Posts

Showing posts from February, 2021

Legends of Drag: H.I.H The Grand Duchess Regina Fong

Image
Last night, I watched the much admired Drag Race UK for the first time. I had heard some good things about it and thought it might be worth a shot seeing as there was bugger all else on the television. So, I fired up my 'laptop' - if you can call it that. I was given it in the early 2000s by a nephew - I call it the paving slab as it's just as thick and probably just as heavy (although I can't say I have much experience of heavy lifting, dear). Anyway, I dusted the wretched thing off and turned it on for the first time in donkey's years. After navigating the web to the IPlayer, I cracked open a babycham, chewed on a salted peanut and settled into watching it. Whilst the style of drag has seemingly changed over the years, and I can't say I am RuPaul's biggest fan, I was struck by how wonderful it is to have such a popular, entertaining and flamboyant  show on our screens when in my day it would have been unimaginable. This got me looking back, once again,  on

Forgotten LGBT Heroes of the Theatre: Micheál MacLiammóir and Hilton Edwards

Image
Far be it from me to gossip - as you all know I am discretion personified - but I was being a bit of a silver surfer the other day and stumbled across quite an interesting theatrical titbit online. You didn't hear it from me but it is  rumoured that, in his youth, the esteemed Irish actor of the last century, Micheal MacLiammoir ,  had an affair with General Eoin Duffy who, during the 1930s was the head of the quasi-fascist Irish blueshirts. Fancy that? Although, there is no evidence to substantiate this claim, other than idle gossip and tittle tattle, this got me looking back at the career of MacLiammoir and his partner Hilton Edwards. What follows, is a brief account of their story. If you care to pull up a pouffe, pour yourself a tipple of your choice and light yourself a well deserved fag, I'll begin... *** The Gate Theatre in Dublin has long been heralded as a mecca for the arts in Ireland. If I was to walk on its hallowed ground today, or any day over the last year or so,

'Tis a blushing shame faced spirit: Gielgud's cottaging catastrophe!

Image
 Sir John Gielgud was, without a doubt, one of the finest actors of his generation. With his silky smooth tones and polished delivery, he was the archetypal classical actor of the last century with a cerebral quality to his performances which contrasted with the physicality of his contemporaries (such as the much revered Larry Olivier). Despite his own international acclaim, this much admired knight of the realm was in fact arrested for cottaging whilst he was at the pinnacle of his acting career. Naughty, naughty Johnny G! Tut, tut, tut. Whist there was indeed much scandal at the time, this incident failed to blight his career, his reputation or his legacy which lives on - in fact the whole debacle has more or less been confined to the annals of forgotten theatrical history. So, what actually happened? How did dear Sir John comeback from it?   Let me set the scene. It's 1953. It's the 21st of October. Chelsea. Midnight. After a long days rehearsal and a few drinks afterwards,