A dynamic exploration of faith, sexuality and addiction, Sadiq Ali's The Chosen Haram is a beautiful, affecting piece of physical theatre. Powerful, strong and sensual work that both challenges and entertains. Hauk Pattison and Sadiq Ali. Photo credit: Glen McCarty. Drawing on Ali’s personal experiences, and interviews with members of the LGBTQ+ community who identify... Continue Reading →
“Everything is about sex. Except sex, which is about power”—the quote, apocryphally attributed to Oscar Wilde—sums up much of the machinations at the heart of Neil Blackmore’s brilliant The Dangerous Kingdom of Love, a thrilling retelling of the later years of Francis Bacon’s life with the seductive frisson of Choderlos de Laclos’ Les Liaisons Dangereuses... Continue Reading →
The gap between real support and performative allyship—the lurking fear that beneath the flag waving veneer of equality hides something untrustworthy, the thought that when push comes to shove straight people may not really have our backs—is the starting point for Matthew Clark Davison’s debut novel, Doubting Thomas. Thomas is an openly gay fourth grade... Continue Reading →
As writer Russell T. Davies' (Queer As Folk) new 1980s London set drama series It's A Sin opens we're briskly introduced to five young characters, with a skilful immediacy that's instantly involving. Small town boy, 18 year-old Ritchie (Years & Years frontman Olly Alexander), is leaving the sleepy conservative seclusion of the Isle of Wight... Continue Reading →
My boyfriend has been briefed; he’ll be eating alone tonight whilst I scoff Notes On A Conditional Form, a whopping 22 tracks, in the bedroom. He retreats with a wry smile, well-accustomed to these rituals. Listening to The 1975 threatens to conjure my seventeen-year-old self. They’re a band who try on genres like clothes, playfight... Continue Reading →
The 1975's bombastic self-isolation anthem Is it a bird? Is it a plane? The flaming fist of a vengeful deity? Perhaps a fleet of morbidly fascinated aliens back (with space snacks) for the next episode in Earth’s tragic mini-series? Trick question. It’s pop polymorphs, The 1975, digitally descending from the cloud to bless our weary... Continue Reading →
It’s hard to picture Isaac Dunbar, Gen Z’s dazzling alt-pop ascendant, juxtaposed against the quaint promontory of Cape Cod, Massachusetts, but that’s exactly where he is right now, self-isolating in his family’s New England home. For context; I’ve just watched the music video for makeup drawer where every pore of Dunbar shimmers silver and, later, a tiered... Continue Reading →
Do you remember your first time? Nathaniel Hall certainly does, and finally, he is willing to share it all.
