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Press Night for Dinner 18:55 at Leeds Playhouse’s Pop-Up Theatre
On Friday it was another trip to Leeds Playhouse’s Pop-Up theatre for the Press Night of Dinner 18:55. The show was an intergenerational community project where old and young came together to share stories of their lives, their past, their emotions and their thoughts. The show focused on loneliness, struggles, family and togetherness. Everybody in the production (a cast of eighteen I believe) was either a Leeds local or resident which made people’s stories feel relatable and more emotive. However, the show was less of a play and more of an expressive piece, a workshop of quips, stories and ideas. There was no real narrative, just a collection of tales, some…
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Press Night for ‘random’ at Leeds Playhouse’s Pop-Up theatre
It’s just an ordinary day in the ordinary life of an ordinary family. As the alarm clock flicks over to 7:37 am, a day begins for an average teenager. After wolfing down a rushed breakfast, they join the hustle and bustle of the outside world. However, all it takes for one random event to completely flip a family’s life on its head. Lives are changed forever following a devastating catastrophe. random by debbie tucker green and directed by Gbolahan Obisesan is a brilliant one-woman show that focuses on the grief and bewilderment of a family tragedy. The demanding role was played by Kiza Deen (Silent Witness and Hollyoaks) and she plays the role…
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TV Review: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4, Episode 9: Last Chance Bitches
I, like the queens, was still in shock over Manila’s departure when this episode aired. Like, I’m fine, I’m not going to write death threats or find a safe space to retreat to – it’s part of the game, but I can’t pretend I wasn’t gutted. However, after Shangela was robbed on All Stars 3, I’ve just accepted that anything can happen. Trinity seemed to be the most vocal in saying how shocked she was that Manila was eliminated. From day 1, Trinity said she would base her decisions on track record and she has absolutely done that throughout the competition. Trinity called Latrice out for not being as upset as…
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Press Night for ‘Kes’ at Leeds Playhouse’s Pop-Up Theatre
I, like most northern folk, watched the film Kes. It was a poignant tale about the working class struggles in Barnsley. The 1968 Ken Loach film, based on the book A Kestrel For A Knave by Barry Hines, is a cult classic that has been watched and loved by generations. Now, the beloved tale of Billy Casper and his treasured pet, Kes, has been adapted for the stage and I have to tell you, I thought it was fantastic. I had the privilege of being invited to the Press Night for Kes at Leeds Playhouse’s Pop-Up Theatre. Now, I haven’t been to Leeds Playhouse (formerly West Yorkshire Playhouse) for quite a few…
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TV Review: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4, Episode 8: RuPaul’s Best Judy Race
Makeover challenges always bring the excitement to an episode – however, this was all far too tense for my liking. First of all, holy fuck! I was not expecting that elimination. Naomi Smalls is a tactical little shade monster. I’m sure it’s no surprise to any of you reading this that Manila Luzon was sent home by Naomi Smalls despite her being the strongest contender in the competition. This was me letting the news of Manila’s departure sink in: I won’t lie, I was pretty gutted as Latrice had done fairly shit in the competition and Manila was the queen I’ve rooted for since they revealed the cast. I’m not…
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TV Review: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4, Episode 7: Queens of Clubs
Bugger me blind, we’re back to 7 queens! Yes after the pointless episode last week where we basically had to watch an hour of lipsync performances of RuPaul’s music, we finally ended up having Latrice Royale back in the competition as well all expected. However, Gia Gunn really put up a fight worthy of a competition re-entry. Of course, Latrice’s beef with Monique has ended now that she’s back in the competition. Anyway, on with the show! After last week’s rather dull episode, Ru came back with a beast of a battle for the queens. Each queen had to come up with a club night, create the theme, design the…
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TV Review: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4, Episode 6: LaLaPaRUza
Last episode’s twist had me gagged, but this week, that gag turned into a dry-heave. “Why Harry? What made you hate it so?” I’m glad you asked. The whole episode was made up of just three things; 1) A plug for RuPaul’s music 2) A reason to get Latrice Royale back in the competition 3) Really bloody boring. But that’s just me, I know some people liked it… From the last episode, we saw the twist coming and I have to say, I was almost exactly what I thought would happen. However, the ‘big twist’ that was so promisingly hype seemed to underdeliver in my eyes – but I’ll get…
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TV Review: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4, Episode 5: Roast In Peace
Gag 👏🏻 of 👏🏻 the 👏🏻 century! This episode really did have everything, comedy, a strong runway, another Stacey Layne Matthews cameo and the mother of all twists. So far, I think this was the strongest episode of All Stars 4, not because of talent, but because it had everything in it. The episode starts where (surprise) Manila reveals that she would have sent Monét home to save her best friend Latrice. For some reason, all the queens saw it as a super shady, disgraceful and tactical. From the moment Manila knew that Latrice was in the bottom, she made it very clear that she couldn’t send home her best friend. However, despite…
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TV Review: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4, Episode 4: Jersey Justice
These queens didn’t come to play this season. In fact, it’s only taken us 4 episodes to see just how hot the competition is getting. And believe me, tough decisions are being made. But that’s just the name of the game. The episode started with Trinity and Manila talking about sending home Gia and what not and both agreed that it was her time to go. However, we did also start to see a bit of Valentina’s shady side come forth once again. Despite being saved by Manila and the fact that Valentina even said “thanks for saving me” and all that jazz, she then went to the confessionals and…
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TV Review: RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 4, Episode 3: Snatch Game Of Love
Well bugger me blind, in the words of Gia Gunn, “Shit’s getting gaggy!” I was quite thrilled to have found a very early leak of episode 3 on YouTube (link at the bottom of the article – just close your eyes and keep scrolling) thanks to the @dragrace_facts Instagram account for pointing it out. I don’t know how or why, but I’m thrilled that episode 3 was leaked online and it was juicy. So I might as well get straight into the review. The episode started with Gia Gunn explaining that she didn’t mean throw Farrah or her team off with the outburst from the last episode and the whole workroom…
