Blog Archive
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2011
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April
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- Oklahoma Gets Official State Gospel Song
- Quote Of The Day - Peter Sprigg
- NOM Signs Up For Diaz Rally
- Tony Perkins: Gay Activists Are Terrorists
- HomoQuotable -Jimmy LaSalvia
- Spike in searches causes Google to suggest “James ...
- Remembering the Admiral Duncan bombing 12 years on
- Interview: Richard ‘Biff’ Stannard, the man with t...
- Atlanta Braves coach accused of anti-gay slurs
- New Mexico school bans all clubs after gay-straigh...
- Gay US politician abandons plan for gay marriage t...
- US Marines begin training to accept gay soldiers
- Anger over Tennessee’s ‘don’t say gay’ bill
- Elton John’s mother speaks about rift
- Gay man beaten in homophobic south London attack
- San Francisco’s legendary gay bookshop to close
- Moscow gay pride parade now uncertain
- Last known gay holocaust survivor to receive Franc...
- Pakistan allows trans men and women their own gend...
- Horses killed in Midwestern barn fire in apparent ...
- Cary Grant’s daughter claims her father ‘enjoyed b...
- Maddow: Gay Anchors Should Come Out
- GOP Praises Paul Clement, Disses King & Spalding O...
- Prop 8 Proponents Move To Vacate Judge Vaughn Walk...
- Levi Johnston Readies Palin Tell-All
- Tony Perkins On King & Spalding
- Marriage Protest At Buckingham Palace
- PhoboQuotable - William Gheen
- MARYLAND: Hundreds Attend Rally Against Anti-Trans...
- Andrew Sullivan On King & Spaulding
- Gay former governor of New Jersey has bid for ordi...
- Rapper receives death threats over ‘I’m Gay’ album...
- Lesbian newsreader says gay men and women have a ‘...
- HomoQuotable - Greg Quinlan
- FLORIDA: Anti-Gay Group Launches MTV Boycott Over ...
- GOP Sen. John Ensign To Resign
- NEW YORK: Sen. Ruben Diaz To Stage Massive Anti-Ga...
- Updated: Lesbian couple sue Brighton hotel
- Man, 18, arrested over east London anti-gay stickers
- Thousands could leave Church of Scotland over gay ...
- Tennessee Senate panel approves school gay ban bill
- Interview: Peter Tatchell on a lifetime of campaig...
- Gay marriage rally at Buckingham Palace
- Antony Cotton ‘proud’ of Corrie gay parents story
- Theatre review: The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg
- Kate Middleton ‘a lesbian icon’
- 15 charges for US student in gay suicide case
- Father ‘killed lesbian daughter’s girlfriend and h...
- Gay HIV study to look at daily prevention pill
- Jewish LGBT group celebrates Passover with inclusi...
- Another US poll finds majority support for gay mar...
- Malaysia’s gay cure camp sparks anger
- Four of five main Scottish parties promise action ...
- US student charged for lying about anti-gay attack
- Derren Brown reveals he went to ‘gay cure’ church
- London transgender conference cancelled after tran...
- Prince William and Kate Middleton urged to support...
- Malaysia sends 66 boys to gay cure camp
- Hungary approves new ‘anti-gay’ constitution
- Evan Rachel Wood comes out as bisexual
- Irish trans woman wins £30,000 for discrimination
- Facebook apologises for removing gay kiss photo
- Gay stable-boy sexually harassed female manager
- Stonewall Cymru holds hustings for Welsh Assembly ...
- Poet laureate Carol Ann Duffy composes royal weddi...
- Scottish Green Party leader tells of MSPs’ anti-ga...
- Gay men vote Nick Clegg ‘sexiest party leader’
- Facebook removes gay kiss photo for ‘being sexuall...
- Facebook removes gay kiss photo for ‘being sexuall...
- Brighton Pride announces ticket price concessions
- US study: Gay teen suicide risk higher in conserva...
- Basketball star Kobe Bryant fined $100,000 for ant...
- Photo Of The Day - Pink Thundersticks
- Frothy Mix To Glenn Beck: States Should Be Allowed...
