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Brighton Bears On the Move!

Brighton Bear Weekender 2020 new dates announced.

Brighton Bear Weekend is an annual event for bears, cubs and friends in Brighton. With London Pride recently announcing the dates of Pride 2020 will be a week earlier than normal, Brighton Bear Weekend (BBW) have decided to move the dates of next year’s BBW to Thursday, June 18 to Sunday, June 21. It is also an extra special anntiversary in 2020 as the BBW is ten years old.

Graham Munday, Chair of BBW, said: “The belated announcement that London Pride was moving from its traditional weekend did rather throw us, and after much discussion, we felt we had little choice but to move our dates.

“We apologise if it had caused any confusion or disruption to peoples plans. We hope by doing this with plenty of time that we have minimised any inconvenience to people.

“We are looking forward to seeing you all here in Brighton on the 18th to 21st of June when we reach our landmark 10th Birthday.”

For more info and to buy tickets, visit the BBW website. 

Brighton & Hove marks Trans Day of Remembrance: Sunday, November 17

All trans, non-binary, intersex and gender-variant folk, and allies, are welcome to attend two events to mark Trans Day of Remembrance (TDoR) in Brighton on Sunday, November 17.

Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDOR) is the annual observance that honours the memory of those whose lives were lost in acts of anti-transgender violence.

Dorset Gardens Methodist Church at Dorset Gardens, Brighton, BN2 1RL will be facilitating a service as a space of faith and belief from 1.30–2.30pm with a singing performance from Rainbow Chorus and RC+, and light refreshments provided.

The BMECP Centre at 10A Fleet St, Brighton BN1 2GR will be hosting an opportunity to remember and celebrate the lives of those lost, with activities, the sharing of creative work and socialising, from 3–7pm.

Veggie/vegan catering will be provided for a community meal at the BMECP event, which will be in the form of a buffet, including gluten free options.

Trans Pride Brighton & Hove and the Clare Project, have funded these events, and the organisers wish to thank those involved in the community consultation, in particular Trans Pride Brighton & Hove, QTIPoC Narratives, and English Collective of Prostitutes. MindOut is also providing support and signposting.

Both venues are wheelchair accessible. They are sober events and the organisers of TDoR have also politely requested for police to not attend, either on or off duty.

If you have specific enquiries then please email the organisers: tcpbrighton@gmail.com or call: 01273 234009 (ask for Grace).

REVIEW: Burying the Dead: Ceruleo @BREMF

BURYING THE DEAD 

Ceruleo

St George’s Church,

31 October 2019

This rather delightful conceit was an engaging night of music and historical exposition, with Niall Ashdown as a bedbound Purcell slipping in and out of dreams as his fevers take hold and leading us on a merry jaunty around his memories.

Musical director of Ceruleo- Satoko Doi-Luck  has chosen fine pieces of Purcell’s music and some rather superb sopranos Emily Owen and Jenni Harpe who’s lyrical brilliance filled the warm acoustic of St Georges. We rediscover  joy in some of his most perfect songs, removed from their more problematic homes and allowed to blossom  here, shorn of wider meaning and just given a space to shine, worked into the narrative, Purcell giving them context and the narrative an underscoring of personal  meaning as well as giving space to explore his relationships with his wife and other women.

Full listing of the music of this event can be seen here  

Ashdowns Purcell is all flapping bed gown, intimate asides and convincing confusion as his fever matches on. We’re taken to his childhood at the beginning of the great plague, his mother speaking louder to drown out the daily calls to ‘bring out your dead’;  he talks of the cobblestones on the streets all grassed over, as the dead pile up all around. We learn of his family, it’s changes and disruptions and also of the Great Fire of London where Purcell was a chorister in Westminster and an eye witness to the ragging firestorm which destroyed 80% of London. Kate Conway playing viola da gamba and Toby Carr on the impressive theorbo and also guitar keep the music of 17th century England alive and throbbing as the narrative unfolds and twists like the bed-sheets on stage.

Ending with perhaps one of Purcell’s most famous pieces, ‘Thy hand Belinda… When I am laid in earth’ from Dido and Aeneass ent us off into the trick and treating nights of Kemptown full of seasonal crepuscular thrills.

“When I am laid, am laid in earth, May my wrongs create

No trouble, no trouble in thy breast;

Remember me, remember me, but ah! forget my fate.

