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PREVIEW: Deadlines & Diets

A comedy show about friendship, love and wine.

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DEAR Diary… the world has changed. You can’t just run around in a tank top not giving a shit anymore. Apparently. Remember when there used to be proper rules about when to kiss on a date? Now we all stress about the double tick on Whatsapp.

Diary, I think I should write a show about that. Like a comedy show written by Taylor Swift and Dolly Parton’s gay best friend.

“Positive, fun, feel-good… Probably the best free fringe show I’ve seen” (Scotsgay)


 

Event: Deadlines & Diets presented by Aaron Twitchen

Where: Laughing Horse, Caroline of Brunswick, 39 Ditchling Road, Brighton

When: May 8-10, 15-17, 22-23, 29-31

Time: 18.30pm running time 1 hour

Tickets: Entry free

For more information, click here:

REVIEW: Texas 25th Anniversary Tour

 

 

 

 

 

It might be 25 years since Texas first hit the charts with I Don’t Want a Lover in 1989, but they’re back on tour and as brilliant as ever.

Texas

Not many bands can boast such an extensive back-catalogue. Texas have just embarked upon their 25th anniversary tour after releasing ’25’, a commemorative album of their greatest hits on February this year.

Their show at Brighton Dome was completely sold out, and in a reflection of their continuing popularity, a crowd of all ages eagerly filled the Dome on Saturday (April 18) night.

An impressive array of instruments covered the stage, and as the crowd took to their seats and waited for Texas to appear, the excitement was palpable. The 25th anniversary tour was billed as An Evening with Texas, featuring amusing stories and a question and answer section along with the band’s fantastic live show. With an interval halfway through the feature-length performance, much of the show saw everyone up on their feet.

Lead vocalist Sharleen Spiteri is known for her live performances, and on the opening night of the band’s new tour she didn’t disappoint. The anecdotal stories about the band, alongside Spiteri’s quick comebacks during banter with the audience showed that despite being 25 years into her career with Texas, Spiteri’s stage presence is as strong as ever.

Her vocals were on point, and their set consisted of a nicely-balanced mix featuring their catalogue of hits, along with a couple of covers and some songs from Spiteri’s solo albums.

The band played together seamlessly, and even added in an extra song after an impromptu request from an audience member. At one point during the show Spiteri got down from the stage and wandered into the crowd to help a woman with a pre-planned (and successful) proposal.

Originally formed by bass player Johnny McElhone in 1986, Texas played their debut concert at Dundee University in Scotland in March 1988. After years of playing shows at large arenas including Wembley, the band now favour smaller venues, offering fans a more intimate experience.

An Evening With Texas – The 25th Anniversary tour continues until May 7.


 

April

20th – The Lowry, Salford Quays

22nd – Royal Concert Hall, Glasgow

24th – Alhambra Theatre, Dunfermline

25th – Queens Hall, Edinburgh

27th – Sage, Gateshead

28th – City Hall, Hull

29th – Royal Concert Hall, Nottingham

May

1st – Forum, Bath

2nd – London Palladium, London

3rd – Winter Gardens, Margate

5th – St David’s Hall, Cardiff

6th – Hexagon Theatre, Reading

7th – Southend Cliffs Pavilion, Southend-On-Sea

For more information, click here:  http://www.texas.uk.com/

Stonewall Workplace Conference

A record number of businesses attended the 12th annual Stonewall Workplace Conference.

Stonewall

STONEWALL, the lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans (LGBT) equality charity, held its 12th annual Workplace Conference on Friday April 17 at the Queen Elizabeth II Conference Centre in London, supported by EY.

Opening keynote speakers were Lord John Browne (Executive Chairman of L1 Energy and author of The Glass Closet: Why Coming Out is Good Business), Steve Varley (Chairman & Regional Managing Partner, EY UK & Ireland) and Stonewall Chief Executive Ruth Hunt.

