Call us now

Author: Catherine Muxworthy

One arrested in investigation of anti-LGBTQ+ hate at Brianna Ghey vigil

Posted on by Catherine Muxworthy

A 13-year-old boy has been arrested on suspicion of a public order offence following anti-LGBTQ+ hate, which was shouted prior to the Brianna Ghey vigil in Birmingham. On Friday, February 17 the community in Birmingham gathered to hold a vigil in honour of Brianna Ghey – a teenage girl murdered in Warrington – but before the event could begin, those already gathered were subjected to anti-trans and anti-LGBTQ+ abuse.

Trans rights activist and Birmingham Pride’s Director of Innovation, Eva Echo, was being interviewed by I Am Birmingham, at the time of the incident, so the abuse was caught on video. Southside security staff eventually managed to usher the group of offenders away before the vigil was held, allowing the community to gather in peace. A report was initiated with West Midlands Police following the incident, and Eva Echo also gave her statement to aid the investigation.

Investigations are still ongoing to identify the remaining suspects in this case, and the 13-year-old boy who was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence has since been referred to a Young Offenders’ Team.

In a statement from West Midlands Police, Scene was told: “Anyone with information can contact 101 or use Live Chat on our website quoting crime number 20/191229/23.”

Birmingham Pride Community Event to return in May

Posted on by Catherine Muxworthy

The Birmingham Pride Community event will be returning for its third year in 2023, offering a free event to the local community. Held on the Friday, May 26, the Big Free Community Event will feature key note speakers, a candle-lit vigil, street food, community stalls, LGBTQ+ artists, and live music. Last year, the event saw performances from the likes of Fatt Butcher, Asifa Lahore, Crip Ladywood, Black Peppa, and more.

This year, the event will be held, not at the Smithfield site as it has been in the past two years, but instead in the heart of the city’s Pride Village on Hurst Street.

Birmingham Pride’s community event will be held from 6pm on the evening before the festival and Pride Parade, which will be held from Saturday, May 27 to Sunday, May 28.

Tickets are, once again, free, however, they are limited. Tickets can be booked online now.

Wolverhampton Pride announces headline artists

Posted on by Catherine Muxworthy

Wolverhampton Pride has announced the headline acts for the 2023 event: UK commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest and BBC Radio 2 DJ, Scott Mills; drag performer Baga Chipz – a runner up on season 1 of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK and star of Drag Race UK Vs the World; and The Fizz – a group comprised of Cheryl, Mike, Jay – formerly of Bucks Fizz – who won Eurovision in 1981 with the song Making Your Mind Up.

Joining them on the line-up is the UK’s first openly transgender rapper, Nate Ethan Watson; tribute act Elton Fantastic, who will perform all of Elton John’s biggest hits; local musician, songwriter and performer Alex Vann; plus, more local acts and DJs to be announced soon.

The event will feature a Pride parade, main stage with live music, drag artists and DJs, food, bars, community stalls, face painting, quiet area and more.

Wolverhampton Pride will be held in 2023 on Saturday, June 10 in Old Market Square from 12 – 10pm. Tickets are available online now, priced from £3 for adults and just £1.50 for concession tickets (12-17, over 65s, disabled and carer), and under 12s free.

The Trans Tearoom comes to Birmingham this spring

Posted on by Catherine Muxworthy

A brand-new trans-led project, the Trans Tearoom, will be opening in Birmingham city centre in April this year. The community space for gender fluid, non-binary and trans people across the West Midlands will initially offer a weekly drop-in space on Wednesday afternoons, and their aim is to provide a range of different spaces online and in-person to support the community.

The leadership team so far includes: Adam Khan (They/Them), chair of trustees; Milo Spearman (They/He), Secretary; August Gawen (He/Him), Treasurer; and Catherine Sharman (She/Her), Volunteer Project Co-Ordinator. Ahead of their launch in April, the Trans Tearoom are also currently recruiting additional trustees and volunteers, which you can find out more about on their website.

When the Trans Tearoom opens in early April, it will be home to a social meeting space for refreshments as well as a clothes shop where people can purchase gender-affirming clothing and accessories on a pay-as-you-can basis. If you would like to stay up-to-date with the latest news from the Trans Tearoom, you can sign up with your email via their website on follow them on Facebook and Instagram.