Remember me, but ah! forget my fate.”

 

For more info about up and coming BREMF events see the website here. 

 

REVIEW: Jerker @ King’s Head Theatre

Jerker

directed by Ben Anderson

King’s Head Theatre

Playwright Robert Chesley, who died of an Aids-related illness in 1990,described his often-banned 1985 play Jerker as “ a pornographic elegy “- it’s an interesting paradox to consider as most would regard pornographic as a derogatory term.

But this important work in the LGBTQ+ cultural canon, is just that – amazingly explicit and erotic but also deeply emotional, poetic and humane.

If anything we tend to laugh at the ludicrous nature of phone sex which is the central “ action” of this play set in San Francisco. The actors don’t hold back in their physical climaxes, although they never have any real bodily contact. Fantasies are played out with great glee and imagination – from incestuous brothers to bondage in the dark deep woods, confessions and torture. But underlying these episodes – and there are quite a few of them – there are other short scenes where we learn something about the two characters – JR and Bert.  JR is a Vietnam veteran and now queer social historian, while Bert is something in the business world , booted and suited.

But there’s a clever tension in the piece – the playing field is not level. JR has actually met Bert several times in the gay bars of the Castro, and Bert has given him his phone number. Trouble is Bert can’t remember doing it and he’s at a distinct disadvantage which he seems to relish in a sexual way.

Aids is at the core of the period and of this play and there is the inevitable death offstage, but what Chesley is telling us through his sympathetic treatment of these two men, who crave affection and attention,  is that as he puts it “ a virus can’t kill love “ . He says in the play’s preface that “ nobody ever died from being offended by what they hear or see, but prudery kills”.

It’s a strong affirmation of the right to love, to be loved and to live a free-flowing life.

In the end the story ends tragically as we knew all along it would but along the way Tibu Forbes as Bert and Tom Joyner as JR work such magical chemistry between them that it’s a truly uplifting evening.

Jerker directed by Ben Anderson is at the King’s Head Theatre, London until 23 November.

For more info or to book tickets see their website

Stand Up to LGBTQ+ Hate Crime held 3rd London demonstration

Stand Up to LGBTQ+ Hate Crime (SUTLHC), an inclusive and non-sectarian coalition of activists, trade unionists, and community groups, held their  third demonstration in support of inclusive LGBTQ+ education in central London on Saturday, November 2. 

The demonstration, which started at  Downing Street and continued on to the Eros Statue in Piccadilly Circus,  featured a live Sex and Relationships Education lesson, as well as a Show & Tell Open Mic at the Eros Statue where people shared their experiences of LGBTQ+ education.  There was a happy crowd with  placards, banners, musical instruments, flags and umbrellas. With a prize awarded  for the queerest umbrella.

Speakers on the day included Guy Smallman, photojournalist; Jarosław Kubiak, Polish Rainbow in the UK, Polish LGBT Network; Michael Dance & Melissa Hind, National Education Union LGBT+ National Organising Forum (personal capacity); a speaker from Hackney NEU; Daniela Abraham, Roma community activist; Sean Dewey, vice-chair Waltham Forest Pride Committee (personal capacity); Tashnuva Fardousi, bi human rights activist from Bangladesh; Nicola Field, founding member of LGBT Against Islamophobia; Marzena Zukowska, queer Polish activist & member of Dziewuchy London; Paul Phillips, National Education Union member and Equality/ SRE specialist (personal capacity); Nadia Ib, Stand Up to Racism.

For more info on  the group or to see any up and coming events , click here

ARC Amsterdam Lowlanders new naked 2020 calendar released

ARC Amsterdam Lowlanders, the only LGBT+ Rugby team in The Netherlands, presents their new naked calendar for 2020, with a particular spin: embracing diversity in a world dominated by stereotypes.

The goal of this calendar is to raise funds to participate in the biennial inclusive world rugby cup, the Bingham Cup, which will be organized in 2020 in Ottawa, Canada. The Lowlanders calendar is a reference to the inclusiveness of sport and rugby culture where there is room for everyone without pursuing a body idealized by today’s society.

