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REVIEW: Carmen: Connaught Theatre

Carmen-gscene1Carmen

Ellen Kent Productions.

Connaught Theatre

Eastbourne

Directed by Ellen Kent, this traditionally staged, romantic production was set in Seville, with an impressive horse-show included, this great production features Bizet’s unforgettable melodies including the best known baritone aria of all, The Toreador’s Song.

The brand new set reflects the stunning architecture of Seville and its main square with Roman and Moorish influences and even has a wonderfully calm rescue donkey that the audience loved.   It was an evening of passion, romance and tragedy. One of the most famous and seductive operas of all time, Bizet’s irresistibly emotional Carmen presents an evening of passion and romance.

27600_fullCarmen was technically accomplished although not quite as seductive and fiery as I felt she could have been, this is the story of a bewitching gypsy girl whose tantalising beauty lures a soldier to desertion and ultimately leads to her own murder. Kent’s personal touch ensured that the evening was full of spectacle and the audience were delighted by this production.

The chorus were good and sang with precision and Don Jose allowed his lyrical voice to fill the theatre with emotion. The male chorus are all superbly handsome and the female singer very pretty. The orchestra kept the narrative energy up all evening with passion and allowed this most passionate of Bizet operas to shine musically, teasing out all the nuances of the famous arias and melodies and giving the singers a firm musical base.

carmen gscene 2We had the pleasure of chatting with Ms Kent during the interval and she chatted about touring around Georgia, Romania and Moldavia cherry picking the most handsome singers to join the chorus for her British audience. The adorable Ellen Kent has been producing Opera for more than 16 years and is accomplished at bringing the most well-loved operas to an audience in a traditional and accessible way.  See her website for more information on this and up and coming productions.

This was a fun night out at the Connaught Theatre and the steely but charming Ms Kent who directs – and keeps her beady and very experienced eyes on all the details of these productions – continues to provide audiences with what they want, know and love. This is culture, but fun and there were many folk humming the tunes as they left happy out into the moonlit seafront.

Carmen.

Ellen Kent

Currently on tour and heading to Brighton soon.

For more info on the tour and to book tickets for up and coming Ellen Kent opera productions see the website here:

PICTURE DIARY: Queens Arms 1st Birthday fundraiser

A cabaret fundraiser organised by the Queens Arms in George Street on Sunday, September 27 to celebrate their 1st birthday, raised a magnificent £1,153.32 for the work of the Brighton and Hove, LGBT Community Safety Forum. Photographs by Graham Hobson.

Queens Arms Fundraiser

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Queens Arms 1st Birthday

Nominations open for Independent on Sunday ‘Rainbow List’

Nominations are now open for The Independent on Sunday’s Rainbow List, celebrating today’s 101 most influential lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender (LGBT) people in Britain as voted for by Independent on Sunday readers. This year will also see intersex people recognised for the first time.

Lisa Markwell
Lisa Markwell, editor of Independent on Sunday

The list, formerly known as the Pink List, was established in 2000. Previous honourees include Sir Ian McKellen, Sue Perkins, Nicola Adams, Clare Balding and Nick Grimshaw.

Judging will take place on November 3 when nominations will be whittled down to just 101 and unveiled in The Independent on Sunday on November 15.

Judging the entries this year will be some of Britain’s most significant and high-profile LGBT individuals including Labour MP Ben Bradshaw, Conservative MP Margot James, former Pink List No.1 Paris Lee, Paralympian Claire Harvey and Britain’s first Muslim drag queen, Asif Quraishi .

Voting is now open, and The Independent on Sunday is calling for all readers and non-readers to submit their nominations – whether they are in the public eye or are unsung champions campaigning for progress and equality.

Voting closes at midnight on Tuesday, October 20 and can be made by email to rainbowlist@independent.co.uk, via an online entry form at independent.co.uk/rainbowlist or by writing to Lisa Markwell, The Independent on Sunday, 2 Derry Street, London W8 5HF.

You can join the conversation on twitter at #RainbowList.