Petition launched to protect Birmingham’s Chinatown and Gay Village

Posted on by Catherine Muxworthy

A petition has been launched objecting to Lendlease and Smithfield development plans which ignores Chinatown and “provides a under-developed and limited pedestrian access to the LGBT quarter.”

The Say No to Smithfield Development campaign – created on Change.org by Councillor Alex Yip – aims to “Help us to do justice to Birmingham’s Future by objecting to the outline plan at the Smithfield Development – forcing them to link their proposals to our city’s Chinatown and Gay Village, and to create a much-needed World Class Festival Space as Birmingham City Council promised businesses and communities when they closed the Wholesale Markets.”

The current proposed festival space will only provide a small public space, on the site that for the past few years has been home to Birmingham Pride festival – which attracts more than 115,000 visitors a year. The petition suggests that that is “far from fitting for our great city.”

Further concerns have also been raised because the development has been “designed by Crosby Lendlease who are yet to sign the building safety repairs pledge that seeks to improve fire safety standards after the Grenfell Tower Disaster.”

During a council meeting, Councillor Alden asked the leader, Councillor Ian Ward, “Lendlease is one of a handful of major developers reported as still holding out against the Secretary of State’s instructions to sign up to a commitment to repair unsafe buildings. So far, the leader and the council have resisted calls to take a tougher stance against the developer.

“Will the leader, therefore, commit to putting residents’ safety above large contracts with international firms or flagship projects, and issue a notice saying the council will not work with contractors who refuse to accept responsibility for cladding on buildings they built, and will they ban such developers from working with the council going forward?”

In response, Cllr Ward said: “I am aware of the issues with Lendlease and the buildings they have constructed which have cladding that needs to be replaced. We are talking to Lendlease about those matters.

“Unfortunately, I’m unable to commit myself to the request that Cllr Alden has made because that would place the council in a very precarious position.”

People who are equally as concerned about not only the fire safety regulations but also the impact of this development on the city’s Chinatown and LGBTQ+ village can have their voices heard by signing the petition.

POWER IN PRIDE: First look at line-up of Birmingham Pride 2023

Posted on by Catherine Muxworthy

Ahead of their upcoming Pride Festival – which will take place over the May Bank Holiday – Birmingham Pride have released the first acts on their line-up. The acts released so far for Birmingham Pride 2023 are those performing on Sunday, May 28.

On the Mainstage – in partnership with Jaguar – Birmingham Pride will see performances from; Gabrielle (Dreams, Out of Reach), B*witched (C’est La Vie), Atomic Kitten (Whole Again, the Tide is High, Eternal Flame), Boney M (Rasputin), a DJ set from Rylan, Liberty X (Just a Little), Caity Baser (X&Y), star of RuPaul’s Drag Race UK Black Peppa, and Sweet Female Attitude (Flowers).

On the Conrad Guest Cabaret Stage performances will come from; Sandra, Son of a Tutu, Brenda La Beau, Martha D’Arthur, Jodie Doody as Kylie, Michelle Lawson as Whitney, Flick, Lady Imelda, Donna Trump, Pam Catz, Fatt Butcher and Blanche.

What was previously known as the Community Stage will get a rebrand in 2023 as the Carlos Medina Stage in commemoration of a legend of Birmingham’s LGBTQ+ community who sadly passed away in September last year. The line-up for this stage includes; Virgo, The Enby Show, Jenna Davinci, Tristan Treble, Alesha Tried, Ula Lah, Blü Romantic, Mr Peach, House of Andre, Samosa, and Yshee Black.

In the Dance Area on Sunday, you will find; Jess Bays, Joe Hunt, Forbid, Paul Morrell, Nick Charles, Chunky B, Marcus James, Lisa Sharred, and Yan Simonski. While the Future Stage will feature performances from; Mnelia, Eddy Luna, Darkwah, Sophielou, Zoellz, APW, Lesia, and local DJs.