Photographer and player Henri Verhoef had his teammates pose at the Allard Pierson Museum: “There is no sport as inclusive as rugby. Large, small, muscular, thick, juicy, long, thin: it is a sport where there is literally room for everyone. In this calendar we show that there is no real ideal image. The players are photographed as sculptures that show that there can be strength in vulnerability and cohesion in diversity.”

Pieter Lokman, chairman of Amsterdam Lowlanders: “Once every two years, more than ninety gay rugby teams from around the world come together for one of the largest LGBT + amateur rugby tournaments in Rugby Union, the Bingham Cup. To get our entire team, including those who cannot afford such a trip to Canada, this year, our members have been working diligently on this calendar. Passion is one of the core values of rugby, as well as respect, companionship, and 100% commitment. Since 2003, the Lowlanders have been offering LGBT + people the opportunity to develop these sides of themselves, to be part of the global rugby family and to feel that there is room for everyone in this rugged sport. ”

In this year’s edition, players of the Amsterdam Lowlanders pose together with statues at the Allard Pierson museum. Combining the old with the new, we created new sculptures showing that there is no one true ideal. Sculptures that show that there can be strength in fragility and cohesion in diversion. That opposites stand next to each other, on one pitch, as one team

The calendar can be purchased starting from November here for 17,50 euro.

Older & Out gathering on Friday, November 8

Older & Out, a social group for older LGBTQ+ people in Brighton, will be meeting on Friday, November 8 from 12.30pm at the Somerset Centre, 62 St James’ Street, Brighton BN2 1PR.

This month, singer and guitarist Harriet will be providing the entertainment. Previously known as Travis, Harriet fronted the popular Brighton band Eddie Berlitz, headlining Brighton Pride amongst other things.

Older & Out say: “We’ve been assured that Harriet is very confident and always gets the audience participating in her set!”

Older & Out are also starting to makes plans for their Older & Out Christmas Party on Friday, December 13 at the Somerset Centre. Have a think about party games, readings or songs you might like to see incorporated into the day, and the organisers will see what they can do…

For more info on Older & Out, visit their website or see their Facebook page. 

BMECP Centre make statement about Women’s Place UK event

The Brighton BMECP Centre have made a statement following the large and vocal QTIPOC  ( Queer, Trans, Intersex People of Colour) & allies community lead protests outside the venue during the Labour Party Conference when Women’s Place UK held a meeting.  The BMECP Centre said-

“Following the Women’s Place UK (WPUK) event held at the BMECP Centre we would like to state that we have no affiliation with WPUK. WPUK have been known to express sentiment which is harmful to trans and non-binary communities and this does not align with our organisation’s ethos around equality and inclusion. We were not aware of WPUK’s ethos of trans exclusion and erasure when we received this booking.

BMECP is committed to equality and inclusion – we are a not for profit community organisation that champions Black and Minority Ethnic (BME) communities in Brighton & Hove and supports BME communities and their families. We recognise the intersectional nature of people’s identities and we believe in supporting and protecting the most vulnerable people in our city.

We are aware of the subtle but harmful narratives aiming to roll back the existing rights of trans people, particularly trans women. We know that trans women, including trans women of colour, experience some of the worst discrimination and oppression in our society. BMECP have a strong ethos towards supporting all women, especially the most vulnerable. We stand by our trans and non-binary communities through this challenging time – and want to make sure than no women feel excluded, or made to feel like they don’t belong.

We have worked with a diverse range of community groups and organisations across the city to support equality and inclusion. We are honoured to be a space chosen to host one of this year’s ‘Transgender Day of Remembrance’ events, in support of the local Trans and Non-Binary, and Queer, Trans, Intersex People of Colour (QTIPOC) communities.

We recognise that we have lessons to learn and we would like to work together with local community organisations to do more together. We would like this negative experience to be one of learning where we can reach out to other organisations, venues or community spaces to raise awareness of the subtle and harmful ways that some groups can use our carefully nurtured spaces to platform views tainted with prejudice.

Our resource centre is a safe space for everyone to come together, be themselves and be free to express every part of their identity. We unreservedly apologise to trans and non-binary communities, including trans people of colour, and partners organisations for any harm caused to you by our event space being used for this event”

You can read more about this statement and also other information about the BEMCP here.

Learn more about the community lead event marking Transgender Day of Remembrance being held at the BMECP on Sunday 17th November 2019 here.

 

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