Editor of The Independent on Sunday, Lisa Markwell, said; “We are extremely proud of our annual Rainbow List which celebrates the most influential and inspiring LGBTI people in Britain, created long before the era of the ‘listicle’ and with a huge amount of clout in the LGBT – and, for the first time, intersex – communities. Now in its sixteenth year, we are continually inspired by the stories shared by thousands of applicants. I am very much looking forward to seeing what this year’s nominations will bring, and I expect fireworks when our brilliant array of judges get together to compile the list.”

 

Older and Fabulous! Persia West

Persia West was born 67 years ago in Liverpool where she spent her childhood and went to the local boy’s school.

Persia West
Persia West

She says even though she secretly knew she was Trans, she had no words to express what she was.

She fled from those hard times as soon as she could, to find herself on the road, a gender outlaw on the run, away for more than 20 years, in Japan mostly, but also in India, Canada, Spain, California and many more interesting places.

She says; “Now I see those years as the search for myself. Happily, I did find myself in the end, through my spiritual search and practice, and came to settle in Brighton, which is a home for many wanderers; certainly a home for me.

“I like being the age I am. I don’t do dramas any more, so life is simpler and sweeter. I’ve done many daft things in my life, but have done smart things too. I’ve been a meditator since 1970, have practised yoga for years, swim and walk far. My health is great, my body and mind in good shape. I’m busy with writing, giving talks and readings, travelling. I have a loving partner, a fine son, and the best dog in the world.

“It’s a good time of life. Although I’m busy, life being full, I always have time to smell the flowers.”

Persia’s most recent book Just Be Kind came out of her long years speaking, writing and consulting on Diversity and Human Rights issues, locally in Brighton and the UK, as well as across Europe.

In explaining where she finds herself in her life today, at 67 years old she points to her quote on the back cover, “it took me a lifetime to get this simple”.

For all LGBT people, in fact for anyone at all, Persia maintains the essential approach of kindness has real power. When she took this on board herself, she found that it really was, as the subtitle to the book says; “one way to change her world”.

“Understanding of others is not always possible, nor necessary, I can just be kind anyway, no matter what”.

This surprisingly simple, but not always easy message is powerfully expounded in the book, and richly illustrated with examples.

Her writing is clear and elegant, always interesting, often touching, and very relevant to how all of us from any kind of minority want to be treated, and how we treat others.

The book has fifteen short chapters, each looking deeply into a different aspect of the power of Just be Kind, for example The Manly Art of Kindness, which comes from Persia’s own trans insights into the nature of men and women.

She says; “we always have to begin at home if we want to see change in the way people treat us.”

The book costs £6.99 and is available on Amazon

For more information about Persia West, CLICK HERE:

OLDER & WISER: George Montague ‘The Oldest Gay in the Village’

George Montague rose to national and international prominence rather late in life when he took to his mobility scooter and appeared on the Brighton Pride Parade as the Oldest Gay in the Village.

George Montague

The media took George to their hearts, promoting him to their front covers while the feature writers related his life story to a generation of young readers, about how he lived a double life in his early years.

George was born in 1923, and did not come out till he was 59. He lived his life against the backdrop of the gay rights movement’s campaign for equality.

He lived through bad times in the 1980s, epitomised by the AIDS epidemic and Section 28 and celebrated the good times with the delivery of civil partnerships and finally same-sex marriage in March 2014.

George served King and country during the Second World War, and fathered three children to Vera, who he married and shared with the secret of his sexuality. He remained married to Vera for 22 years and they kept close even after separating. Sadly Vera died in 2000.

George and Somchai married on the eve of Brighton Pride 2015
George and Somchai married on the eve of Brighton Pride 2015

George finally came out in 1982. In 1997 he met his partner Somchai who he entered into a civil partnership with in 2006 and finally married on the eve of Brighton Pride in 2015.

Along the way he somewhere found time to put pen to paper and recount his life story. The Oldest Gay in the Village is a riveting and at times brutally honest story about the double life that he led when he lived, like many other gay men at the time, his straight life in public and his gay life in secret.

