The prestigious celebration of West End theatre, the Olivier Awards, took place at London's Palladium yesterday. Well, sort of. As with much of theatre this year, the Oliviers were an odd mix of the live and not-quite-live. Some awards had already been given out, with the winners sworn to secrecy, and the full ceremony streamed... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: Circle Jerk ★★★★
Michael Breslin and Patrick Foley's frequently hilarious high camp queer absurdist dark comedy Circle Jerk is very 2020. It's confronting, chaotic, unrelenting, far-fetched, deranged, and overstimulating. The theatrical equivalent of spending 100 minutes or so multi-screen doom scrolling yourself down a wormhole of alt right conspiracy theory threads punctuated with viral TikTok lip sync videos... Continue Reading →
Reflections on the 2020 Tony nominations while Broadway remains dark
The 2020 Tony award nominations were announced this week, and in what is perhaps the most 2020 of theatrical metaphors, nobody actually knows when the winners will be announced. Much like the uncertain future of Broadway theatres, which will remain closed through May 30th 2021. The belated nominations announcement, which should of course have happened... Continue Reading →
Outfest 2020 Film Review: Minyan ★★★★
A gay Brooklyn teenager (The Inheritance’s Samuel H. Levine) charts his own sexual awakening and the complexities of his Russian Jewish family in documentarian Eric Steel’s narrative debut Minyan. The work of James Baldwin is certainly in the zeitgeist again as, much like Tomasz Jedrowski's brilliant debut novel Swimming in the Dark, Giovanni’s Room provides... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: creative & fashion director Sam Ratelle “I’m excited for where the future of menswear is going”
Hailed by Vogue as “the most fabulous entrance in Met Gala history”, in May last year Billy Porter was carried on to the pink carpet by six shirtless Broadway hunks on a palanquin dressed as Cleopatra in a dazzling gold ensemble designed by The Blonds. Just three months earlier, Porter had shut down the red... Continue Reading →
The Living Room where it happens – film of Hamilton original Broadway production opens on Disney+ July 3rd
With the Great White Way deserted and shuttered since March 11th, and no official reopening date yet decided, yesterday the Broadway League announced theatres are now offering refunds and exchanges for tickets purchased for performances through September 6th 2020. There was better news however for theatregoers around the world from Disney, who will fast track... Continue Reading →
Let’s go online with show! Patti LuPone & John Malkovich star in David’s Mamet’s November to support the Actors Fund
Tonight on Broadway the doors may still be shuttered and the lights dimmed, but Broadway’s Best Shows is going on(line) with show. Launching today at 8pm EST/5pm PST, the weekly one-night-only “Spotlight On Plays” series will benefit The Actors Fund. The first play is David Mamet’s November starring John Malkovich, Patti LuPone, Dylan Baker, Ethan Phillips and Michael... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Drew Droege on his new one man show Happy Birthday Doug “I think we’re afraid as queer people to write flawed gay characters”
The Groundlings and Upright Citizens Brigade alum Drew Droege is a much-beloved fixture of Los Angeles' comedy theatre scene. Outside of LA he's best known for setting the Internet alight with his hilarious Chloë Sevigny videos, which give Schitt's Creek Moira Rose a run for her money on how to pronounce the simplest of words... Continue Reading →
Theatre Review: V&V (Vault Festival, London) ★★★1/2
Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf? When you go to see a play about the famed writer you really don't expect to be laughing at bad sexting and awkward nudes! V&V, an entertaining new two-hander currently playing at The Vaults in London, juxtaposes the literary love affair of Woolf and socialite Vita Sackville-West with the modern... Continue Reading →
Exclusive Interview: Coop writer & director Sam Max “the play comes out of a profound sense of isolation, particularly as a queer person”
Playwright Sam Max's Coop, which they also direct, opened Off-Off-Broadway last week at the Paradise Factory in the East Village. Produced by a queer and femme led creative team, the impactful new play stars Latinx, transmasculine actor Lio Mehiel as Avery, a girl who has been isolated from the world and kept in a rigidly... Continue Reading →