5 Guys Chillin’ (Theatre)
There’s a chemsex party taking place at the King’s Head Theatre. No, it’s not an actual party – It’s the returning show 5 Guys Chillin’.
In the comforts of the living room of J (David Palmstrom) and M (George Fletcher), them and three other guys (actually men) are enjoying each other as well as the drugs on the table in order to experience the highs, and in some cases, the lows, of what gay men (not all gay men) are getting into nowadays; drugs and sex and more drugs and in some cases unsafe sex in private house parties.
B (Gareth Watkins) and R (Tom Ratcliffe) are a bit of an unmatched couple; R is very young but not so innocent, while muscular big daddy B is experienced and likes it any which way and loose. And the last one to arrive at the party is Pakistani PJ (George Bull). He’s a bit unsure as to why he’s there, but slowly gets into the action. But he’s got a story to tell the other guys; he’s actually married with a young child because it’s what is expected in his culture. Besides him, all the guys have stories to tell; B’s story is particularly vivid as he recounts the time he was spit roast in Berlin where sexual diseases were not discussed. It’s all a lot to take in; the plays’ honesty and brutal nature is scary because know all know these types of gay men, and parties, do actually exist. And all the actors should be admired for performing such an in your face play shedding emotions as well as bravely shedding their clothes. Writer and Director Peter Darney seems to have gotten the tone and characters right, but luckily I wouldn’t know because I’ve never been and don’t plan to go to one of these parties.
Playing until June 3rd – for tickets, please go here:
https://kingsheadtheatre.ticketsolve.com/shows/873572428/events/128101674
It’s Judy Judy Judy in the new show aptly titled Judy now playing at the Arts Theatre in Central London.
Take a journey to 1980’s London, specifically the King’s Cross area, through the storytelling of Tom Marshman, in the new show Kings Cross Remix. The one man show, at the Camden People’s Theatre, is a tour de force performance by Marshman, too young to remember the stories he’s telling, yet he tells them so vividly, with such authority and believability that he makes us actually believe he was there. Through the use of video and audio tape recordings of the people who were actually around during those times, Marshman weaves together these stories in a 60-minute show to great effect. He talks about the long gone disco Bagely’s nightclub, the denizens of King Cross including the hookers and the club kids, a unique story about the late and great Leigh Bowery, and grainy video footage of the once popular gay bar and club The Bell (this footage can also be found on Youtube). But Marshman also transports us to this decade when lots of our fellow friends were dying of AIDS, and one audio clip of a man who is a patient representative at a local clinic remembers the days when gay men were diagnosed with GRID (Gay Related Immune Deficiency) and were in their last days as there no hope for them. Marshman also chillingly brings up the arrival of patient zero – the man who introduced HIV into England. This and more is all told with the songs of Donna Summers Last Dance and lots of other disco classics as the soundtrack, and footage of Jimmy Somerville in his early days who can now be found from time to time drinking at his local bar Central Station. Marshman’s show celebrates a time when the scene in Kings Cross was more fun but also a bit dangerous and not posh as it is now. It’s a great show and Marshman does a very good job in telling these stories.
The story of a mother and son held captive in a room was so beautifully and emotionally told in last year’s film ‘Room.’ There is now a stage adaptation of that Oscar-winning film playing at Theatre Royal Stratford East.
It’s not When Harry met Sally but When Harry Met Barry at the Above the Stag Theatre in Vauxhall.
It’s seven and a half hours long, and it’s shown in two parts, but Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes is well worth a watch.
Trolley Dolly Pam Ann returns to London with her 20th Anniversary tour – Touch Trolley Run to Galley – but it’s pretty much the same schtick she’s been doing over and over again.
Wilton’s Music Hall in the East End has another hit on it’s hands.
The story of a chanteuse called Miss Nightingale who is caught between three men in 1940’s London during WW2 is now playing at The Vaults under Waterloo Station.
It’s not Adam & Eve but Adam & Eve and Steve (plus the Devil) at The Kings Head Theatre.
‘Stepping Out’ steps into the West End again but it’s on the wrong foot and it’s not a very exciting show.
There’s something in the holy water at a Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas because all of the boys there are gay. And they’re not the only ones who have a story to tell. It all unravels in Southern Baptist Sissies, the new show at Above the Stage Theatre.