The theme of this year’s Birmingham Pride – supported by HSBC UK – is Power in Pride and it will be held Saturday, May 27 – Sunday, May 28.

Tickets are on sale now.

Beverley Knight MBE nominated for an Olivier Award for her role in ‘Sylvia’

Posted on by Catherine Muxworthy

Wolverhampton-born Beverley Knight MBE has been nominated in the Actress in the Supporting Role in a Musical category at this year’s Olivier Awards. The English recording artist and musical actress – who also stars as a judge on the ITV series Starstuck – plays Emmeline Pankhurst in the Old Vic’s Sylvia, a role which she has reprised, having also played the historic feminist figure on the West End in 2018.

Beverley Knight is nominated alongside Maimuna Memon, who plays Nikki in the National Theatre production of Standing at the Sky’s Edge at the Olivier Theatre. Liza Sadovy and Marisha Wallace have also been nominated, both for performances in the Young Vic’s Rodgers & Hammerstein’s Oklahoma!.

Knight stars alongside Sharon Rose, who plays the lead role of Sylvia in the Old Vic production which tells the story of the often lesser-known Pankhurst who was at the heart of the Suffragette movement.

The Stage reported on Knight in Sylvia: “[She] is resplendent as campaigning mastermind matriarch Emmeline Pankhurst, her voice a molten, golden glory as she propels her daughters on to the front line.”

Knight’s musical credits also include The Bodyguard, Memphis, Cats, Cinderella, Sweet Charity, Pantoland, The Drifters Girl and Sister Act. The actor has already been awarded two Olivier Awards; the first in 2015 for Memphis, and the second in 2022 for The Drifters Girl.

REVIEW: ‘The Way Old Friends Do’ @ Birmingham Repertory Theatre

Posted on by Catherine Muxworthy

The Way Old Friends Do – written and starring Ian Hallard (The Boys in the Band), and directed by Mark Gatiss (Sherlock, Dracula, Doctor Who, The League of Gentlemen) – is to show at Birmingham Repertory Theatre from Tuesday, February 28 till Saturday, March 4.

This tender new comedy, presented by Birmingham Rep and James Seabright in association with Jason Haigh-Ellery and Park Theatre, showcases a heartfelt story of queer friendship and a love of ABBA.

Two Birmingham school friendships in the late 1980s share coming outs – one as gay and the other, as a die-hard ABBA fan. The play catches up with them 30 years later, when the pair – Peter (Ian Hallard) and Edward (James Bradshaw) – are reunited to form an ABBA tribute band with a twist – the members will all be in drag. Will their friendship survive life on the road though, especially when an attractive stranger becomes part of the equation?

With a sharply funny, high-camp, and dragged-up script, this production is full of laugh-out-loud moments woven alongside the heart-warming story of friendship, coming outs, and love. Packed with glitter, fake beards, platform boots, and ABBA jokes, The Way Old Friends Do is a love letter to LGBTQ+ friendships and fandoms which will appeal to fans of productions like Priscilla: Queen of the Desert.

This uplifting and charming play also stars Donna Berlin as the lesbian stage manager, Sara Crowe as Mrs Campbell, Andrew Horton as Christian and Rose Shalloo as Jodie, and features the voices of Paul O’Grady and Miriam Margolyes.

Following its run in Birmingham, The Way Old Friends Do sets out on a UK tour which includes Sheffield Theatres, Park Theatre, London, and The Lowry, Manchester.

For tickets to the Birmingham show, CLICK HERE

All photos by Darren Bell 

Fierce Festival’s artistic director Aaron Wright to step down

Posted on by Catherine Muxworthy

After seven successful years, Aaron Wright, artistic director of Fierce Festival – a festival of international theatre, performance and experiences which takes place in and around Birmingham – is stepping down. They are moving on to become head of performance and dance at the Southbank Centre, London. Fierce’s executive producer, Pippa Frith, and general manager, Catherine Groom, will step up as co-directors in the interim.

A press release from the festival company said: “Everyone at Fierce is thrilled for Aaron, and wish[es] him the very best in this new venture – they will be at his side as friends and champions.”