Ruth Hunt talked about the importance of businesses not being complacent. Her announcement that Stonewall is now a trans-inclusive organisation was received with rapturous applause. Talking about what’s left to do to combat discrimination in the workplace, she said: “for every person here in this room, there are ten who aren’t here”.

Lord Browne’s keynote outlined his own story as a gay man in business; the importance of role models, the benefits of creating inclusive workplaces and the part that great leadership plays in achieving that.

Steve Varley said that speaking on behalf of EY, and as a father and an ally, he stood with pride. EY, he said, is committed to increasing visibility of its allies and that it does not just want to build a better working world, but a better world full stop.

Benny Higgins (CEO, Tesco Bank) and Flight Lieutenant Ayla Holdom (Britain’s first trans military pilot) spoke in the afternoon, alongside a second address from Ruth Hunt.

Benny Higgins described his passionate interest in fairness and decency and gave a nod to George the Poet for words that inspire him, and highlighted both the importance of meritocracy and of being yourself.

Ayla Holdom talked about her experience of being the first openly trans pilot in the military and the importance of role models, describing diversity as an ‘active process’.

Over 750 delegates from the public, private and third sectors attended the event, which is Britain’s leading conference on lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans equality in the workplace.

Breaking new ground was the theme for the 2015 conference, which covered topics including global, trans and senior leaders in business. It is also the first year the conference has been fully trans-inclusive.

Simon Feeke
Simon Feeke

Simon Feeke, Director of Workplace Programmes at Stonewall, said: “People perform better when they can be themselves, and Stonewall works with over 750 businesses who really recognise this. Not only do they want the best for their lesbian, gay, bisexual and trans staff – but they also understand the business benefits of a diverse workforce”.

Calling All Artists!

Brunswick Town Art Fair are looking for local creatives to take part in Brunswick Town Art Fair 2015.

Brunswick Town Art fairARE you a Sussex-based artist, designer, illustrator or photographer?

The fourth Brunswick Town Art Fair takes place on Sunday, June 28 in the historic Regency setting of Brunswick Square Gardens, Hove.

The fair is the city’s only outdoor summer event that showcases the work of local artists in an extensive exhibition of work, including: painting, illustration, photography, sculpture, jewellery and ceramics.

Admission is free for visitors and all work on show is for sale.

If you would like to apply for an application form, email:

For more information, click here:

We need to talk about suicide

Grassroots Suicide Prevention charity launch a new campaign to tackle the concerning situation regarding suicide rates in Brighton and Hove.

The Grassroots Suicide Prevention Team
The Grassroots Suicide Prevention Team

BRIGHTON, often referred to as ‘London-By-The-Sea’, is famously liberal, the LGBT capital of the UK and the number one location for a weekend away. It has also been named as one of the best cities in the UK to live on numerous occasions and was listed as one of the best cities to visit in Europe last month.

What is not so well known however, is that Brighton and Hove’s suicide rate is nearly twice as high as the average for the South East and England as a whole.

Grassroots Suicide Prevention are a Brighton charity who work on a whole community approach to ensure that suicide is not just prevented at the time, but the means are in place to ensure that the future is safer too. They have a solution to open up the channels of communication around suicide and help to reduce these worrying statistics in Brighton and Hove, around the UK and the entire planet.

The plan includes training for businesses in Brighton and Hove so that their staff are given the skills to prevent suicide and most importantly are prepared to talk about it.

The charity have perfected training for businesses. It is a unique scheme which will help employees who are thinking about suicide, colleagues who are worried about someone and employers who want to provide the best working environment for their staff.

They have developed a pledge for Brighton and Hove businesses to sign to show their support for the campaign and are also compiling data about how suicide in the workplace is handled currently.

So far the survey has shown that over 30% of businesses in Brighton and Hove have been impacted by suicide and are aware that 20-40% of their employees are experiencing mental health problems in the workplace (e.g. depression, anxiety, psychosis).

