menu

REVIEW: Dome: Being Both

7cea3f33f52a76a1e8f139650d30f83d_0Being Both

Alice Coote

Brighton Dome

Festival

As one of the great vocal artists of her generation, mezzo-soprano Alice Coote is renowned for her Handelian repertory and the portrayal of roles originally written for castrati. With lots of indication of depth and analysis about this most curious habit of mixing up of gender roles bringing insight into the various ways that playing a man playing a women playing a man etc, can affect and influence the singing of some of the great baroque parts Coote promised much. What we got was very little other than a collection of some superb Handel Arias, mostly sung well.

p02pt1vc

I have heard Coote sing Handel many times, in many guises and portraying all genders and she has always been superb; stomping around the stage roaring or floating about threading her shimmering diamond voice onto gossamer and letting it hoover around the auditorium. This show in the dome seemed more of an indulgence for her and I am surprised that Director Sarah Waters pandered to such caprices. With a few silent helpers in white and some unoriginal props, a bronze breast-plate, an unused spinning wheel, an apron and chalk board to hang around her neck after taking a good long while to scrawl the words ‘I am’ there was much to distract from the singing.  With three sign painters daubing words on a huge back screen behind the orchestra this added another element of distraction to the show, this eventually emerged as a Louise Hayesque affirmation. We literally watched paint dry Ms Waters….

Harry Bicket was superb, delicately reaching for every nuance and shimmer of this superb music and coaching a delicious performance out of The English Concert, they were on top form and electrified the auditorium from the off.

rosenkavalier-jonathan-tichlermet-opera

So with this crepuscular abstract staging, black costumes and quite a lot of climbing, rolling and bobbing about Cootes did her best to fill the huge stage, but I would have preferred her to be less animated and sing with her usually astonishingly huge verve and excitement and there were not enough moments where I thought she really, really shined.

This humble critic is a huge Handel fan and I wept not once. Not even a tremble, or wetting of the eyes and I was so looking forward to the show, but for some reason it didn’t all gel together. However when Cootes concentrated and let the music dictate her presence she was superb, allowing the breadth and majesty  of her voice to fill the huge space and in the end I just shut my eyes and let the music flow over me.

Being Both was followed by a talk from Alice Cootes which I didn’t attend; I got good feedback about the discussion. She also wrote this very interesting article in the Guardian yesterday about her playing men on stage, so certainly has some seriously insights into gender performance.

For full details, click here:

To book tickets online, click here:    

 

IDAHOBIT Debate: What’s in a name: is LGBT enough?

The Brighton and Hove Council LGBT Workers’ Forum are marking International Day Against Homophobia, Bi-phobia and Trans-phobia (IDAHOBIT) with a panel debate on local, national and global LGBT issues.

WEB.600

The theme of the debate is Identity and will be exploring:
* Gender identity and the societal gender binary
* Sexual identity and labels / categories (e.g. LGB)
* Is the ‘LGBT’ label inclusive enough? Do we need Q, I, P, + ? What other options are there?

This year’s panel consists of local and national activists including:

* Raju Rage: Organiser and member of Collective Creativity and the QTIPOC Arts Group, Sub Editor for Beyond the Binary online magazine and self/published writer.

* Barbara Harris: Head of Equality, Diversity and Human Rights at Brighton and Sussex University Hospital NHS Trust. Barbara was appointed to the E&D Manager post in October 2007. Working with tight constraints and deadlines has made a valuable contribution to altering the culture of the organisation to embrace the values of E&D.

* Rory Smith: Chair of Trans Alliance LGBT Liaison/Hate Crime Co-ordinator for Sussex Police

* Dr Paul Boyce: Lecturer in Anthropology and International Development, University of Sussex; Co-founder of the European Network for Queer Anthropology and International consultant in sexualities, gender, sexual rights and health.

