its opening hours to help combat an increase in rent for the venue just off Tottenham Court Road. The approval came on a number of conditions including the reduction of hours at the group’s other venue, G-A-Y on Old Compton Street.

    In response Councillor Angela Harvey, Chairman of Westminster Council Licensing Committee, said, “Preserving the unique mix of Westminster’s night-time economy is a key priority of the council, and we have worked closely with local businesses and residents to balance their needs within our licensing policy.

    “The City of Westminster has over 3516 licensed premises of which 1096 are located within the West End.

    “Councillors felt the amended application demonstrated that this case was exceptional and would not cause any significant disturbances to residents.

    “The application is subject to several key conditions to mitigate the cumulative impact of the later hours; Including the reduction of operating hours by one hour of G-A-Y Bar on Old Compton Street, and patrols of Goslett Yard by staff to ensure patrons disperse after closing time.”

     

  • A New LGBT Film Festival Is Set To Open In North London

    Following the success of their Unrestricted View Film Festival and Unrestricted View Horror Film Festival, the team at the Hen & Chickens Theatre in Islington have just launched their first LGBT+ film festival called Rainbow Umbrella.


    The festival is run by filmmakers and aims to celebrate the very best in indie and encourage all aspects of independent LGBT filmmaking. As well as live screenings, there will also be various networking events to be announced shortly.

    Festival Director Mark Lyminister has worked with Unrestricted View and been Theatre Manager of The Hen & Chickens Theatre for many years. Having also worked extensively as an actor in theatre, film and TV, Mark said;

    “Rainbow umbrella has been set up to encourage actors and filmmakers from the LGBT+ community to have a platform to express their hopes, fears, desires and experiences and share them with new audiences.

    “We aim to allow anyone with a voice, an opinion, a vision, a calling, to be free to write, act, direct and be free to express themselves through the medium of film. From first-time filmmakers with little or no budget to the films with more experience and financial clout, they are all welcome under our umbrella!

    “We want to share films that show every emotion of someone experiencing life as an LGBT person.”

    You can submit films via the Film Freeway website here: https://filmfreeway.com/festival/RainbowUmbrella

    The festival takes place at the Hen & Chickens Theatre on the 12th – 14th January 2018. The full programme will be announced in December 2017 when tickets will go on sale at unrestrictedview.co.uk

  • Oxford students banned Christian Union from Freshers’ fair over homophobia concerns

    Students at Balliol, one Oxford University’s most prestigious colleges, banned the Christian Union (CU) from its Freshers’ Fair, citing homophobia and neo-colonialism as its reasoning.

    The CU was banned from attending and recruiting student members at the college’s Freshers’ Fair this year after organisers said that their presence could cause harm to communities “struggling to feel welcome in Oxford.”

    President of the JCR, Hubert Au, wanted the event to be a “secular environment.”

    Au wrote,  “Christianity’s influence on many marginalised communities has been damaging in its methods of conversion and rules of practice, and is still used in many places as an excuse for homophobia and certain forms of neo-colonialism”.

    The decision was reached through discussions with the JCR Welfare subcommittee.

    In the end, a general, multi-faith religious stall was allowed at the fair on the understanding that no representatives from any of the faith societies staffed it. There was a vote by students at the college, on Sunday that said the decision was a ” violation of free speech and religious freedom.”  The motion prohibited the barring of official religious societies from future freshers’ fairs.

  • RESTAURANT REVIEW | Number 90 Bar and Kitchen, London

    ★★★★ | Number 90 Bar & Kitchen

    There is practically only one place to be in Hackney Wick, and it’s Number 90 Kitchen.

    Luckily enough to be right on the River Lea with the water and boats and the Olympic Stadium in its backyard, Number 90 Kitchen is a pub, restaurant, and it is also an amazingly cool place to hang out.

    Let’s start with the outdoor terrace. Now is there anywhere else where you’d want to be – sipping fabulous drinks and cocktails amidst the cool ambience? It’s a very large terrace, perhaps almost as large as the restaurant itself, wooden tables with wooden benches, some raised, overlooking the beautiful canal (well, the canal is actually very dirty, and the water is not exactly blue, but at nightime, you can’t tell!). However, it’s nice to be near the water anywhere in London. Overall, Number 90 is a massive venue, with a cool atmosphere – and includes a D.J. booth. Number 90 also has a great food menu and an even better cocktail menu – the drinks are superb!

