Floridita on Wardour Street in Soho will play host on Tuesday, May 5 to a range of emerging LGBT+ talent hoping to star on the Pride in London stage in Trafalgar Square on June 27.
Fifteen finalists who have been whittled down from hundreds of applications will battle it out to appear on the Pride in London stage, in Trafalgar Square on, June 27.
Applications for the Pride’s Got Talent competition opened just after Christmas and the past month has seen auditions held at the Two Brewers and at Pulse, the home of XXL, who stepped in following the sudden closure of the Black Cap, which was to have hosted a heat.
All of the finalists will appear at Pride in London in some way, including on the Carnival Stage at Barclaycard presents BST in Hyde Park on Sunday, June 21, when headliners will include Kylie and Chic.
The finals on May 5 will decide who are the overall winners of Pride’s Got Talent and Pride’s Got Talent Cabaret.
The judges will be selecting the following winners and runners-up:
• Pride’s Got Talent Winner (who will support the headline act in Trafalgar Square)
• Pride’s Got Talent Runner Up
• Pride’s Got Talent Cabaret Winner – (Who will appear on the Barclaycard presents BST in Hyde Park Carnival Stage)
• Pride’s Got Talent Cabaret Runner Up
In addition, the judges will choose an overall winner.
Winner of Pride’s Got Talent 2014, Dorian Reland will be performing his forthcoming single Sinsation at the final.
He said:“Winning Pride in London 2014 and supporting the amazing headliner Conchita Wurst in front of 10,000 people in Trafalgar Square was an incredible experience that has helped me continue to develop my career. I’ve seen some of this year’s finalists and it’s going to be really exciting to see them all perform at Floridita and try to steal my crown from me!”
Producer of Pride’s Got Talent, Ian Massa-Harris added:“We’ve been overwhelmed by the fresh and exciting new LGBT+ talent that is coming through the Pride’s Got Talent competition this year and we’re hugely grateful to the Two Brewers, Above the Stag and Pulse, the home of XXL for hosting the heats. Entry to the final at Floridita on 5th May is free and we’re looking forward to a big audience helping the judges make their final decisions.”
Hungry Wolf Visionary Youth Theatre has enjoyed great success since it’s launch in 2013 and has since been propelled to the forefront of cutting edge theatre made and performed by young people.
Hungry Wolf made their debut at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival with Growing Pains, receiving 5* reviews, national press interest, a schools tour and a slot on ITV, followed by last year’s critically acclaimed success The Electra Project, described as “a love letter to drama teachers everywhere”.
This year, Hungry Wolf are back with a new black comedy A Little Respect. Irreverent and dark, A Little Respect is a sexy little thriller filled with intrigue, waspish one liners and homo-eroticism.
What first appears to be a traditional piece of situation comedy quickly becomes something sharper and more sophisticated, as the stereotypes we are presented with in the opening scenes are flip reversed.
With an intimate cast of six, A Little Respect is a stark story of stolen kisses, adolescent cruelty and cyber revenge.
When describing the style of the piece, writer Dave Jackson said:“think ‘Skins’ meets ‘Gone Girl’. With a bit of ‘Glee’ thrown in!”
The production will preview at award-winning fringe venue The Marlborough Theatre, Brighton on May 4, 9 and 10, 2015 as part of the Brighton Fringe Festival prior to a week-long run at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival in August.
Hungry Wolf performs the piece, after an extensive search across East and West Sussex to find the area’s most talented young actors.
The piece has been written and directed by NYT director, Radio 4 Young Comedy Writer of the Year and ITV writer Dave Jackson.
Event: Hungary Wolf presents: A Little Respect
Where: The Marlborough Theatre, 4 Princes Street, Brighton, East Sussex BN2 1RD
The 2014 Workplace Pride Foundation’s Global Benchmark Survey finds that many employers still have a long way to go before the inclusion of LGBT people in the workplace is a reality.
The Workplace Pride Foundation is an Amsterdam-based not-for-profit organization, which has worked for 9 years to increase the acceptance of LGBT people in the workplace; both in The Netherlands, and internationally.
Founded in 2006, it is an international platform for the inclusion of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender people at work. Its 43 members employ more than 2 million people worldwide, and share the vision that LGBT people should be fully visible, accepted and valued in the workplace as well as within wider society.
In 2014 the Foundation launched the Global Benchmark survey, measuring the progress of an organization’s LGBT policies and practices on both a national, and an international level. 19 multinational companies, representing almost 2 million employees worldwide took part in the 2014 survey.
The survey found that only 35% of the organisations around the world that participated in their Global Benchmark Survey provided adequate support and benefits for their LGBT employees. Less than 50% of those are reported to have included any type of training for the awareness of LGBT people in the workplace – and this data comes from the forward-thinking employers who chose to take part in the survey.
Employers from around the world are invited to take part in the 2015 Global Benchmark Survey. The survey is conducted via a free online survey of 41 questions, which measure the LGBT policies and practices of an organisation and their global operations.
