Musical Theatre Rick Skye gets under the skin of gay icon Liza Minnelli For over two decades actor Rick Skye has been getting under the skin of gay icon Liza Minnelli but his career could have gone in a totally different direction. He hit the stage as a child as Max in the Sound of Music and his teacher told his mother: “this one’s a character.” At 14 […] By Brian Butler • 3 min read
Theatre “Big Brother is still watching you…” George Orwell’s dystopian novel 1984, about a totalitarian state, was written 75 years ago and it’s depressing and scary that most of its futuristic visions have come true. As we enter the auditorium at Brighton’s Theatre Royal for Ryan Craig’s stage adaptation we are scanned by a camera in the huge By Brian Butler • 3 min read
Riot Act Theatre Two ground-breaking queer shows from Alexis Gregory There’s a chance to see multi-talented queer theatre-maker Alexis Gregory’s latest monodrama Smoke and also catch his amazing three-in-one queer history drama Riot Act – both in London over the next few weeks. Directed by the outstanding film and theatre-maker Campbell X, Smoke investigates the blur By Brian Butler • 2 min read
Musical Theatre REVIEW: ‘Dear Evan Hansen’ @ Theatre Royal Brighton Evan Hansen is an isolated high school student with no friends and no life and on medication for social anxiety disorder- and he’s fallen out of a tree and broken his arm, now in plaster. When his doctor prescribes that he writes a daily letter to himself – hence the show title Dear Evan Hansen […] By Brian Butler • 3 min read
Books REVIEW: It’s Just A Stage at The Coast Is Queer The absolute cream of queer theatre-making assembled in Brighton as part of The Coast Is Queer literary festival. Olivier Award-winners Debbie Hannan and Matilda Feyisayo Ibini were joined by multi-talented actor, writer, director Alexis Gregory and trans actor/writer Charlie Josephine in a panel di By Brian Butler • 3 min read
Film Palestinian filmmaker Dima Hamdan wins prestigious LGBTQ+ film prize for ‘Blood Like Water’ Dima Hamdan, a Palestinian filmmaker and journalist, has won the prestigious Iris Prize, supported by the Michael Bishop Foundation, for her short film Blood Like Water. Based in Berlin, Dima’s film Blood Like Water tells the story of Shadi, who embarks on a secret adventure and accidentally drags h By Brian Butler • 2 min read
Community News REVIEW: Dave Lynn and Allan Cardew bring ‘John and Thomas’ to life There’s many a double act that split – through ill health, retirement or death – and there’s sometimes a sense of not knowing how the remaining partner feels. And that’s a central theme of Andrew Kay’s latest play John and Thomas. But this 50-minute gem is so much more than that. John (Allan Cardew) By Brian Butler • 2 min read
Film Iris Prize Film Festival kicks off this week in Cardiff The 18th internationally acclaimed LGBTQ+ Iris Prize Film Festival kicks off this week in Cardiff but you, like me, will have the chance to catch some of its best bits online. By Brian Butler • 2 min read
Theatre Rehearsed reading of Andrew Kay play ‘John and Thomas’ with Dave Lynn and Allan Cardew to raise funds for new LGBTQ+ drama prize in honour of Jason Sutton aka Miss Jason It’s several decades since drag performer Dave Lynn first met then amateur actor Allan Cardew at Marilyn’s club behind Brighton station. Since then, they’ve shared the stage in many a gay-themed play and Allan has gone on to be a director and producer – most recently of the alternative panto. And so By Brian Butler • 2 min read
Books The Coast Is Queer, Brighton’s well-established festival of LGBTQ+ writing, returns this year from 10-13 October The Coast Is Queer, Brighton’s well-established festival of LGBTQ+ writing, returns this year from 10-13 October with conversations, panels, workshops, performance and films, celebrating queer writing. It was the first festival of its kind in the UK, and it’s once again at the Attenborough Centre fo By Brian Butler • 2 min read
Theatre REVIEW: ‘Why Am I So Single?’ at Garrick Theatre The creators of smash hit musical SIX, Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss, have done it again with their new show for the Gen Z age – Why Am I So Single?. Where SIX was all about girl power, this show delves deep into a specific personal relationship and is said to be semi-autobiographical. It breaks […] By Brian Butler • 3 min read
Arts Multi-award-winning theatre director Andrew Keates to launch Queer Theatre to tell LGBTQ+ stories and nurture queer talent A year ago, multi-award-winning theatre director Andrew Keates woke up in a shed at the bottom of a garden pumped full of drugs and on the brink of a heart attack after being sexually assaulted by two men. By Brian Butler • 1 min read