To send questions for the debate and/or reserve your place, email: LGBTWorkersForum@brighton-hove.gov.uk

IDAHOBIT is marked annually on May 17, the day in 1990 when the World Health Organisation removed homosexuality from its list of mental health diseases.

In 86 countries globally, homosexual acts remain illegal while in many countries lesbians, gay men, bisexuals and those who identify as trans are often murdered simply because of their sexuality or gender identity.


Event: IDAHOBIT Panel Debate 2015 – What’s in a name: is LGBT enough?

Where: Jubilee Library, Conference Room 2

When: Thursday, May 21

Time: Arrival from 5pm debate from 6pm to 8.30pm

Free interval refreshments

PREVIEW: Benefit for Sussex Beacon at Proud Cabaret

Across The Pond will be a blend of old and new performers providing a plethora of cabaret entertainment at Proud Cabaret, Brighton on Wednesday, July 29 2015.

Mysterry
Mysterry

THE show will be hosted by Mysterry Drag-Queen who felt that the traditional Sussex Beacon Fundraiser that occurs on the last Wednesday before Brighton Pride needed some new blood and direction.

Carole Todd
Carole Todd

After discussions with Carole Todd on the matter, she agreed to climb aboard and give the show some direction.

Carole is a renowned West End and worldwide Director and Choreographer, whose work has included productions of Starlight Express, Jesus Christ Superstar, Return to the Forbidden Planet and Dreamboats & Petticoats, to name only a tiny selection of her credits.

Laura NIxon
Laura NIxon

Other performers on the night will include West End Star Paul Hazel, Miss Jason, Laura NixonMarianne Robinson and the Legendary Maisie Trollette.

Act one of the show is themed with a tropical Latin feel, and you will be whisked off to America after the interval.

Tickets are £10 with profits from the evening going to The Sussex Beacon.

The Sussex Beacon charity offers specialist care and support for men, women and families affected by HIV. Open 365 days a year, the Sussex Beacon help people manage the everyday realities of living with this life-long condition that has no cure.

There will also be a raffle to raise funds for The Beacon.


Event: Across The Pond: A fundraiser for the Sussex Beacon

Where: Proud Cabaret, 83 St Georges Road, Brighton

When: Wednesday, July 29, 2015

Time: 8pm

Tickets: Tickets are available from both Sussex Beacon Shops (St. James’s Street and London Road), and you can also get them by emailing mysterry@email.com

Brighton Pride: Libraries Literature Live in the Park

After the critical success of last year’s Literature Live at Brighton Pride, Brighton & Hove Libraries in partnership with Queer in Brighton and HAVE A WORD will host an afternoon of entertainment at Preston Park with writers and performers talking about and reading from their own work.

Clare Lydon
Clare Lydon

SIT back, chill out and listen to compere Clare Lydon, author of The Long Weekend and London’s Calling introduce a line-up that includes Catherine Hall, author of The Repercussions; Stevan Alcock, author of Blood Relatives, Alison Childs in a duet with Rosie Wakeley performing from All the Nice Girls and poets, authors and contributors from Black and Gay in the UK, John Gordon, PJ Samuels, Ade Adaniji and Travis Alabanza.

HAVE A WORD Brighton’s LGBT Literary Salon will take over from 5-6pm to present a variety of new and established performers from across the South East.

Poet John McCullough said of Literature Live: “A fantastic time was had by all. It was so lovely to have a space for literature at Pride and offered an alternative entertainment that was very much appreciated. And always great to be able to read poems about LGBT history to the type of audience I hoped for from the start”.

And with tea and cakes available all afternoon, Libraries Literature Live In The Park promises to be a cornucopia of literary heaven in Preston Park, feeding the minds and souls of participants and audience alike.