Participants are scored on topics such as workplace awareness, inclusion and engagement, policy and communications. Participants will receive an individual report, with a qualitative and quantitative breakdown of their score. With this management tool in hand, participants will be better equipped to effect change within their organisation, if and where it is needed.
Submissions for the 2015 Global Benchmark will be accepted until July 31 at midnight.
Results will be announced at the end of October 2015 during the Workplace Pride Leadership Awards Dinner.
To view the 2015 Global Benchmark Survey, click here:
The Royal Hippodrome Theatre (RHT), Eastbourne appeals for help to apply for funding from the Aviva Community Fund.
THE Community Interest Company (CIC) that runs the venue has put in an application for up to £25,000 from the fund in the support community category. If successful the money will be used to prepare for a full first stage bid with the Heritage Lottery Fund.
Darren Weir
Darren Weir, Community Engagement Director for the company, said:“We have been in talks for some time with the Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) and seeking advice through our theatre consultant about how to go about putting in a really strong first stage bid to obtain a £1.2million grant. In order to get to the first stage bid – we have to instruct a number of experts, draw up plans and have surveys carried out. This, it is estimated, will cost £30,000. The RHT is not obtaining any funding as part of the Coastal Communities fund or the Pier Tourism Fund and is obviously not part of the Devonshire Park Project and so we really are needing the public’s help”
The directors submitted an application with the AVIVA Community Fund at the very last-minute as they only found out about it 4 days before the submission deadline!
In order to reach the Final, the project needs to attract public votes and whilst the public are in the “voting mood” with the elections – what better time to cast your vote for this worthy cause?!
Darren continued:“The Theatre is asking everyone to go online, register and vote. Everyone gets 10 votes and they can all be used for the one project. It only takes a couple of minutes and costs nothing. Tell your friends, tell your family and please spread the word.”
Pride in London, the community group and annual week-long festival has launched its first ever political Pledge, challenging London’s politicians to work together to tackle hate crime.
THE Pride in London Pledge highlights key issues such as personal safety, access to health care, education and the need for changes to social attitudes.
It also calls for Local Authorities to ensure front line staff are educated on hate crime, for a further extension of the Metropolitan Police Service LGBT+ community liaison officers, and the inclusion of the LGBT+ community in the London-wide hate crime awareness campaign, leading up to Hate Crime Awareness Week in October 2015.
The launch of the Pledge comes as the Mayor’s Office for Policing and Crime discovered a spike in hate crimes in June 2014 – the month of the annual Pride in London festival and a period of heightened visibility for the community – seeing 175 offences being reported, the highest monthly volume in the last three years.
The figures, contained in the Mayor’s Hate Crime Reduction Strategy for London, also showed that the volume of homophobic hate crimes has been over 100 offences per month since March 2014, an increase of 21.5% compared to 2013.
The rise in figures is believed to reflect an increase in the number of hate crimes being reported, rather than an increase in the actual amount of homophobic hate crimes taking place.
Pride in London’s Pledge also calls for improvements to be made regarding the way in which homophobic hate crimes can be reported, including a recommendation that victims should be able to report an incident via a third-party to make the process easier.
Stephen Ward
Stephen Ward, Deputy Chair of Pride in London, said:“It’s saddening to see that the number of reported hate crimes against LGBT+ people was highest in June 2014 – the year of London’s biggest and most visible Pride celebration in over 40 years. This shows that events like Pride give LGBT+ people the confidence, strength and determination they need to safely report homophobic hate crimes to the authorities. This and many other factors such as our campaign to change social attitudes and fostering solidarity reinforce the importance of the Pride festival to London’s LGBT+ community for we only become stronger by standing together.”
“With so much of the legal framework for equality now in place, Pride in London’s attention is focused on the attitudinal and social change that is needed in order to turn those legal rights into real equality. Until we all enjoy the same freedoms – such as being able to hold our partners hand in public without fear of abuse – there’s still work to do. Pride in London’s pledge outlines the key issues we believe are absolutely central to improving the lives of LGBT+ Londoners and will further strengthen London’s position as one of the most LGBT+ inclusive and diverse cities in the world.”
In addition to tackling Hate Crime, other areas addressed within the pledge include:
Freedom to be Healthy
· Sexually transmitted infection (STI) rates in the LGBT+ community reach are reaching ‘crisis’ levels in London. And yet given the importance of regular checks, it is disturbing that a third of gay and bisexual men who have accessed healthcare services in 2012 have had a negative experience related to their sexual orientation.
· Pride in London calls for: An education and information awareness drive across all local boroughs to improve patient care at healthcare services to ensure they are welcoming and open spaces for members of the LGBT+ community.
Freedom to be Visible
· In Stonewall’s General Election Pledge, they cite “More than half of young lesbian, gay and bisexual young people never hear LGBT issues mentioned in the classroom and four in five are not given information or advice about same-sex relationships.”
· Young LGBT+ people need to hear these issues discussed. Schools can and must do more to provide inclusive spaces for learning about such issues.
· Pride in London calls for: The inclusion of same-sex relationship education in all London schools to ensure the representation of different families and communities within sex and relationships education and the establishment of LGBT+ education ambassadors in each local borough, to work with and support local LGBT+ community groups engage with the wider community and change attitudes.