Aaron joined Fierce in 2016 and “worked to build a strong team around him, securing two rounds of Arts Council England NPO funding, building company reserves and developing an office base.” They also steered the company through the coronavirus pandemic with online events, before returning the festival to in-person activities in 2022, which was a record-breaking year for Fierce.

Aaron says: “It has been the honour of my life to steer this remarkable organisation for the past seven years. It has exceeded all of my wildest expectations. I’ve made lifelong friends and will miss seeing the Fierce team daily, deeply. I’m incredibly proud of all that we’ve achieved, none of which would have been possible without Pippa Frith and Catherine Groom: my two closest accomplices and the brilliant Fierce board members; past and present. I leave full of bizarre anecdotes that I will dine out on for years. If you see me, do ask me about Trevor the Fly Man.

“The Fierce artistic director role is surely one of the most exciting jobs in the UK arts landscape, offering huge artistic freedom but with real support from an engaged and experienced board. It’s allowed me to see the world whilst building relationships with some of the most exciting artists, at the cutting edge of practice. It’s a life-changing role for someone with buckets of enthusiasm. I can’t wait to see who will lead Fierce astray next.”

Paul Burns, chair of the Fierce board, added: “Aaron is an incredibly gifted curator with a rare set of qualities. He has trust in his own instincts and a bravery to try ideas that seem impossible to realise; care and kindness for the artists and colleagues he works with; and a passion for the organisation, for the work it presents and for its deep rootedness in Birmingham. All of these can be seen in the festivals and projects Aaron has led since starting at Fierce in 2016, but can also be seen in the collaborative, adventurous and confident organisation he leaves behind – all qualities that have flourished under his leadership.

“I think I speak for the board, the team and the city’s arts sector when I say he will be hugely missed, but we look forward to seeing what incredible things he’ll make happen at Southbank Centre.”

Birmingham’s Boltz Nightclub could soon be demolished

Posted on by Catherine Muxworthy

Boltz nightclub – a fetish club on Kent Street in Birmingham’s gay village – could be demolished to accommodate a new 15-storey apartment block. Boltz, which describes itself as the Midlands’ “horniest club”, is currently located near the Nightingale Club and has a capacity for 900 people. However, after plans were submitted last week by developers Prosperity Southside Residences Ltd, the fetish club’s current building could be demolished and replaced with 147 apartments.

Two previous applications for planning permission on this site were refused due to noise concerns from the Nightingale Club. Prosperity Southside Residences Ltd has now returned with a new plan which would ensure that no apartments face the Nightingale Club. This apartment block could, therefore, join a number of other controversial developments in the LGBTQ+ quarter, which have had noise concerns raised in relation to the Nightingale and other nightclubs and bars in the area.

When asked to comment on the planning application, a spokesperson for Boltz told Scene: “Boltz has been a long-standing part of the West Midlands LGBTQ+ scene for 23 years and attracts people from right across the region and beyond. The club, like others in the gay village, has had to re-home three times already due to the redevelopments within the area, and the availability of commercial property. While it’s great to see clubs like the Nightingale receiving some investment and planning considerations, more must be done to safeguard the future of our LGBTQ+ night life.

“We have a good relationship with our landlords and must stress that at this stage only planning is being sought for, and an exit strategy is yet to be agreed.”

Regarding previous planning applications that threatened the Nightingale’s balcony areas, owner of the Nightingale, Lawrence Barton explained: “The relationship between residential and night-time economies can work. If you take any major city centre or gay districts like Soho in London or Manchester, then inevitably over time, residential developments are going to be more commonplace. What each developer has to be mindful of is that they have to respect the community and the night-time economy that is already there.

“They are going to have people coming out at unsociable hours and people making noise. It’s a complex puzzle of trying to navigate our way forward and embracing developments, while also not ruining the LGBTQ+ community. I think there is space for both of them.”

Latest News

Community News The Sussex Beacon announces new direction
LGBTQ+ News Campbell Johnstone, the first openly gay All Black, ties the knot with partner Ben Thomson
Film History maker! Karla Sofía Gascón becomes first openly trans woman to be nominated in Leading Actress category at the BAFTAs
Transgender News Republicans, and two Democrats, vote to ban trans women and girls from school sports
X