Featured Post

More sex and violence: Playfight @sohotheatre

Image
The funny thing about three girls growing up under a tree is that you never quite know when they're being serious or just messing about. One time, they might be talking about giving blow jobs on a tennis court at school and another, they might be yearning for a connection that they can't quite explain. That's what happens in Playfight, an Edinburgh Fringe Festival 2024 hit currently showing at Soho Theatre .  Writer Julia Grogan doesn't give us much time to dwell on the lives of these three young teenage girls. One minute, they're fifteen and giggling, and then the next thing, they're off getting married or going to University. But underneath all the smutty talk, humour, and quick scene changes, there is a darker underbelly about relationships, power, and consent. It's about finding your way in a complex world that can dehumanise and degrade you. But as things move so quickly, you could blink and miss it. This is too bad as the performances capturing this co...

Movies: No Country For Old Men


no_country_for_old_men, originally uploaded by Sky-Hunter.

My friend Adam decided to see No Country For Old Men without me saying that watching it me would be an awful experience as I would be gasping for air and yelling out "fuck" all the time in the theatre. Well I really do get carried away with what gets put up on the big screen so I couldn't blame him. So instead I caught the film with Mandy, who doesn't mind my quirks in the theatre as much as she likes to munch on the noisiest snacks you can buy at the candy bar. Tonight it was chilli flavoured rice snacks.

Anyway, both of us had long stressful days so nothing like an intensive taught thriller about a sociopath with a cattlegun to ease your nerves... Half way through the film Mandy hissed at me to be quiet because my deep breathing was disturbing her. Mind you, she had pulled her sweater almost over her head to avoid some scenes. It wasn't that it was particularly gruesome... But it was a particularly intense night out at the movies.

By the end of it we couldn't work out what the hell had happened. But I was somewhat relieved to find that I am not alone. Actually I was confused at many parts of the film. Following the plot of a movie isn't one of my strong points and I kept getting distracted by all sorts of things including wondering what was the motivation was behind Josh Brolin's moustache. Still this is a brilliant film that had Mandy and I re-enacting the "heads or tails" scenes on our way to the bar which went something like this:
Paul: Call it! Heads or tails bitch!
Mandy: No you're gonna make the decision anyway!
Paul: Oh whatever now do you Merlot or Pinot Grigio?
Bar lady: Well actually we're out of Merlot...
Well that's fate and chance for you...

Popular posts from this blog

Opera and full frontal nudity: Rigoletto

Image
David McVicar's oddly modern production of Rigoletto is back at the Royal Opera House . This modern and minimalist dark production has evolved over the years. It is better lit now but there is still an orgy and full frontal nudity within the first thirty minutes. This enables anyone not in the stalls an excellent view of a flaccid penis and a nicely shaved bush. But as time goes it seems more and more superfluous to the main focus of this tragedy of a court jester who seeks revenge. Here is hoping that the production continues to evolve... Conductor John Eliot Gardiner keeps the music well paced. Dimitri Platanias in the title role sounded great and received a rapturous applause for his interpretation of the role. You get a sense more of the doting father rather than the court jester or cursed man here. Vittorio Grigolo plays the Duke and sounds too lovely to be the cad the role calls for, but it is hard not to like when he is on stage anyway. And it is easier to understan...
Read more...

Fantasies: Afterglow @Swkplay

Image
Nowadays no self-respecting gay play can be staged without full frontal nudity of some kind. It feels like the default response for the modern gay play now that gay rights are no longer an issue .   Afterglow, currently playing at Southwark Playhouse , serves it up in spades. From the beginning, three men are in a bed, naked. There’s what appears to be a very brief exhalation of ecstasy, before the obligatory rush to the shower. But the gratuitous nudity and excellent performances can’t conceal this is a pretty conventional and predictable story about a fantasy couple.  The three men in the simultaneous orgasm at the start of the piece are Josh, Alex and Darius. Josh and Alex seem to live in a New York world where they can afford a rooftop apartment in Manhattan while holding jobs as a theatre director and a grad student in chemistry. As writer S. Asher Gelman based it on his own experiences, perhaps gay plays with full frontal nudity are the way to achieve financial ...
Read more...

Play ball: Damn Yankees @LandorTheatre

Image
Damn Yankees at the Landor Theatre is one hell of a fun, sexy show. A great cast of dancers and singers give this show about a man who sells his soul to get on his beloved baseball team (and give them a chance of winning) new legs and balls. It also helps to up the ante with the sexiness with some healthy doses of cleavage and legs (and that's just the men). The musical is a retelling of the Faust story set in the 1950s when the New York Yankees dominated the game.
Read more...