With regressive politicians in the United States seeking to implement legislation targeting queer and especially trans youth, including bans on gender affirming health care, participation in sport, bathroom use, book bans, and even forbidding the mention of the words "gay or trans" in schools, the loud voices of bigoted adults often overpower the kids themselves.... Continue Reading →
The 48th Toronto International Film Festival (TIFF) opens on Thursday, September 7th with the international premiere of Oscar-winning director Hayao Miyazaki's animated epic The Boy and the Heron (Kimitachi wa Do Ikiruka) and comes to a close on Sunday, September 17th with the world premiere of Thom Zimny's Sylvester Stallone documentary Sly, exploring the close... Continue Reading →
Written and performed by Michael Trauffer, Fabulett 1933 invites the audience to join him in a pre-war Berin cabaret club. A vital exploration of queer history, this is an important piece, created and presented with sincerity and heart. Michael Trauffer in Fabulett 1933. Photo credit: Georgina Bolton King. Starting with some archival footage, and introduced... Continue Reading →
Following the Qatar World Cup controversy and the recognition finally being given to the Women's game, Pitch is a well-timed and necessary play about the queer community's relationship to football. Elizabeth Hope, Eleanor Rattenbury, Meg Lewis, Ethan Pascal Peters and Elijah Harris in Pitch. Photo Credit: David Monteith-Hodge. If there is one area that homophobia... Continue Reading →
A gentle, lyrical piece that highlights the importance of magic and hope in today's world. Celeste Lecesne in Poof! Photo credit: Andrew Moore. Expertly performed by Celeste Lecesne, LGBTQ+ activist and co-founder of the Trevor Project, Poof! is a monolgue play with songs, written by V (formerly Eve Ensler). The piece has a lot of... Continue Reading →
Maria Telnikoff's heartfelt one-woman show encourages the audience to look at the trans experience from a different perspective. Funny, thoughtful and sincere, this play draws on real-life experience and challenges the heteronormative. Maria Telnikoff in My Dad Wears a Dress. Photo credit: Caitlin Van Bommel. Written and performed by Telnikoff, it is clear that our... Continue Reading →
In a world currently having a Barbie moment, the striking opening image of Frankie Thompson as Barbie and Liv Ello as Ken feels supremely topical. Even more current, however, is this sharp and vital exploration of gender constraints and obsession with body image. Frankie Thompson and Liv Ello in Body Show. Following on from their... Continue Reading →
As the second season of hit series Heartstopper based on Alice Oseman's bestselling graphic novels launches globally on Netflix this week, The Queer Review's editor James Kleinmann speaks exclusively with its BAFTA-winning director Euros Lyn. In the opening episode, we're reunited with new boyfriends in the midst of first love, Charlie (Joe Locke) and Nick... Continue Reading →
Filmmaker D. Smith's raw, provocative, and funny documentary, Kokomo City, that centres the stories of four captivating Black transgender women, in their own words, won both the NEXT Innovator Award and NEXT Audience Award when it world premiered at this year's Sundance Film Festival. It went on to win the Audience Award in the Panorama... Continue Reading →
If you're the kind of person who reads film reviews, the chances are that there has been a time in your life when a specific movie has become an all-consuming obsession, a movie that you've returned to so frequently that it's become like an old familiar friend to take comfort in. If you're queer, trans,... Continue Reading →
