Arts REVIEW: Dome: Being Both As one of the great vocal artists of her generation, mezzo-soprano Alice Coote is renowned for her Handelian repertory and the portrayal of roles originally written for castrati. With lots of indication of depth and analysis about this most curious habit of mixing up of gender roles bringing insight By Eric Page • 3 min read
Arts OPERA REVIEW: The Pirates of Penzance: ENO This highly anticipated swashbuckling farce with its new staging is directed by Mike (I’ll never direct an opera) Leigh, who made his operatic debut this evening. I liked his version, all geometric sets and ultra-simplistic colours from Alison Chitty, they worked well, softly gliding and sliding int By Eric Page • 4 min read
Sheila McWattie Arts The Sheila McWattie Women’s Performance Stage – call for performers at Brighton Pride Singer songwriter Nicky Mitchell, performance poet, stand up and MC Annabel Pribelszki and the Charity Cabaret team will be hosting the Sheila McWattie Women’s Performance Stage at this year’s Brighton Pride Festival in Preston Park. The Sheila McWattie Women’s Performance Stage will showcase the br By Besi • 2 min read
Arts Irish rock band supports equal marriage in Ireland Alternative rock band HAWK have released a new track, Glass, inspired by the upcoming Marriage Equality Referendum, taking place in Ireland on May 22. The track has an ethereal quality that’s further intensified by drums and a stripped back guitar sound lending weight to the haunting vocals, while t By Besi • 1 min read
Arts PREVIEW: ‘Out of the Woods’ with Resound Male Voices Resound Male Voices, a Brighton & Hove based male singing group, will be performing with the Rebelles at Out of the Woods: Music at Midsummer, a magical evening of vocal music loosely set in a Scandinavian midsummer forest on June 20. The choirs, both led by opera singer and vocal coach, Stefan Holm By Besi • 2 min read
Arts PREVIEW: Brit Floyd – Space & Time World Tour Brit Floyd – The World’s Greatest Pink Floyd Show, returns to Europe in 2015 to present its Space & Time World Tour, its most ambitious show to date; with a spectacular new light show, and an even bigger stage production. Celebrating five decades of Pink Floyd; from their creation in 1965 right thro By Contributor • 2 min read
Atomic Kitten Community News Atomic Kitten to perform at Manchester Pride ‘Big Weekend’ Girl Power returns to the Manchester Pride this August, as Atomic Kitten, attitude-packed vocal trio, Stooshe and Lucy Spraggan are added to the Big Weekend festival line-up which will take place from Friday August 28 to Monday, August 31. Manchester DJ legend, Graeme Park, is also set to join Texas By Besi • 3 min read
Arts Resound Male Voices to sing at Charity Gala ‘Resound Male Voices’ will be performing at a Charity Gala for The Martlet’s Hospice in Hove, on Saturday, May 16 at The Windmill Theatre in Blatchington Mill School. The evening will be presented by the Rotary Club of Brighton and Hove and include performances by ‘Resound Male Voices’, ‘Rebelles’, By Besi • 1 min read
Arts REVIEW: Fringe: The Trousered Traviata In a flapping noisy tent with the wind picking up outside we sat down to watch Verdi’s tragic opera Traviata, but with a female cast. Having an all female cast changed the whole tone of the opera; remarkably so, with a mean mother and female lovers changing the texture of this misogynist opera and t By Eric Page • 4 min read
Arts REVIEW: Fringe: carMen Set in the gay community of liberal 1920s Spain. José, the central character in this all-male reworking of Bizet’s tragic opera, is sexually confused and dominated by a strictly religious upbringing. His infatuation with handsome Carmen leads to inner turmoil and tragedy – a journey which reflects t By Eric Page • 3 min read
Arts REVIEW: Camille O’Sullivan: Spiegeltent Some folk write their own reviews, some folk are lucky to get one, some folk impress, Ms O’Sullivan deserves more than a good review, she deserves a love letter from us humble critics. By Eric Page • 3 min read
Arts London fundraiser for Nepal Earthquake Appeal Simon Tarrant and Catrin Finch host fundraiser at London Canal Museum for WaterAid’s Nepal Earthquake Appeal. Artist Simon Tarrant and world-renowned harpist Catrin Finch are to host an exhibition and concert for WaterAid’s Nepal Earthquake Appeal at London Canal Museum on Saturday, May 16 from 7pm. By Graham Robson • 1 min read
