LGBT

Well done, Joe. Go, Clare. Naff off, AA Gill

July 31, 2010

Two stories about gay people in the media have made the front pages of the national newspapers today – and demonstrate generational differences in writers’ (and editors’ and readers’) attitudes to out gay people. The first revolved around BBC presenter Clare Balding, who via her Twitter account (@clarebalding1) has been documenting her correspondence with the […]

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A Life in Three Acts

February 10, 2010

Now aged 70, gay actor Bette Bourne, gloriously bedecked in what he terms his “Golders Green drag”, delivers an inspirational evening as he recounts stories from his life in response to gentle prodding from Mark Ravenhill. A condensed version of last year’s scripted conversations, originally spread over three nights, the structure does tend to hamstring […]

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Rauch on the realities of gay marriage in America

August 9, 2009

Having just been told, at 3 a.m., that his partner of three decades might die within hours, Mike Brittenback was told something else: Before rushing to Bill’s side, he needed to collect and bring with him documents proving his medical power of attorney. This indignity, unheard-of in the world of heterosexual marriage, is a commonplace […]

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Does the Daily Mail understand copyright law?

August 2, 2009

Earlier this week, my attention was drawn to a story on the Daily Mail’s website on the basis that it was unusual. And it is, for here’s a story about gay parents which makes no attempt to demonise them or suggest that the baby concerned is at risk in any way. For the Mail, that’s […]

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What’s Wrong With Angry?

July 17, 2009

When does a drama that’s written about contemporary issues stop being about now, and start to be nostalgic? And once it’s nostalgic, how long until we become so detached that it becomes a historical piece that can talk to us about how we live today? The answers to both questions are, of course, somewhat fluid, […]

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La Cage aux Folles, Playhouse

May 12, 2009

No matter how brash, how funny, how camp La Cage aux Folles gets - and it is frequently all three at once - it is at its best in the moments of quiet, defined as they are by the freneticism that surround them. Philip Quast, returning to the role of Georges that he held in […]

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A five year anniversary, and a milestone to boot

February 2, 2009

It’s sobering to think that it’ll be five years ago next week that I won an award for political blogging. That website, thegayvote.co.uk, fell out of my control when I left PlanetOut UK, who owned the domain. And when the UK office closed down shortly afterwards, the registration lapsed and got snapped up by a […]

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Gates of Gold

November 24, 2006

Reviewed for The Stage Trafalgar Studios 2, London Author: Frank McGuinness Director: Gavin McAlinden Producer: Charm Offensive Cast: William Gaunt, Paul Freeman, Michelle Fairley, Josie Kidd, Ben Lambert Running time: 1hr 25mins (no interval) It is somehow appropriate that in presenting a fictionalised version of Irish theatrical couple Hilton Edwards and Michael MacLiammoir, Frank McGuinness […]

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Beautiful Thing

August 3, 2006

This review first appeared in the August 3, 2006 issue of The Stage July 19-September 9 Author: Jonathan Harvey Director: Tony Frow Producer: NML Productions Cast: Jonathan Bailey, Gavin Brocker, Steven Meo, Carli Norris, Michelle Terry Running time: 1hr 40mins Jonathan Harvey’s urban gay fairytale remains his best and funniest theatrical work to date and […]

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Two broadcasters who get it about the gay thing

June 8, 2006

After all the Moyles business, it’s nice to see two broadcasters (both straight) who get it. First off, Andrew Collins: But if it is expected to use gay as an insult, aren’t we just ever so slightly sliding backwards, semantically speaking? What if the word “black” became twisted in the playground to mean “rubbish” and […]

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The BBC Governors are spastics

June 6, 2006

Does the headline of this post offend you? It should. It’s insulting not only to the subjects (the BBC Board of Governors), but to a whole section of the population. It’s an insult that was prevalent in the school playgrounds that I grew up in, but that’s no excuse. Quite rightly, if anybody bandied such […]

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What does Denise Pfeiffer know?

December 9, 2005

At the beginning of this week, there were a spate of letters in the Guardian on the subject of civil partnerships. One of them nearly prompted me to writein response, and the only reason I didn’t was that a previous letter of mine on the same subject was printed just a couple of months ago. […]

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Civil partnerships: the fight’s not over

June 30, 2003

A plain language summary of the issues contained within the Government’s white paper on civil partnerships for same-sex partners. The consultation paper went on to form the basis of the Civil Partnerships Act, which came into law in 2005. Written for Gay.com UK.

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Ta-ra Tara, hello homophobia?

May 8, 2003

After the producers of cult TV hit Buffy The Vampire Slayer killed off a recurring character who was also an out lesbian, this article examined the accusations of homophobia aimed at a show which was historically regarded as being gay-friendly. Written for Gay.com UK.

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The Laramie Project: Death of an American icon

March 14, 2003

Review of the stage play about the death of Matthew Shepard, performed at the Cochrane Theatre in March 2003. Written for Gay.com UK.

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To boldly come out?

February 6, 2003

For a television series and multi-million dollar movie franchise that loves to wear its liberal agenda on its sleeve, Star Trek has not been well known for covering gay issues. Indeed, on the few occasions in the past when it has approached the edge, it has done so in such a ham-fisted manner that it’s […]

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A Dangerous Thing, by Josh Lanyon

July 23, 2002

Originally published on Gay.com UK A group of university archaeologists are camped out in a Californian forest. One of the team, of Native American descent, is convinced the place is haunted - and the weird nighttime sounds that are spooking them all out are slowly convincing the rest of them. It sounds more like the […]

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The Ropemaker’s Daughter, by Virginia Smith

June 17, 2002

Originally written for Gay.com UK We’ve all told little white lies on a first date. First impressions matter, we’re always being told, so it pays to come across as interesting as possible. A little hint of thrill in one’s job here, a dark secret in a slightly-murky-but-not-threateningly-so past there. After all, if the relationship doesn’t […]

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The Sacrifice, by Gordon Linton

June 13, 2002

Originally written for Gay.com UK Anybody who’s grown up gay in a small village will know how important it can suddenly become when you meet someone like you; someone who shares your secret. Greg Chaley, the hero of new novel The Sacrifice, finds out when he meets Kit, in his school choir. Two years older […]

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A kiss is just a kiss – or is it?

February 25, 2002

Suddenly, everybody wants to get into the same-sex kissing market, it seems. Started by the two policemen in the Bill, who gave new meaning to the term “bent coppers”, now the BBC is getting in on the act with a storyline that features in both Casualty and its midweek sister soap, Holby City. In both […]

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Diary of a PWA

October 26, 2001

We have become somewhat inured of late to the phenomenon of newspaper columnists detailing the minutiae of life under the shadow of a terminal illness. The Observer’s Ruth Picardie and The Times’ John Diamond both arguably became more famous as cancer sufferers than they ever had been as the accomplished journalists they already were. There […]

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New Boy, Pleasance Theatre, Islington

February 16, 2001

When adapting any book for the stage, the original writer’s work, more often than not, gets diluted. Not so with New Boy. Director Russell Labey has adapted William Sutcliffe’s first novel faithfully, which unfortunately means that the novel’s flaws are magnified in front of an audience. Sixth former Mark (Neil Henry) is drawn into a […]

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