Alexander Vantournhout : a raw performance piece

Belgian acrobat and dancer Alexander Vantournhout is bringing his contemporary performance piece Aneckxxander to the UK for the first time. It is a solo show which questions the reduction of identity to physical characteristics which he performs completely naked.  He told 'Gay Times' "I work with my disproportions _ two short legs, two short arms, and a long neck - and I'll give a creative answer to this reduction of identity, of being reduced to those physical characteristics.  It evidently paints a fine line between comedy and tragedy.

The 26 year-old performer worked with Bauke Lievens a dramaturg a lecturer at the KASK School of Arts in Ghent to develop this very powerful and prize-winning piece which he will be performing at Jacksons Lane multi-cultural arts centre in North London from January 22nd - 24th as part of the International Mime Festival.

                                                            all photos by Bart Grietens

Tickets and information from http://www.jacksonslane.org.uk

http://alexandervantournhout.be/

Naked Boys Reading : Character Studies

Naked Boys Reading are back.  This Thursday November 26th, as part of Fringe! Queer Film & Arts Festival in London's East End, they are presenting a filmic character study, that they promise will be like no other.

Hosted by La John Joseph who will curate a hosts of texts that will deconstruct the notion of 'personality' which will all be read by some live, nude and very 'personable' men. 

Naked Boys Reading is produced by the Haus of Husbands, began in 2012 at Vogue Fabrics. Dalston.  It has since grown to an international touring performance with three resident sites. What they offer is a literary salon featuring in-the-buff readings by local beefcakes, bears, twinks, otters, butch femmes, sissy sluts, boys next door with an exhibitionist streak and lovers of naturism with a well-endowed library.

All photographs by  Zbigniew Tomasz Kotkiewicz,

Tickets and information from http://fringefilmfest.com/

.

(Complacent Present) .... Fragile Future

The annual GFEST - Gaywise FESTival has always been one of our favorite LGBTQI events in London.  This year although so many of us in our community are enjoying more tolerance and acceptance than any other time in our history as Laws are changed and opinions alter, there is a whole part of the world where,  for just being queer, people still face unimaginable horrors, and even death.  So the GFEST quite rightly acknowledges that with this year's theme (Complacent Present) .... Fragile Future

From 9th November - 21st November they have an exhilarating and packed schedule that covers Visual Arts, Performance and Film. As is our wont, we have taken a look at just the cinematic program which, as always, is made up of some extremely original and highly individual films.

The Surface is a first full-length feature from Michael J Saul, and is a well-intentioned wee drama about a young gay man's search for some sort of family, but be warned it does move at such a laconic pace that its actually tough to keep being invested in its outcome at times.

We actually preferred the rather superb and wildly eclectic selection of shorts which includes Unconditional by actor turned director Kent Igleheart and which is a touching story of Bradley a black gay teenager who is literally thrown out on to the streets of Atlanta one cold Thanksgiving Day by his deeply religious family who refuse to accept his sexuality. It's a known fact that kids like him have 48 hours in these situations before they start the spiral downhill.   The question is, will Bradley manage to survive and come through?  

Rule of Thumb  from Israeli filmmaker Almog Gurevich tackles an aspect of gay life that is rarely talked about.  It is the story of a young man who moves out of his parent's home to navigate his new found sexual freedom in Tel Aviv's gay scene.  Life however is not so great on his own as his struggle with bulimia starts to ruin everything for him.

Nerdesin Askim? (Where Are You My Love?) is a tragic tale that reflects how tough life still is for transgenders in Turkey which has one the highest hate crime records against LGBT people in the whole of Europe.

Polari is a fascinating and funny movie from filmmakers Brian Fairbairn and Karl Eccleston about this old-fashioned form of English slang that was first used at the beginning of the last century by fairground and circus people, prostitutes, beggars and other outsiders. It was later picked up gay actors and chorus boys and became a part of the London gay scene in the days when homosexuality was still a crime in the early 1960's.

For information, venues and tickets http://www.gaywisefestival.org.uk/

Cinderella Wants You To Go To The Ball

Company XIV have just announced their 2015/2016 Off-Broadway Season which includes two World Premieres  : Cinderella (September 22 - November 15) and Snow White (January 26 - March 12)  plus the return of their smash hit holiday show Nutcracker Rouge (November 24 - January 17th). The reason they are billed as 'adult only' shows is that they are sensual and erotic productions that feature XIV's unique blend of live opera, circus, burlesque, vaudeville, baroque dance, gender-bending, over the top costuming and sumptous design

The Company continues to garner critical accalim. The NY Times called Artistic Director Austin  McCormick’s work as  “inventive and brainy, a high-entertainment mix of music-hall, cabaret, theater and dance” and added that Nutcracker Rouge was "dazzling and genius".   It was also a Critics Choice for Time Out NY, and NY Magazine.  

If you never heard of Company XIV and their glorious and stunning productions before (!) then check out this 'Meet The Theatre' video, as you will be sorry if you miss out.

For information and to book tickets, click HERE