Arts PREVIEW: Brighton Fringe: The final chase You’ll be left shaken, stirred and thoroughly entertained by award-winning Australian cabaret crooner Tomás Ford’s noir-as-hell spy thriller. JOIN a troubled assassin as he chases his arch-nemesis to a pulsing electronic soundtrack and riveting video projections. Tomas’ mix of warm synth sounds, sty By Besi • 1 min read
Arts REVIEW: Fringe: Point and Shoot This was a sophisticated and highly planned bit of musical mischief making and the highly planned and ruthlessly choreographed changing of instruments and tune was occasionally buried under some of the action unfolding on stage. I assumed this was intentional. With funny acting and high octane singi By Eric Page • 3 min read
Arts Want to sing with Actually Gay Men’s Chorus? Following another sell-out show at St Andrew’s Church in Hove last month, Actually Gay Men’s Chorus welcome all budding singers for the coming season. The chorus are holding a taster evening of song and good company to get the new term off to a great start. They will be learning a new, exciting and By Besi • 1 min read
Arts PREVIEW: West End Wendies does Broadway Drag Queen and chef extraordinaire Spice brings his unique brand of musical mayhem to the Brighton Fringe, Upstairs at Bar Broadway on Thursday, May 7. Spice will be recreating his favourite show tunes, live on stage, featuring songs from musicals both old and new, amazing costumes and plenty of lau By Besi • 1 min read
Arts MUSIC REVIEW: Back to the Bond Age – Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus THERE’S a lot of competition within the city on the first weekend of Brighton Festival, but it was a full house at St Bartholomew’s church for the second night of Back to the Bond Age performed by the Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus. The James Bond theme was carried through the evening with songs and link By John Benson • 2 min read
LGBTQ+ News The winner of London Pride’s Got Talent to be chosen at Floridita Floridita on Wardour Street in Soho will play host on Tuesday, May 5 to a range of emerging LGBT+ talent hoping to star on the Pride in London stage in Trafalgar Square on June 27. Fifteen finalists who have been whittled down from hundreds of applications will battle it out to appear on the Pride i By Besi • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: The Late Show: Basement The Late Show Basement The Otherplace FINISHING off the night at The Late Show in the basement was soft, and relaxing, with an apparently French Chanteuse and her smoky throaty blues heavy songs with just the right streak of anger and hope mixed in. This was a late night laid back show, with no pret By Eric Page • 2 min read
Union J Arts Manchester Pride add to their ‘Big Weekend’ lineup of stars DJ Fresh, Andy Butler (Hercules and Love Affair) and Union J will all join the multi-million selling, multi-platinum, band Texas as part of the line up for the charity’s Big Weekend event that will take place over the August bank holiday weekend. DJ Fresh, aka English record producer and DJ Daniel S By Besi • 2 min read
Arts MUSIC REVIEW: I Got Rhythm: Actually Gay Men’s Chorus The Actually Gay Men’s Chorus returned to top form with a beautifully staged show I Got Rhythm, at St Andrews Church in Hove on Saturday, April 18. The church was packed, with standing room only and graced by the attendance of the Mayor and Mayoress of Brighton and Hove, Cllr Brian Fitch and his wif By Besi • 3 min read
Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus Arts Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus welcomes new members Brighton Gay Men’s Chorus will be holding a New Members’ Evening on Tuesday, May 5 2015, from 7:00pm at the Brighton Unitarian Church, New Road, Brighton. The New Members’ Evening will be combined with a regular rehearsal, so if you’re interested to know what it’s like being in the Chorus and meet t By Besi • 2 min read
General News X Factor auditions come to Brighton Have you got the X-factor? Auditions for next series will be held at Brighton’s Churchill Square shopping centre. IF you fancy yourself as the new One Direction, Little Mix, Olly Murs or last year’s winner Ben Haenow, now is your chance! Churchill Square Shopping Centre in Brighton will be holding a By Besi • 2 min read
Arts LGBT Choir Festival receives funding boost The Hand In Hand LGBT Choir Festival, taking place this summer from June 12-14, has received a huge boost in national recognition. Firstly, the National Lottery’s Big Lottery Fund agreed to provide a significant grant to support the event. Shortly afterward, Co-Operative Funeralcare agreed to get on By Besi • 2 min read