For further information including details of Libraries Literature Live pre-Pride Trans* and Older LGBT+ writing workshops and HAVE A WORD Jubilee Library events email: rachel.whitbread@brighton-hove.gov.uk


Event: Pride Brighton & Hove 2015: Pride Festival

Where: Preston Park, Preston Road, Brighton

When: Saturday, August 1

Time: 12noon – 10pm

Tickets: Early Birds Sold Out: £18.50 Second release now available/ then £21.00. £25 on the day
Joint tickets available for Festival and Village party. Up to 3 children under 12 are free with accompanying adult.

To book tickets online: click here:

An Irishman’s view on Same Sex Marriage

Mark Hodge is well know to people in Brighton and Hove as a pianist and musical director. He now lives, works and plays in the South of France and wants to share his thoughts on the upcoming vote in the Irish Parliament on same sex marriage.

Mark Hodge
Mark Hodge

ON May 22 the Republic of Ireland votes on whether to recognise gay marriages in law. As an openly gay man from an Irish background with many Irish friends I’d like to put the case for Yes in the hope that my friends will share it or better still add to it. Please take time to read it. 

It sometimes happens that relationships form between two people who culminate in their being able to say to each other “you don’t need to worry about YOU ever again because I’m looking after that now”. The resulting unit is infinitely stronger than the sum of its parts and benefits the couple, their families, friends and society as a whole. Along with the unconditional love between parent and child it is the most beautiful phenomenon known to us and compensates for the many hardships of life.

It happens as a matter of fact regardless of legal status. But to recognise it for straight couples but deny it exists between two people of the same sex is a gross subversion of an obvious truth and very damaging both to adults and young people.

I mention young people because the primary duty of care owed towards them, after physical well-being, is to ensure they grow up with a fundamental belief that it is OK to be themselves. That is everything in life – the key to healthy relationships, productive working lives and health outcomes.

If families, schools and churches allow institutional homophobia to undermine the self esteem of young gay people they fail them completely. The results, as any accredited mental health professional will confirm, are higher rates of depression, suicide, substance abuse and other high risk behaviour. To designate certain individuals as second class while they are trying to develop a sense of themselves is simply vicious.

Some people find the concept of marriage between two men very difficult. Why? Jesus said nothing about homosexuality but utterly condemned those who stand in judgement of others. In any case, belief in a christian God is not a prerequisite for marriage. There are many married atheists in the Republic.

Some say that marriage is for procreation which can only be between a man and a woman. But many people marry knowing they won’t have children of their own, due to age or illness, or simply not wanting to be parents. Are their marriages invalid?

What it really stems from is a learned, visceral dislike of the idea of two men (eg) being physically and emotionally intimate.

To this I say the following:

1) There is no sexual practice between same-sex couples which doesn’t take place between straight couples. Not one.

2) It is unhealthy and inappropriate to fixate on the sex lives of other people. If one feels uncomfortable at the thought of what other people do in bed the best thing to do is not to think about it and certainly not to make that prudishness someone else’s problem.

3) The real meaning of the word homophobia is a fear of homosexuality in oneself. People who are comfortable in their own sexual identities tend not worry about other people’s

4) Some people are concerned that removing legal discrimination against gay people will result in a higher incidence of homosexuality in the general population or even that young people will be “converted”. If it were possible to change one’s sexual polarity the many teenagers who commit suicide in Ireland and around the world because they cannot live with being gay would have simply “changed”. What can and should happen is that gay people will become more visible.

5) There is, unfortunately, always a risk of adults exploiting young people for their own sexual purposes but this is not specific to straight or gay people and is quite rightly dealt with under criminal law. Incredibly, it’s the church which seems most concerned with this aspect and it’s clergy who are most guilty of it. Make of that what you will, but I believe that repression of sexuality, not homosexuality, is responsible for the very worst sexual behaviour.

Since the Enlightenment the west has lit up the world through its pursuit of reason, logic and scientific inquiry. The right to live a life of dignity and equality under the law, free from undeserved shame or embarrassment has seen many setbacks in recent times. Let’s not permit another on May 22.

X