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
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
Arts REVIEW: Hairspray @ Theatre Royal Brighton With its celebration of uniqueness and community strength, Hairspray is not just a musical – it’s a high energy showstopper By Eric Page • 3 min read
Theatre THE MAD GAY KING: A queer retelling of the life and love of one of history’s most scandalous kings makes its debut in London The Mad Gay King is a modern retelling of the life and love of King Ludwig II of Bavaria, a decadent 19th century monarch who funded the operas of Richard Wagner, built a flight of fairy tale castles, and was ultimately deposed by his conservative government on the grounds of homosexual insanity. Th By Graham Robson • 3 min read
(c) Alex Brenner Musical Theatre ‘Fizzing, fiery…’ Breach Theatre’s AFTER THE ACT at Brighton Dome is the story of Thatcher’s Section 28 and how a moral panic gripped a nation Thatcher’s Section 28, which banned the ‘promotion’ of homosexuality in schools, was the landmark legislation that silenced a generation, offered a global blueprint for LGBTQ+ oppression and galvanised a movement. Showing at Brighton Dome in November, After the Act: A Section 28 Musical is funny, ca By Graham Robson • 1 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 Simply Divine: We speak to Jonny Woo ahead of his new show, ‘Antony and Cleopatra: A Dream Of Passion’ If a film is made of the life of Jonny Woo – and it should be – the only person who could play this dancer, drag artist, poet, actor, writer, DJ and night club owner is: Jonny Woo. If he is a diamond of a performer, it’s because all the rough edges have been polished […] By Brian Butler • 4 min read
Comedy Juno Birch crash lands into Soho Theatre from 4 – 16 November with brand new stand-up comedy show, ‘Probed’ Juno Birch, the hilariously outlandish blue alien who’d love nothing more than to speak to the manager of Earth, crash lands into Soho Theatre from 4 – 16 November and probes the absurdity of life on Earth in her brand new stand-up comedy show Probed. Expect jumbo hair, jarring fashion and hysterica By Graham Robson • 2 min read
Theatre Queer theatre round-up: From a gender swapping Cleopatra to Chuck Sweeney as Peggy Lee and a tiny queer bar in Canary Wharf My latest show round up includes a gender swapping Cleopatra, recreations of Barbra, Liza, and Peggy, and a record-breaking Phantom unmasked. Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss – creators of the phenomenal SIX: The Musical – are sure to make history again with their new musical, Why Am I So Single?, which ra By Brian Butler • 4 min read