Their goal is to have 100 businesses signed up to their pledge by World Suicide Prevention Day on September 10. This campaign is part of Grassroots’ ground-breaking initiative to develop Brighton & Hove as an internationally recognised ‘suicide safer city.’

Chris Brown, director of Grassroots Suicide Prevention, said: “Brighton & Hove has a very high suicide rate and we want to work with local businesses to change that. Businesses are uniquely placed to reach out to their staff and colleagues who might be thinking of suicide. Most people who die by suicide are of working age and many will be in employment. 

“By signing up to this pledge companies can be more aware of the needs of colleagues who might be struggling with difficult feelings and be able to offer some support and information about where to go for help. 1 in 20 of us consider suicide in a 2 week period and business people are no different. Together we can help make our city safer from suicide.” 

Tackling suicide is a huge problem everywhere, with well over 6,000 registered suicides in people older than 15 this year so far. In the last few years Brighton and Hove has seen local suicide rates go back up to nearly double the average for the rest of England.

The average number of registered suicides of people over 15 in Brighton and Hove was 105 deaths in 2013. This is 12.9% of deaths per 100,000 people and far higher than the UK average which is 8.8%. (The statistics for suicides take years to collate due to the nature of Coroner’s Courts so any data Grassroots Suicide Prevention have to work with is always two years behind.)

For a small city such as Brighton and Hove to be considerably higher than Manchester, Birmingham or London is a worrying situation and the first step to changing this is to open up the channels of discussion.

Martin Harris
Martin Harris

Martin Harris, Managing Director of Brighton & Hove Bus Company, said: “The work carried out by Grassroots Suicide Prevention is vital in helping challenge stigma attached to suicide and to help raise awareness of mental health issues that can affect anyone at anytime. Grassroots makes a valuable contribution in helping our community and we look to support this work in whichever ways we can.”

Suicide is the leading cause of death for men under 50 with 78% of all suicides being committed by men. We spend on average 50 hours a week at work so, whether we like it or not, our occupation is a significant part of our lives. This is not to say that an employer is the cause of a potential suicide but that it is an ideal opportunity to reach out and be trained to deal with preventing suicide.

Stopping someone attempting suicide conjures up images of talking someone down from a ledge or a heroic last minute save like we see in Hollywood movies but in reality it’s mostly very different.

If you are worried about someone or feel that your business could benefit from this training then take the pledge.

To sign up for the free suicide alertness training or fill out the survey, click here:

To find out more about suicide prevention, click here: 

 

 

OPERA REVIEW: Between Worlds: Tansey Davies

Between Worlds
Tansey Davies
Barbican Theatre, London

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Between Worlds is the first operatic commission composed by Tansy Davies, with a libretto by Nick Drake and directed by Deborah Warner.

Between Worlds is a spiritual, poetic and ultimately uplifting drama, based on the events of 9/11 but focussing particularly on the relationships and emotions of the people affected. This new opera addresses one of the most significant events of the twenty-first century, bringing the universal operatic themes of tragedy, loss, courage, grief and healing into a contemporary context. It is the second ENO production to be co-commissioned by the Barbican, following Sunken Garden which played in the Theatre in 2013.

Michael Levine’s three level set works well, these people are removed from each other and yet touch, and over all the angelic/shamanic presence of counter tenor Andrew Watts sees all and anticipates action.

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This constant ethereal presence which is detached from the main action yet seemingly aware of it and the narrative flow is both distracting and piercing, it seems to be beyond care of consideration of the desperation and despair on stage, it’s a glassy sheer thing beyond the judgement which every moment of this piece brings with it and it’s a confusing presence.

The chorus stare out at us, and one by one the main protagonists dissolve out of this crowd forming into momentary real characters, the lover, the mother, the manager, the cleaner, before taking their places on the next level in an office on one of the higher floors of the World Trade Towers. Each of their final interactions with family heavy with meaning.

