Arts REVIEW: Out of Order@Theatre Royal Ray Cooney’s 1990 comedy is standard issue farce: it’s basically ladies in negligees being shoved into cupboards. Not that there’s anything intrinsically wrong with this, it’s just that Out of Order doesn’t have the charm of a Boeing Boeing, the wit of a Relatively Speaking or the genius plotting of By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: Sunny Afternoon@Theatre Royal Due to my confusion over ‘60s summertime hits I had the vague idea this was a musical celebrating the life and work of Mungo Jerry. Luckily it turns out that Sunny Afternoon is actually based on the far superior back catalogue of the Kinks. By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: Relatively Speaking: Theatre Royal Alan Ayckbourn’s 1967 play takes a deceptively simple idea, stretches to what seems like breaking point, and then incredibly takes it further. By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
Arts REVIEW: Brighton Festival: Stella Neil Bartlett’s two-hander (technically a three-hander) is a complex meditation on gender and identity. It’s based on the life of Victorian cross-dresser Stella (born Ernest) Boulton who survived a scandalous court case and went on to have a successful career as a female impersonator. By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
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: 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 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
Arts FILM REVIEW: The Way He Looks Daniel Ribeiro’s film, based on his earlier short, is a bright, sunny coming-of-age drama. In a Q+A session after the screening the director said that one of the motivations behind making his movie was to empower the gay children who would see it. This is laudable, and absolutely makes for a great t By Michael Hootman • 2 min read
