Stage: Ego Trip
In celebration of Brighton Pride, Brighton Dome and Pink Fringe present Altered Egos with the inimitable Bette Bourne
In the week of Brighton Pride, Brighton Dome and Pink Fringe present a special evening of confessional queer theatre from some of the genre’s most trailblazing performers including Bette Bourne, Paul Shaw, Fancy Chance, Le Gateau Chocolat and Julie McNamara. Compered by Timberlina – Tim Redfern’s shambolic comedy creation – the evening promises titillating tall-tales told and juicy secrets shared as the five acts explore the concept of keeping secret lives and identities… whether for fun or as a necessity.
Part cabaret, part theatre, part knees up with a chance to let it all hang out, each act will tackle the theme in their own inimitable style.
Nostalgia runs rife as Bette Bourne and Paul Shaw revisit their latest work ‘A Right Pair’ – a whistle-stop tour of their life together – to discover some obscure gems, favourite scenes and brand new content. From creating and performing in gay theatre company Bloolips to winning OBIE Awards and touring the world, Bourne and Shaw have been partners both offstage and on since the late 1970s and have experienced more than their fair share of glittering high-heel moments alongside down-at-heel moments. This intimate peek behind the curtain at their relationship offers a unique glimpse into true love and its many forms.
Bringing a hilarious, glamorous and exuberantly irreverent take on personal identity, Fancy Chance – the current Alternative Miss World and London’s Top Tranny 2010 – is set to dispense sass by the bucketful via a variety of comic characters and satire. As current art director of Burly Q, the famed queer cabaret in Sheffield, she’s been hailed as the undisputed comic spectacle of the UK burlesque and vaudeville circuit.
Body-hugging lyrca, confectionery and opera collide with outrageous – and often moving – results as Spiegeltent star Le Gateau Chocolat performs a very special repertoire of songs. Having appeared everywhere from the Royal Opera House, BBC Radio 1 and The Paul O’Grady Show, the killer baritone has garnered acclaim around the globe thanks to his show-stopping routines.
Completing the evening’s line-up is pioneering playwright, poet, performer and singer Julie McNamara. Awarded the South Bank Show Diversity Award in 2010, McNamara is creative leader of dynamic new production company Vital Xposure, which sets out to promote hidden voices with extraordinary stories to tell.
Altered Egos, Pavilion Theatre, Brighton Dome,Thursday 30 August, 7.30pm, £10/£8, 01273 709709, www.brightondome.org
STAGE: The Judas Kiss
Hollywood star Rupert Everett comes to Theatre Royal Brighton to play Oscar Wilde, with Freddie Fox as Lord Alfred Douglas, in David Hare’s compelling drama, The Judas Kiss, about the power of all-consuming love and the cruelty of betrayal.
Set in 1895 when Wilde’s masterpiece, The Importance Of Being Earnest, is playing in the West End after a triumphant premiere, but already the wheels are in motion which will lead to his imprisonment, downfall and vilification. Forced to make a choice between his lover and freedom, the ever-romantic Wilde embarks on a course towards self-destruction.
Rupert Everett shot to fame in Julian Mitchell’s play and subsequent film of Another Country. Since then, his leading screen roles have included My Best Friend’s Wedding, The Importance Of Being Earnest and St Trinians. His stage career is equally acclaimed, in particular his portrayal of Henry Higgins in the Chichester Festival Theatre production of Pygmalion. Playing Bosie is Freddie Fox (Hay Fever, Cause Célèbre), one of the most exciting young actors in the UK.
The Judas Kiss, Theatre Royal Brighton, Monday 5–Saturday10 November, 7.45 plus 2.30pm matinees Thursday and Saturday, £19–£39, www.atgtickets.com/brighton