- Hundreds protest outside John Snow pub that kicked...
- Bill could make gay history compulsory in Californ...
- Gay dads celebrate 21 years with plastic baby
- Soho pub closes to avoid gay kissing protest
- Rev Jesse Jackson denies harassing gay employee
- Drinker claims gay kissing couple were ‘over the top’
- Zimbabwean leader Robert Mugabe calls Britain ‘gay...
- HomoQuotable - Andrew Sullivan
- Family Research Council's Peter Sprigg Claims Pere...
- Kobe Bryant To Appeal "Faggot" Fine
- Quote Of The Day - Ben Cohen
- FLORIDA: Teabaggers To Host Trump
- The Verizon Guy Comes Out
- HIV charities surprised at gay blood ban reports
- Boy George: ‘Most gay men just want to fit in now’
- Gay soldier raises £4,000 for Stonewall
- Glee and Modern Family tie at GLAAD Media Awards
- EastEnders to have first gay civil partnership
- Lady Gaga tackles homophobic fan
- European parliament calls for special protection o...
- Gay blood donation ban to be lifted but only for m...
- Safe sex message for Attitude’s ‘naked issue’
- Academic who blamed fall of Roman Empire on gays u...
- Nepal’s gay MP: ‘Gandhi’s sexuality doesn’t matter’
- Newly-out gay MPs attend Stonewall Equality Dinner
- Gay man attacked at London cruising spot
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April
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Theatre review: The Umbrellas Of Cherbourg
Having never seen the 1964 French musical film of the same name, I came to The Umbrellas of Cherbourg at London’s Gielgud Theatre with fresh eyes.
The production is subtitled “a French romance that just happens to be sung”.
Arriving almost late, the stalls were already bustling with energy with cast members strolling around the audience, including some very cute sailors and the seductive Maîtresse, Meow Meow, draped over a piano. The music rose and soon this saucy award-winning cabaret performer was in full swing. Maîtresse weaves the story together, playing everything from hostess to prostitute – the humourous ‘Allo Allo’ vibe and warmth she provides is a relief from an otherwise rather intense production. Her song, in French, at the close of the first act is warm and moving, perfectly summing up all that has come before, even if you don’t understand a word.
The set itself is undoubtedly the star of the show, meticulously detailed and often strikingly beautiful. Delicate lights pepper the auditorium, with intricate model houses, retro neon lights and of course, a few colourful umbrellas on stage.
Like the film, the entire production (apart from Maîtresse’s introductions), is sung. From the most passionate affirmations of love, to the most trivial of small talk. In the original French (so I’m told) there is a rhyme and metre to this which is sadly lost in this Anglicised version. It can all be a bit too much at times, with the feeling that words are being sung, just because the medium demands that they have to be. This can be both tiring and tiresome to watch after a while, especially as a number of lines come across tunelessly blasé.
But with any song, there are points of high emotion and points that are dull. This song just happens to be a lot longer than most. However there are moments of great musical richness, especially from the captivating Cynthia Erivo (Madeleine), whose sparklingly resonant voice lights up the auditorium whenever she opens her mouth. Carly Bawden’s Genevieve comes across as pleasant, girly and sweet and is enjoyable to watch. Her mother, Madame Emery, is played by Joanna Riding with excellent skill that reveals a character with great depth and passion.
The central boy of this love story, Guy Foucher (Andrew Durand), is pleasant enough, but ultimately a bit shallow compared to the flurry of interesting female characters. He grows as a character throughout and is stronger and fully formed by the close.
When I saw that the elderly Aunt Elise was to be played by a man (Dominic Marsh), I was expecting some more ‘Allo Allo’ style humour, but Aunt Elise isn’t funny at all, nor tries to be. I was left wondering what the point was. There could have been a few more laughs throughout – I think I chuckled slightly only twice outside of Meow Meow’s intros.
Umbrellas isn’t your typical story of boy gets girl and they all live happily ever after. Twists and turns make it more a more real and believable story. This visually beautiful production, where it rains on stage and even snows in the end, is somewhat intense, at times hard work, but gripping, moving and thoroughly enjoyable theatre.