George was elected one of the four Ambassadors for Brighton Pride in 2013 by the readers of Gscene magazine and he used the opportunity to keep issues affecting older gay men in the public eye.

Earlier this year he received one of the inaugural Attitude Pride Award and appeared on Pride Parades in Manchester, London and Brighton.

Despite being 92 years young George has the stamina of someone half his age and is keeping himself as busy as ever. He is sharp, articulate and for his age his memory is extraordinary and his attention to detail quite remarkable.

At the moment he is pressing for people with gross indecency convictions to have the convictions removed from their criminal records. He says: “I have lived my life with a conviction for gross indecency hanging over me. I see now they are giving pardons. I don’t want a pardon. I want my conviction to be squashed, struck off. I was entrapped by police at the time and pleaded guilty to avoid publicity. I just want to end the final days of my life having no criminal conviction and to see the majority of people in the country become gay-friendly.”

George’s other dream and his current passion is to see a top of the range care home for older gay people opened and he is presently working on a self financing proposal for gay men with finances to commit to the project.

It would not be cheap. Founders would need one million pounds to invest. No grants or subsidies would be required. A suitable property would be purchased and management team appointed. A waiting list would be created and as each original founder died or wished out, the next on the waiting list would replace him as a founder of the project. Only as many founders would be accepted as would be required to finance the project. They would not become residents in the home until they needed to, but would have priority when the need arose.

Once up and running, and well established, the care home would admit as many people as there were private bedrooms available, however, all potential residents would need to have an annuity to cover the £1,500 per week per person living costs.

In the meantime George and Somchai continue to live their lives to the full in their seafront flat in Brighton during the summer and spend the winter months in Thailand where they also have a home. George is the proud grandfather to three beautiful grand children and keeps fit by having a sauna every day at the gym.

The Oldest Gay in the Village is published by John Blake Publishing and available from Amazon.

Where will we live when we get older?

As LGBT-focused residential communities become established in many countries around the world, here in the United Kingdom there is a definite lack of similar resources, despite an extensive and prominent LGBT population.

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Although the younger LGBT community at large faces less prejudice than those who went before them, members of the older LGBT community still face discrimination.

A publication by the Social Care Institute for Excellence noted that; “Social care commissioners and providers don’t often think about LGBT people when planning and delivering services, but this does not mean that LGBT people are not using services or do not want to use services.”

Community living for older LGBT people is not a new concept – far from it. Established LGBT residential communities already exist in the US, as well as in Sweden, Germany, Italy, and France.

LBQ community focused organisation Planet Residential have raised the question:

Where will we live when we get older?

Planet Residential have identified that the housing shortage, along with a large LGBT community, come together to produce a definite need for similar facilities to be created in the UK as those seen in other countries.

In raising this question, Planet Residential is calling out to key players in the housing sector to get involved – and in doing so, they hope to form collaborations which could see the facilitation and development of quality LGBT older residential communities within the UK.

“Ninety-one per cent of lesbians and seventy-five per cent of gay men want to see specific accommodation for lesbians and/or gay men.”  (Hubbard & Rossigton, Polari, 2009)

In order to create a service which best fits the needs of older LGBT community members, Planet Residential hope to spend some time talking to members of the community to establish what it is they would ideally want and need from such facilities. Planet Residential then aim to go on to take these ideas to associated partners within the housing sector, who can help them make the vision a reality.

Planet Residential is a community organisation, and a part of lesbian, bisexual and queer brand Ultimate Planet. Ultimate Planet offers community and social support to LBQ women, with a wide range of services and support being offered through their ‘Planet’ brands.

The Planet Residential vision is the creation of a community driven, sustainable housing solution that meets the needs of an inclusive older LGBT population in the UK.

You can be involved in Planet Residential’s project by heading to their website and signing up to their mailing list, in order to receive updates and news on the concept as it develops.

To sign up to their mailing list, click here:

Twitter: @Planet_Resi

Facebook: www.facebook.com/Ultimate_Planet

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