Review of Lightning Strikes, a concert at London’s ICA in which Joey Arias and Kristian Hoffman pay tribute to their late collaborator Klaus Nomi, and keep a particular flame of queer culture alive
Uncover Her Face – 1950s London’s secret queer and trans lives
Sexual intercourse, as Philip Larkin famously noted, began in 1963, “Between the end of the ‘Chatterley’ ban / And the Beatles’ first LP”. By those lights – the ones that take something’s beginning as being the point at which its reality broke undeniably and irreversibly into all levels of public consciousness – queerness began a few years […]
The Worst of Scottee Q&A for Run Riot
I did a quick Q&A with Scottee about his solo show, The Worst of Scottee, for Run Riot. I reviewed the show in Edinburgh last year (read the review here) and thought it was extremely interesting. In the Q&A, he says he doesn’t want to do a show that’s him wanking into a mirror. Fair […]
Cabaret article in the Guardian
Just a quick heads-up about a piece I did for the Guardian online earlier this week about the adaptive possibilities of cabaret compared to more conventional theatre models – special forces rather than regular army, if you like. Here’s the opening: Dripping with rococo ornamentation and covered in mirrors, the Café Royal’s Grill Room in […]
Review: Mat Fraser – Cabinet of Curiosities: How Disability Was Kept in a Box
Review of a galvanising and heartbreaking performance lecture by Mat Frasier at the Science Museum about the historical representation of disability in museums
‘What better role model to put out on the streets?’ Street artist Pegasus brings Tom Daley to the RVT
Not that we needed one, but there’s a whole new reason to love the Royal Vauxhall Tavern: a life-size street-art stencil of Britain’s fave Olympic medalist/smiley twink/Speedo-model/same-sex-love poster boy, Tom Daley, brandishing a groin-level declaration that ‘All We Need Is Love’, complete with rainbow-hued love-heart. Created on Friday (January 17, 2014) by street artist Pegasus, the […]
Booze, prudes, bullets and bears – ‘Music Hall in London’ exhibition at the Barbican
I do love a bit of music hall. It’s a form that’s often seen as a bit cheesy – those nudge-nudge euphemisms and all those Victorian collars and frills – but there’s so much to cherish in its rampantly eclectic line-ups of disparate talents, beautiful spaces and assured audience rapport. (That side of things […]
Review: Exposed – Beyond Burlesque
This is my review from the January 2014 issue of Sight & Sound of Beth B’s documentary Exposed: Beyond Burlesque, about the NYC alt performance and burlesque scene. It features Bambi the Mermaid, Bunny Love, Dirty Martini, Julie Atlas Muz, Mat Fraser, Rose Wood, Tigger! and World Famous *BOB* and plays at the ICA […]
Review: Carole J Bufford – Body & Soul, The Crazy Coqs
To the Crazy Coqs in Piccadilly last night to catch the international debut of Carole J. Bufford, a young American songbook performer who hadn’t even left the US before this week. Under artistic director Ruth Leon, Crazy Coqs has rapidly established itself as arguably London’s leading showcase for classical cabaret acts from the States, and as […]
Review: Fascinating Aida – Charm Offensive, Southbank Centre
When you’ve been around for a while, you pick up some moves. Now into their fourth decade of performance, musical comedy trio Fascinating Aïda demonstrate many a nifty turn in their latest run, Charm Offensive, which plays at the Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall until January 10, following a national tour. Funny, clever and unexpectedly […]