Pride in London Pledge
Pride are calling on London politicians to support Pride in London and engage with their local LGBT+ community groups so that together we can make London a leader in inclusivity, support and visibility for the LGBT+ community. They hope that all London’s political leaders will commit to making London the best LGBT+ city in the world.
FINISHING off the night at The Late Show in the basement was soft, and relaxing, with an apparently French Chanteuse and her smoky throaty blues heavy songs with just the right streak of anger and hope mixed in. This was a late night laid back show, with no pretension and just a candle lit basement, and some good quality performances, it was so laid back there was no listing info about who was on, hence my inability to include the young ladies name in this review (apologies to her!) The Late Show aims to have a selection of performers from across the fringe on stage, so it’s a different bag of stuff each night, which is all part of the fun.
They promise every show featuring a different line-up of the best that England’s biggest Arts Festival has to offer and Friday nights line up was quality.
The venue is distressed brick, cabaret tables, and lots of long black curtains to set the atmosphere perfectly.
It was the first night for the bar and they could do with less door staff and more bar staff at the busy times , apart from the waiting to get served it was fine, music was quality, people were interesting and the experience was settled, mature and worth going back to. With free entry to fringe performers and artists this might be a venue to watch as the fringe passes, it was certainly a relaxing way to end a long night.
Most nights with a Late Night Election Special on the 7th
The Late Show
The Basement
Most nights in May
For more info, to check dates or to book tickets, click here:
From the very same crew that brought us last years Shit-faced Shakespeare comes an all new, all singing, all dancing, parody musical revue. This fresh-from-rehab group of musical performers are taking us on whistle stop ‘Shit-faced Showtime’ just off Broadway!
With a pretty wide selection of musical songs chosen as much for their difficult and silly rhymes as much as their ability to confuse, confound and plain irritate the inebriated cast member this was funny car crash fringe.
There’s the inevitable is she/isn’t she really drunk stuff (I followed them down the street after the show to be certain she was pissed as a serious newty newt, she was..) and I was a little concerned at the propriety of laughing at some poor women who seemed like she had a serious issue with her relationship with booze, but after having a drink myself and realising this was one of the first gigs of the fringe and I should just loosen up I let myself go. It’s the fringe after all…
Not that we had much choice, this nights drunkard; Issy was utterly charming from the off, with wild choreography, delightful bursts of mania and an all pervading mean threat of immediate implosion. This was the kind of fun that any of us who have watched a family member or friend get utterly, totally, smashed in a situation where that’s the last thing to do, can enjoy.
There were many laughs at her drunken expense and a few brilliant wondrous moments of improvising glee amongst the devastation but most of the laughter came directly from her smacking full pelt into the rest of the show. That’s the main issue with this show for me, it’s all centred around the unpredictable performance of one drunken cast member although there was a highlight of a camp Harlem hairdresser from another cast member and some fine singing. But it’s the full on drunken antics of the relentless lush with her smudged make up, wild hair, slipping off chairs, missing cues, blurting truths, bellowing songs , sarcastically shadowing other cast members and some very very funny moments where she decided that she ‘don’t’ be fucked anymore with this’ and sat down and told us as it was. This was a fringe delight, a decent into chaos and fun, and with a high quotient of laughter. Issy was a very charming drunk too, full of soft nuttiness and some great enthusiastic although terribly mismatched dance moves. One wonders what the show is like when the drunken one is not in such a good mood….
There’s no doubt this is cruel, mean and unwise, but it is consensual, silly and funny , and I really laughed for the entirety of the show. Which of us hasn’t been in that state at some time, or been the person trying to keep things together…..and they are doing it for the sake of art! So that’s ok then.
Shit Faced are at the Otherplace, Basement for their run. They are a good late night fringe show to catch and laugh at the mayhem.
Recommended purely for its unpredictable silliness.
LGBT organisations in Brighton and Hove benefit from food and drink promotion at the Foodie Festival on Hove Lawns.
THE Co-operative are raising money for three local charitable organisations with a special food and drink promotion they are running at the Foodie Festival on Hove Lawns over the Bank Holiday Weekend, May 2-4.
Co-operative staff in Brighton and Hove chose The Rainbow Fund, The Starr Trust and The Martlets Hospice to benefit from their fundraising promotion at the Foodies Festival.
All customers buying the special £4 promotion of pizza and a glass of Prosecco are asked to put the empty glass into plastic sacks to benefit the charity of their choice. Each organisation receives £4 from every glass deposited in the sacks.
The Foodie Festival continues all day today, Sunday, May 3 and all day Monday, May 4.
Head for the Co-operative food stand and support these local organisations.
The Rainbow Fund give grants to LGBT organisations in Brighton and Hove providing effective front line services to LGBT people in the city. The Starr Trust is a family run charity who give grants of up to £5,000 to young people aged between 10-18 to support their dreams and aspirations in Education, Arts and Sport. The Martlet’s Hospice need to raise £9,000 every day to provide free care for people affected by life limiting illness in and around Brighton and Hove.
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