    The N199 Lemon Pie cocktail was so unlike anything you’ll ever drink. Infused with vodka, lemon mousse, lime juice and topped with gingerbread it was both sweet and delicious. If you want something a bit less desserty, try the N31 Gin drink, which is made with apple juice and cucumber garnish. It actually tasted a bit too healthy! Another recommendation is the drink named after the restaurant – the refreshing N90. It’s made with Appleton Rum, mango juice, Angostura bitters and topped with ginger beer. Please do order this! I would remiss to not forget about the N68 (no, it’s not a night bus) midnight expresso bourbon drink, with Frangelico, Kahlua, Orange Bitters, and topped with whipped cream. I recommend ending the night with this drink – it’s perfect!

    Food at Number 90 Kitchen and Bar can be summed up as comfort food. While it’s not a culinary lovers delight, the food does satisfy the need to fill an empty stomach while at the same time slamming down cocktails. The night my dining companion and I went we had a variety of menu items, all very affordable and good. The BBQ pulled pork burger, served with crunchy slaw, was good, as was the beef burger, topped with the delicious chutney and bacconaise sauce. The Halloumi Sticks, with tomato salsa on the side, was a bit bland and not very sexy, but the sweet potato fries were a winner. For dessert, it was the polenta cake that won hands down, an absolute delis of a dish!

    But as mentioned before it’s not really the food that people go to Number 90 for. It’s the hipster location and the vibe, along with it being one of the few bars/pubs around in the area (It’s a 15-minute walk to Stratford and a 3-minute walk to Hackney Wick overground station). Number 90 also houses a small gallery where they hold exhibits from time to time, as well as some of the finest DJ’s, are showcased, and they will also be serving up a Christmas menu (yes, it’s less than three months away – so book now).

    For any and all information about Number 90 Bar & Kitchen, please go to it’s website:

     

    90 Home

    T: +44 (0)20 8986 0090

    90 Main Yard, Wallis Road, E9 5LN London

    Opening hours:

    Brunch on Saturdays: serving from 12 -2 pm. Yum! To book: bit.ly/2jveVFq

    Their food menu is available all day between 12-9.30 PM.

    WED, THUR & SUN: 12:00 – 23:00

    FRI & SAT:  12:00 – 01:00
    On Sunday, they serve only roasts from 12pm until all roasts are gone, after which we switch to our regular menu.

     

  • THEATRE REVIEW | The Toxic Avenger The Musical, Arts Theatre, London

    ★★★★★ | The Toxic Avenger, The Musical

    THEATRE REVIEW | The Toxic Avenger The Musical, Arts Theatre, London

    There’s a monster loose at the Arts Theatre in London; it’s toxic, it smells, and it’s completely hilarious!

    It’s The Toxic Avenger, the show that was originally a movie (circa 1984) and just last year played at The Southwark Playhouse to rave reviews. Well, The Toxic Avenger is getting revenge by coming back to a much larger theatre, with a superb cast!

    In a nutshell, the show takes place in New Jersey. You know the place, people only pass through there to get to the bright lights and big city of New York. Well, New Jersey is where the denizens of Manhattan dispose of all of its waste – not just garbage but everything and anything that they don’t want, New Jersey, unfortunately, gets.

    But in a town called Tromaville, New Jersey, which gets the worst of the wasted, there is nerd and aspiring earth scientist Melvin Ferd the Third (Mark Anderson), his mom Ma Ferd (Natalie Hope), Sarah the blind librarian (Emma Salvo), and host of other characters played by Ché Francis and Oscar Conlon-Morray, named appropriately as black dude and white dude. But when Melvin decides to find out who is responsible for the vats of toxic waste in Tromaville, he plans to put a stop to it. His investigation leads to the Mayor (Hope again), but when she finds out Melvin is on her case, she gets her two goons to get rid of Melvin, and they throw him into a vat of toxic sludge. But Melvin does not get killed, he comes back bigger and better than ever – he’s been transformed into “The Toxic Avenger” (a/k/a Toxie)!

    Toxie attempts to get his revenge, but in the meantime, blind librarian Sarah has a thing for him because she thinks he’s French (though when Toxie was Melvin he had a huge crush on her but she rebuffed him). Meanwhile, the Mayor is still up to no good and vows to kill Toxie no matter what it takes. But hilarity (and lots of physical comedy) ensue; lots of running on and off the stage by the cast, Sarah doing everything she can to get with Toxie, and the brilliant Hope has a scene with herself as both the Mayor and Ms Ferd – and one time she’s on stage as both characters! It’s a tour de force performance! Will Sarah and Toxie find love with each other? Will the corrupt Mayor have her way and turn Tromaville into more of a toxic waste dump? Will the front row of the audience escape unscathed? You will have to find out and buy tickets to this must-see show. And did I mention that it’s a musical? Everything you want and more is this show! And the cast are brilliant!