The simplicity works to expose the complexity of the music. Gerry Cornelius brings as much as he can out of the tortured tonal climatic reaches which collapse and subside into the foam of echoed memory, but this music and story is too big, too powerful and sometimes although trying very hard to reach sublime it returns to the subtle, the understated, the reflective. The music veers away from drama, as does the action and brings us back to the simple, the understandable, the moment. The ending fantasy of harp, strings and high woodwind catches the breath as it fades. I was astonished.

Without any kind of knowledge of what’s happening or why the characters are indeed between two worlds, this is a moment, a time thats seared on all our minds and then played over and over and over again, for these characters it is just happening, the once and only awful dreadful time. They cannot see, as we did – the outside – they are inside looking out, they are not forced as we were to observe the horror of the fall. Their lives, their honest breathing moments are portrayed as the normal moments that we each and every day perform, without thinking about them, but there those moments are laden with such portents of doom that they can hardly be watched. The last kiss, the last farewell, a dinner plan never fulfilled, a kiss missed, a rushed goodbye, it´s simple and devastating.

There is huge beauty in this horror, such vivid light from this pressing darkness, the ordinary made sacred and how these small moments hold all the feeling of the end of these lives and it’s a reflection of the all encompassing and redeeming power of Love, it´s supremely catholic in that way and the piece echoes the progress and internal structure of the latin funeral mass.

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Eric Greene as the grieving janitor marshalls people to accept their fate and his resonant voice kept the metronomic beat of these last moments.

Rhian Lois is transfixing as she sends her final moments of love to her passionate lesbian lover.

Clare Presland as a panicky, fearful mother trembles with emotion and regret and Philip Rhodes brings all the power of his voice to bear on his arrogant, unbelieving struggle to accept the truth.

Ever magnificent Susan Bickley´s mother forced to watch her sons final hours on each and every screen is a tour de force of agony and beseeching love. She was superb.

Suspended dancers writhed in mid air, not falling but turning and the choreography was ethereal and poignant, with one tremendous moment of a dancer being spun in ever greater arcs until they were let go of, lost to needful grasp and they rose up and out of the staging.

To see Tansey Davis talking about the development of the opera, click here:

We know this narrative, have had it dissected so many times that to have to think and experience the moments of the people not as numbers, statistics or world changing events but as people is beautiful and transcendent and makes the unfolding horror bearable.

There is an eerie calm on stage, all the horror takes place off stage, we hear of it, but never see it, the crowded screaming panicked stairwells, the poor souls leaping from the flame and the ultimate collapse of the towers. We are as ignorant of developments as the people trapped on the office floors. The symbolic and simple portrayals of the fall of the towers with sheets of paper which almost without sound or warning collapse into a heap of farewell messages and scribbled hopes.

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The Barbican was silent for both moments of collapse, a collective intake and holding of breath, I expected something more, I expected more drama and this was withheld for a more fearful contemplative moment which was all the more powerful for its lack of drama and noise.

The ending of slow silent withdrawal from the stage with some flickering candles taking the presence of the singers is also full of dumb shock, was it over? was that it? It seemed impossible to have finished so soon. It’s a short piece at one and a half hours without interval but after the constant presence of the music rising and settling like an ebbing tide of atonement it was suddenly silent. An aftershock at the opera is always a stunning moment, it’s rare they come so quietly, so contemplatively and so effectively as this.

This is a modern narrative finding its voice for perhaps the first time, a heartless moment being given some soul back. By projecting all the action back on the people inside we are forced to think again about this most hollywood of terrorist outrages and not see it as an attack on our civilization but as a personal loss, of lover, sister, son, of neighbour, friend and colleague.

This is where Davis is at her most effective and touching, these moments of the personal reflective which we witness, the small moments of humanity, of hope and of ultimate recognition of saying the things to the people we love that they most need to hear. That we all need to hear.

I left thoughtful and moved.

Recommended

The Barbican

Runs until April 24, 2015

For more information or to book tickets, click here:

 

Caroline Lucas endorsed by four former Friends of the Earth Directors

Four prominent environmental leaders have today publicly endorsed Caroline Lucas for re-election as MP for Brighton Pavilion.

