Explorations of intimate queer relationships by 48 LGBTQIA+ artists are currently on show at a two-part New York exhibition at Lehman College Art Gallery in the Bronx and La MaMa Galleria in Lower Manhattan. Queer Love: Affection & Romance in Contemporary Art presents paintings, photographs, sculpture, video, and multimedia works that celebrate queer carnality, camaraderie,... Continue Reading →
Film Review: Of An Age ★★★★★
Writer-director Goran Stolevski's achingly romantic Of An Age opened Sydney's 30th Mardi Gras Film Festival last night ahead of its US theatrical release on Friday, February 17th. Set in Melbourne's northern suburbs in the summer of 1999, the film quickly establishes a riveting, frenetic pace as high school senior Nikola “Kol” Denić (Elias Anton) receives... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: filmmaker Carter Smith on his queer horror Swallowed “I wanted to put the male body front & centre”
Queer filmmaker Cater Smith grew up in rural Maine, launching his photography career in New York aged just 17, going on to shoot some of the world's most famous faces for the likes of W, Vogue, i-D, and GQ. His 2006 debut short as writer and director, Bugcrush, won the Grand Jury Prize at Sundance... Continue Reading →
Mardi Gras Film Festival 2023 Review: Elephant (Słoń) ★★★★
The autumnal landscape of southern Poland shines in writer-director Kamil Krawczycki’s new feature, Elephant (Słoń), adding fresh layers to the familiar tale of a rural young man discovering his sexuality in a homophobic town. Bartek (Jan Hrynkiewicz) works multiple jobs to support himself and his mother, looking after their farm animals by day and helping... Continue Reading →
Mardi Gras Film Festival 2023 Review: Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day? (Bashtaalak sa’at) ★★★
An experimental blend of film, poetry, song and more, Shall I Compare You to a Summer’s Day? (Bashtaalak sa'at) is an art piece that defies linear narrative or easy interpretation. We may start with a play on Shakespeare, but where we’ll end up…well, that's anyone’s guess. Egyptian filmmaker Mohammad Shawky Hassan has given us a... Continue Reading →
Book Review: A Boy’s Own Story The Graphic Novel ★★★★
Eighties gay-lit classic, A Boy’s Own Story by Edmund White, has been adapted into a gorgeous graphic novel by Michael Carroll, Brian Alessandro, and Igor Karash, that manages to streamline the original book and strike at the heart of White’s autobiographical breakthrough. Opening in the American midwest of the 1950s and jumping forward through time... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: Tylwyth (Sherman Theatre, Cardiff) ★★★★
Tylwyth revisits the group of characters first seen ten years ago in Sherman Associate Artist Daf James’ award-winning Llwyth. A theatrical sequel, yes, but one where if you’re new to the characters, you won’t feel lost. If you are familiar with the previous play though, you’ll be rewarded with plenty of enjoyable nuggets and references.... Continue Reading →
Book Review: Gay Man Talking – All the Conversations We Never Had by Daniel Harding ★★★1/2
Growing up queer can be an isolating experience. Many of us are shaped by the way that we retreated from the world while we figured things out, or by the way we faked it till we made it to who we really are. UK journalist Daniel Harding has looked back at these gaps in his... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: Become The One (Riverside Theatre, Sydney) ★★★★
With footballers like Australia's Josh Cavallo and the UK's Jake Daniels bravely coming out, the timing of the return run of Adam Fawcett’s 2019 play Become The One couldn’t be better. How does a relationship work when one of you stays in the closet? What’s the impact on your other relationships? How long can it... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Netflix Is A Joke stand-up star Matteo Lane “I’m just talking about what I like & if it happens to be super gay, good!”
Fluent in five languages, with a singing range of six octaves, pinup good looks, and charisma for days, Matteo Lane is already a gay hearthrob (as a quick glance at his Instagram will confirm) and fast becoming a New York stand-up comedy institution, regularly performing at the legendary Comedy Cellar in the West Village. Before... Continue Reading →