REVIEW: Benidorm Live @Theatre Royal When Benidorm hit our tv screens in 2007 it was in the rich vein of sit coms, dating back to Hancock in 1956. By Brian Butler • 2 min read
INTERVIEW: Bringing Beni to Brighton Brighton-based actor Tony Maudsley chats to Brian Butler about his starring role in Benidorm, the smash hit TV comedy series, about playing Hagrid’s 16-foot high brother, and his penchant for rude T-shirts and hot pants. By Brian Butler • 4 min read
2019 Brighton Festival programme revealed Featuring 130 events with artists and performers from more than 20 countries and using 25 venues in Brighton, Hove and Sussex, the theme of this year’s festivities is story telling. Starting with the children’s procession, the festival promises a feast of art, music, dance and theatre that reflects By Brian Butler • 3 min read
REVIEW: Notre Dame De Paris @London Coliseum You get one great Victor Hugo-inspired musical and then along comes another. Well not quite. Written by Luc Plamondon and Richard Cocciante and directed by Gilles Maher, this is a kind of Parisian Beauty and the Beast set in turbulent times of the late 15th century. But Les Mis Part 2, it isn’t. By Brian Butler • 2 min read
REVIEW: Abigail’s Party @Theatre Royal On its 40th anniversary tour, Mike Leigh’s iconic comedy of dreadful aspirational suburbia still resounds with us. We love dysfunctional marriages. We love and laugh at the pretence of Margot in The Good Life or Hyacinth in Keeping Up Appearances. And even when in this play a main character actually By Brian Butler • 2 min read
REVIEW: Rainbow Chorus ‘Les Mistletoe’ at St George’s Brian Butler gives his take on the Rainbow Chorus Christmas Show Les Mistletoe at St George Church, Kemptown last night. By Brian Butler • 2 min read
BOOK REVIEW: Cheap Eastern European Boys This book is a total messed up creation – much like its gay anti-hero, named after its author Tom Lesniara. I’m guessing it’s at least partially autobiographical which makes it all the more alarming as it’s a roller coaster of drug-crazed sordid and tawdry episodes. By Brian Butler • 2 min read
INTERVIEW: The Undiscovered Jewel… Sally Vate Sally Vate, aka Jon Hughes, talks to Brian Butler about the gay wilderness that is Goole, situational comedy, panto and turning 40. By Brian Butler • 3 min read
FEATURE: The art of the Drag Queen Brian Butler chats to up and coming artist Ian Brown about bears, drag queens and the homeless. Ian Brown had always been interested in art, but when he became a Primary School Head at a relatively young age, he admits he just didn’t have the time to paint. By Brian Butler • 1 min read
A Gay History of Sitges on film Brandon Jones first went to Sitges in 1981, buying his house there in 1985. In 1989 Brandon and his partner Juan were appointed as the representatives for BBC SPORT, to help in putting together the infrastructure for the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, but he is best known locally for being the co-owner of By Brian Butler • 3 min read
INTERVIEW: The Nameless One! Scott Burey, winner of this year’s Golden Handbag for favourite drag act talks to Brian Butler about stage fright, his drag heroes and living life to the full. It’s part of who Drag With No Name is – an enigma wrapped in a mystery and I’m guessing an incredibly private person amid the ballyhoo of Br By Brian Butler • 4 min read
REVIEW: Trial by Laughter @Theatre Royal Co-written by satirical magazine Private Eye editor Ian Hislop and writer/cartoonist Nick Newman, this play is funny, sharp, annoying, self-indulgent but highly relevant in our age of fake news, corrupt Governments, and mob rule. By Brian Butler • 2 min read