    It’s hard to single out any one performer, but I’m going to. Of course, Hope gets the most exercise (and laughs) as both the Mayor and Melvin’s mother, but it’s Salvo’s performance that is most memorable because she’s playing a blind woman, and it’s so believable! And she’s so funny! Kudos to the cast, and production team, including director Benji Sperring, for bringing us a show that’s one not too miss. It’s got everything a musical should have; escapism, fantasy, great story, amazing performances, and some rocking songs. Buy tickets for this show now!

    From Joe DiPietro and David Bryan (original founding member and keyboardist/vocalist for Bon Jovi), the Tony Award-winning team behind the hit West End musical Memphis.

    The Toxic Avenger The Musical is now playing at The Arts Theatre in London until December 3, 2017

  • When is Season 2 of Orange Is The New Black on Sony Channel in the UK?

    Fans of Orange Is The New Black, who don’t have Netflix – we have news!

    Season 2 of the Emmy Award winning series from Lionsgate, ORANGE IS THE NEW BLACK, is set to have its broadcast premiere in the UK on Sony Channel (Sky 157, Virgin 193, BT 331 and TalkTalk 331).

    The UK television premiere of Season 2 will launch with a double bill every Wednesday at 9pm from 4th October.

    This critically acclaimed comedy drama centres around Piper Chapman (Taylor Schilling), who is yanked out of her mundane and normal life with her fiancé when she is sentenced to fifteen months in prison for a decade-old drug crime.

    Season 2 sees Piper wake up in solitary and she’s not coping very well in her new surroundings, whilst in the prison a bathroom turf war erupts between the convicts. Dark, silly and subversive, who knew a tale about a woman’s prison could deliver such a lot of laughs!

    Watch the UK Network Premiere of Orange Is The New Black Season 2 on Sony Channel Sky 157, Virgin 193, BT 331, Talk Talk 331 on Wednesday at 9pm from 4th October.

  • THEATRE REVIEW | I Knew You, The Rep

    ★★★ | I Knew You, Birmingham Rep

    I Knew You, written by Steven Camden, aka Polar Bear – the renowned spoken-word artist, comes to The Door with a delicate yet powerful domestic tale.

    Growing up in a non-nuclear family is more custom in this generation, but what is not often seen, is the repercussions of a family break up. Through the stories of Angela (Lorna Laidlaw) the mother; Nathan (Brenton Hamilton) the son; Patrick (Roderick Smith) the father, we see the nucleus of the family drama.

    The writing is sublime with poetry ringing alongside the emotional speeches. Lorna showcased comedy and emotion very well, carrying the story – very good crescendo of emotions as the story progressed. Brenton did a great job with anger, but a little one-dimensional with the less climatic stuff. Roderick was a good choice for the sullen Patrick, giving the audience a good look-in to the other side of the argument, but a little lacklustre in the final speech. What was nice about the production was the feeling of provenance with actors hailing from Birmingham, with local accents adding to the comfort.

    The play was only fifty minutes long, and I am wondering if story beat opportunities were missed as the story appeared to be presented in chunks, in places, and the build-up of the drama was lost with a very sudden ending at Patrick arriving in the house.

     

  • Anglican Church penalises Scottish arm over gay marriage

    The Anglican Church on Tuesday disciplined its Scottish branch for deciding to allow same-sex couples to get married in its churches. The Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC) voted in June to change its law on marriage, removing the reference to it being between a man and a woman. As a result the first gay wedding in a… (more…)

  • Police are searching for “man in a dress” after he robbed a shop in Hulme

    Police are searching for a man who wore a dress to rob a shop in the Manchester area.

    Police are search for "man in a dress" after he robbed a shop in Hulme

    Police are investigating a robbery in which one of the alleged assailants was wearing a black dress and a yellow and purple silk scarf.

    At around 9.30pm on Monday 25 September 2017, police were called to reports of a robbery on Stretford Road.

    Two men had entered the McColls shop and threatened three assistants with a knife.

    They forced the staff to open the safe, taking money from inside before emptying the cash registers in the shop.

    The offenders have then fled the shop through the back door.

    Black Dress and Yellow And A Silk Scarf

    One of the offenders is described as a black man of a medium build, around 5ft6in tall wearing a black dress and a yellow and purple silk scarf, which he used to cover his face.

    The other man is described as an athletic black man, around 6ft tall, wearing a grey hoody, grey tracksuit bottoms and red trainers.

    Detective Inspector Gary Smith of GMP’s City of Manchester Borough, said, “These men showed a complete disregard for the people who were simply doing their job, when they used knives to threaten and steal money from the shop.

    “It must have been a terrifying experience for them to be met by these two men who set out to take the money using whatever means they could.

    “I’m urging anyone who recognises the description of the two men, or saw something that could help with our enquiries, to please get in touch and share what you know.”

    Anyone with information should contact police on 0161 856 4402 or 101, quoting incident number 2215 of 25/09/17. This can also be done anonymously through the independent charity Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111.