Caroline Lucas: Green candidate for Brighton Pavilion
Caroline Lucas: Green candidate for Brighton Pavilion

LUCAS, is standing for re-election and in a statement the four, former directors of Friends of the Earth, Jonathon Porritt, Tom Burke, Charles Secrett and Tony Juniper call for her to be returned to Parliament on May 7.

The four environmentalists between them have around 150 years professional experience in making the case for a more sustainable and just society, not only through their work at Friends of the Earth but in a wide range of other roles.

This is the first time they have come together to endorse a General Election candidate.

Their joint statement reads:

“There will be many people out there deeply concerned about to how to cast their vote on May 7 – and equally concerned that up until now the Election campaign has been more or less ‘environment-free’.

“As four former Directors of Friends of the Earth it would be inappropriate for us to urge everyone to vote for Green Party candidates in all constituencies around the country – though we would certainly like to refute the charge that a vote for the Green Party in any of those constituencies is a wasted vote. The Green Party’s new Election broadcast spells out the case for ‘voting true, not tactical’.

“But there is one constituency where a vote for the Green Party is irrefutably not a wasted vote – and that’s Brighton Pavilion. Its MP, Caroline Lucas, is currently the only Green Party MP, and in our view it’s absolutely crucial that she is re-elected.

“Over the last five years, Caroline has eloquently addressed many of today’s most pressing sustainability issues while other parties have largely ignored them. From accelerating climate change to sustainable farming and from human rights to a just and sustainable economy, she has been a clear and vital voice.

“This leadership matters all the more at a time when the mainstream parties are finding it so hard to address these challenges properly. And at a time when politicians from all parties have experienced such low public standing, Caroline Lucas is one of the very few from any party whose integrity is unquestioned. Having MPs like her in Parliament is thus not only good for the environment but for democracy too.

“Our message for voters in the Brighton Pavilion constituency is therefore crystal clear: if concerns about the environment, public services, a sustainable economy and the quality of our democracy are uppermost in your mind, there’s only one way to cast your vote on May 7, and that’s for Caroline Lucas.”

Tom Burke

Tony Juniper

Jonathon Porritt

Charles Secrett

LGBT Hustings tonight for local council elections

The Brighton & Hove LGBT Community Safety Forum are holding Hustings ahead of this years elections.

LGBT Community Safety ForumTHIS is your chance to find out more about the local Councillor Candidates in the local elections, why they are running and what they will do if they are elected.

It’s also your chance to ask questions to candidates about why they should be elected and why you should vote for them.

The event will be held at the Queens Hotel, Brighton, BN1 1NS on Tuesday, April 21 from 7pm till 9pm.

Candidates confirmed to attend are:

Paul Chandler – Liberal Democrat candidate for East Brighton

Geoffrey Theobald – Conservative Party candidate for Patcham and presently Leader of the Conservative group on Brighton and Hove City Council

Phelim MacCafferty – Green Party candidate for Brunswick & Adelaide and presently Chair of planning on Brighton and Hove City Council

Warren Morgan – Labour Party candidate for East Brighton and presently Leader of the Labour group on Brighton and Hove City Council

If you would like to submit a question to be answered on the night email it to info@lgbt-help.com before 12 noon on Monday, April 20.

There is no guarantee all pre submitted questions will be answered on the night. However, you are invited to attend to take part in the live questions and answers session.

The Hustings will be independently chaired by Chris Gull, Chair of the Rainbow Fund and a British Sign Language Interpreter will be present during the event.

Everyone is welcome to attend.

For up to the moment information on the Hustings and the Candidates participating, click here:

For information on persons nominated for the local election, click here:

For information on how to get to the Queens Hotel, click here:

For information on the LGBT Community Safety Forum, click here:

The Queens Hotel is fully accessible. However, If you have any access needs email access@lgbt-help.com

Or telephone: 01273 231189

Or text: 07827 811454

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