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REVIEW: Alice in Pantoland: Alice, Alice who the fuck is Alice?

After the untimely death of Brian Ralfe last year, Lee Tracey and the cast of Alice in Pantoland return to the Studio Theatre at the Dome to continue the tradition of outrageous adult entertainment championed by Brian since 2002.

Alice in Pantoland

Written by Lee Tracey and David Rumelle, Alice in Pantoland is a chaotic romp by Alice through a variety of the best loved traditional pantos including Jack and the Beanstalk, Dick Wittington, Cinderella and Peter Pan, and provides each performer with a moment to shine.

Lee Tracey is the focus of the show, playing both Sarah the Cook and the Ugly Sister ‘Hernia’. Lee was one of London’s most successful stand up comics in the 70s, 80s and 90s and gives an old school performance full of outrageous and most of the time offensive expletives that some will love, while some might feel uncomfortable with. The audience on the night I went were mainly straight women, all benefitting from a few drinks, and they clearly loved the patter.

Cabaret performer Topsie Redfern almost steals the show playing three parts in all; Alice, the Fairy Godmother and The Ugly Sister ‘Verruca’. Topsie has a fantastic voice and his characterisations of all three is spot on as is his vocal performance. A live wire performer who would really benefit from having more numbers to sing.

David Raven graced the stage as Idle Jack in the first half and an old pussy in the second. The audience loved his old pussy number which was one of the highlights of the evening.

Lascal Wood as Devil plays the baddie, but I found it hard to hiss or boo him as he was so lovely. A former X Factor finalist and star of the West End Show Thriller the Musical, where he played Michael Jackson, Lascal has a beautiful voice especially in the high register and is a sharp mover. It would be great to see him given more freedom to do both as we were only treated to a few snatches of his dancing ability during the evening. Lascal is a very accomplished performer.

Russell Keith strikes a confident and endearing Prince Charming. Another great vocalist and a natural charmer. He lights up the stage each time he appears and the audience really warm to him.

Jack Seager plays Tinkerballs and The White Rabbit. A great singer and mover, but sadly some of his patter was lost on a noisy audience who at times made more noise than the performers on the stage.

Scott Virgo is a stalwart of these adult pantos and played a strutting dandy Dick and after all as he reminded us “we all need a bit of dick sometimes”. Moving quickly on…….

Jason Prince revelled in the role of the camp, gushing Will Scarlet as only Jason can with his gin and tonic voice, turning suitably nasty and evil for his later appearance as Captain Hook.

Finally, Pooh La May aka Collin Day played The Empress of China for sympathy spending most of the evening begging to be given the opportunity to sing. When the moment arrived he did not disappoint.

If you are an adult panto virgin don’t go along expecting spectacular sets and production values. It is not that kind of show. The set is bare most of the time and the production stands or falls on the quality of the performances. This years production was packed with fantastic singers and I personally would have loved to have heard much more singing from them all.

Finally hats off to Jamie Lees the musical director who works with backing tracks and plays live from his keyboard producing a colourful and effective musical accompaniment to the show.

Alice in Pantoland runs till February 7.

Brighton Emporium Theatre supports newcomers

Emporium Theatre in London Road, Brighton, will be supporting three recipients of The Pebble Trust Awards at this year’s Brighton Fringe, which will run from May 6-June 5.

Emporium

The productions Did I Choose These Shoes? by Ella Gajic, Abelia Saxophone Quartet and Josh Glavin: Growing Pains will all run at various dates to be confirmed in May.

The Pebble Trust is a Brighton and Hove charity established to provide support to local people and causes.

Louise Arnell, trustee at The Pebble Trust, said: “We are absolutely delighted that the award-winning Emporium Theatre will play host to all three events this May. Like The Pebble Trust, the team at Emporium Theatre is committed to supporting young artists at the beginning of their careers. Josh, Hannah and Ella will benefit hugely, not only from the theatre’s wonderful facilities, but also from the encouragement and advice they will receive from the Emporium team as they prepare their events.”

“We are very excited to be able to offer full venue support and guidance about putting on a show at the Fringe from day one throughout the whole process, which can often seem quite daunting,” comments Emporium director James Weisz. “Emporium Theatre was voted Best Venue at last year’s Brighton Festival so we have plenty of experience.”

For more information on the projects and the venue, click here: 

New advocacy service for trans communities

MindOut, the LGBT mental health project and Healthwatch Brighton and Hove are to jointly set up the city’s first Trans Advocacy Service.

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Jointly funded by Brighton & Hove Clinical Commissioning Group and Brighton and Hove City Council, the service will provide person-centred advocacy support for the Trans communities in Brighton and Hove.

The Advocacy Service will offer advice, information, representation and case work support on all issues related to Trans care pathways, including services and treatment at the Gender Identity Clinic and:

♦  Primary and secondary health care

♦  Social Care

♦  Legal issues

♦  Family and relationships

♦  Employment

♦  Housing

♦  Hate crime, harassment and bullying

♦  Diagnosis

♦ Treatment options, referral systems and waiting times as well as health issues not related to the trans care pathway

All MindOut services are free, independent, impartial and confidential.

Research into the mental health needs of Trans people shows that 84% of respondents experienced suicidal distress, dropping to 3% post transition demonstrating a clear indication of the life-saving potential of prompt and timely support.

Helen Jones
Helen Jones

Helen Jones, Director of MindOut said: ”We are so pleased to be able to provide much-needed, dedicated support for Trans communities. We look forward to working closely with local Trans groups and organisations to meet growing needs.”

Nicky Cambridge, Chief Executive of Healthwatch Brighton and Hove, added: “Healthwatch is delighted to be part of this project. We will ensure that the issues being raised by Trans people accessing services are raised at local and national levels so that systems improve and change permanently. We will do this with the community who have faced institutional prejudice and discrimination for far too long.”

Dr Sam Hall
Dr Sam Hall

Dr Sam Hall, Chair of Clare Project and Trans Alliance representative, said: “This is a fantastic example of how the Trans Needs Assessment can be used as a springboard to achieve equality of access to services for Brighton & Hove’s trans residents and service users. We look forward to working with MindOut to ensure that the best possible use is made of this new service.”

For more information about MindOut, click here:

BLAGSS to play football friendly against Sussex County FA XI

February is Football.v.Homophobia (FvH) month.

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FvH is an international initiative opposing homophobia in football at all levels – from grassroots to professional clubs.

To demonstrate the Sussex County FA’s support for the campaign, an exhibition match will take place on Monday February 1, 2016 between a Sussex County FA XI and the football team from Brighton Lesbian and Gay Sports Society (BLAGSS).

FvH is a campaign uniting fans, players, communities, grassroots teams, professional clubs and the football authorities in opposing homophobia and prejudice against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in football.

Sussex County FA actively promote Football for Everyone and encourage the involvement of the Lesbian Gay Bisexual and Transgender (LGBT) communities in Sussex football.

This encouragement has led to BLAGSS affiliating as a football club with the Sussex County FA, enabling them to participate in affiliated football within in the county.

This friendly match will celebrate their affiliation as well as promote the values of the Football.v.Homophobia campaign which has been backed by the County FA since its inception in 2010.

Members of the general public are invited to attend the match and show their support for the campaign, entry is free of charge, and refreshments will be available to purchase.


Event: Sussex County FA XI vs. Brighton Lesbian and Gay Sports Society (BLAGSS)

Where: Sussex County FA HQ, Culver Road, Lancing, West Sussex, BN15 9AX

When: Monday, February 1

Time: 8pm

Entry: Free

For more information, click here:

 

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