Arts REVIEW: Brighton Fringe: Briefs I saw Briefs last time it was in Brighton a few years ago and loved it. It was fun and warm-hearted and featured some incredibly handsome men in pants. On the whole it’s very entertaining, but on second acquaintance a few cracks are starting to show. By Michael Hootman • 1 min read
Arts REVIEW: Dealer’s Choice@88 London Road Patrick Marber’s play is a jaundiced look at masculinity and shows how men fail at being fathers, sons and friends. During one night of poker the game itself becomes a kind of weapon which the play’s characters use to goad, taunt and humiliate each other. But the portraits presented, though far from By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: King Charles III: Theatre Royal, Brighton Queen Elizabeth is dead and immediately the rest of the Royal Family are arguing about the workings of the constitution: does Charles (Robert Powell) ascend the throne immediately, or does he only become king upon his coronation? This minor problem of regal procedure soon becomes irrelevant when the By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
‘ Arts REVIEW: Private Lives: Theatre Royal, Brighton Noël Coward’s play is a gossamer thin confection about love and life amongst the beautiful and fabulously wealthy. Tom Attenborough’s production somehow manages to make heavy work of one of the lightest pieces in the theatrical canon. Despite some fine performances, lines that should sparkle like th By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: Hairspray at the Theatre Royal, Brighton Hairspray is a joyous candy-coloured confection which has a heart as big as its outsize heroine. It manages to combine a thrilling slickness of staging with something quite magically uplifting and the result might, quite possibly, be the most purely enjoyable show of the last few years. By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: John Grant at the Dome Last night Grant played an impressive set showcasing material from his latest album, Grey Tickles, Black Pressure. It’s a work I’ve been having some difficulty with – some of the lyrics are maybe a tad arch – but seeing him live won me over. By Michael Hootman • 1 min read
Arts REVIEW: Asian Dub Foundation – THX 1138: The Dome One of the most powerful films I’ve seen was a screening at the Dome of the silent classic The Passion of Joan of Arc with a new score by members of Portishead and Goldfrapp. The subtle, emotionally resonant music perfectly complemented Carl Dreyer’s spiritual masterpiece – so I’m all in favour of o By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: Basement: 4 Guys Chillin’ This is a verbatim drama based on interviews with a number of men who go to ‘chill out’ parties or, to be perhaps slightly more accurate, ‘drug-fuelled orgies’. As it starts off it seems as if it’s going to be a basically sensational tale of hedonistic gay men and the hijinks they get up to. There’s By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: Marlborough: Miss Behave’s Gameshow The premise of this show is that the most important division in the world isn’t male and female or gay and straight but those who own iPhones and the rest of us. As we enter the confines of the Marlborough the audience is split into these two rival factions and then the games commence. Some utilise By Michael Hootman • 1 min read
Arts REVIEW: What the Butler Saw at the Emporium Joe Orton’s final play is his masterpiece, a frenetic, surreal farce which encompasses madness, incest, nymphomania, cross dressing, male prostitution and the missing gentlemen’s parts of a statue of Winston Churchill. Dr Prentice (Brian Capron) is in the middle of seducing his secretary Geraldine ( By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
Arts PREVIEW: ‘Therapy’ at the Marlborough Theatre LaLa Theatre Co present their debut play Therapy at the Marlborough Theatre. To heal, or not to heal? Is that a question? To err is human! Does that even make sense? There are only two things that are certain in life…death and taxes..oh yeah, three things… Therapy! When are we considered broke By Michael Hootman • 1 min read
Arts THEATRE REVIEW: David Hoyle Ends LGBT History (Month) David Hoyle is a unique performer: compassionate, angry and not a little crazy. It’s a pleasure to spend an hour and a half in his company as he’s always an engaging, even charismatic, presence. His latest show doesn’t exactly break any new ground for Hoyle – its structure is pretty much the same as By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
