Greenwich news and information
Thanks to Warren King for this photo of Brian Paddick and Boy George outside Greenwich Theatre. The two appeared in an on-stage discussion after the performance of The Temperamentals.
Warren comments, “I nearly messed it up when Boy George turned up and stormed inside after I ‘papped’ him getting out of the cab. After some persuasion he came out for the publicity shots. I apologised and he was very accommodating. Happy ending!”
Hold onto your hats, Boy George is coming to Greenwich Theatre. He’ll be attending the off-Broadway hit The Temperamentals on 2 June and will take part in an on-stage discussion after the show.
Also taking part will be former top London policeman Brian Paddick and playwright and screenwriter Patrick Wilde.
The play’s director, local Greenwich boy Joseph C Walsh, will have the job of keeping everything in order, or not.
Set in late 1940s America, The Temperamentals tells the story of two men – communist Harry Hay and Austrian refugee and designer Rudi Gernreich – who together set up the Mattachine Society, the world’s first gay rights organisation.
The story explores this “relatively unknown” chapter in history – a time when being gay was illegal and often dangerous.
It is the second time in a year that Joe has brought an award-winning show back to Greenwich Theatre. He wowed audiences last year with From Laramie With Love, a tale about the murdered US teen Matthew Shepard. We interviewed him back then here.
This time he hopes to do the same. The Temperamentals is coming fresh from Ireland where it scooped an award for its run at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival earlier this month.
In a press release Greenwich Theatre welcomed the play’s arrival, which is showing for two nights only:
“The play marks an important moment for Greenwich Theatre – for the first time we have brought together two of our young supported companies – Wild Oats Productions and City Lights Theatre Company – and pooled the resources of the three companies to create the show.
“We are proud to have carried the name of Greenwich Theatre to Ireland with such success, and delighted that such an eminent panel will join us on 2 June to discuss the play.”
Tickets are £12.50, concessions £7.50, through Greenwich Theatre
http://www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk/
Photo: Patrick Wilde, Brian Paddick and Boy George will be on stage on 2 June
‘The Laramie Project’ is the result of an imaginative collaboration between Wild Oats Productions and the Greenwich Theatre; it is a moving and challenging piece of drama. The play is a piece of ‘verbatim theatre’ that draws its script from eyewitness accounts of an actual event. This style of theatre can be effective and affecting, and so it proves on this occasion. The actors forensically dissect the circumstances around the brutal murder of Matthew Shepard, and in the process unpick the small town community of Laramie, Wyoming (population 26687), revealing frightening attitudes towards its gay community. The depth of the tragic subject matter might frighten a potential audience off, but the production has an engaging lightness of touch and a keen sense of the human comedy from which hope eventually emerges.
The eight members of the ensemble play an extraordinary range of characters, changing role from moment to moment, adopting elements of costume that become key to identifying their characters. Islamic feminists, pastors, bar tenders and doctors emerge from the narrative to give their take on the events before they fade into the background of the story. Director Joseph C. Walsh succeeds in organising the staging effectively, leaving the audience in no doubt as to where their focus should lie. He also uses theatrical trickery to great effect, pulling us into the story and making the connection between the actor and the audience more intense.
The play successfully relies on the talents of the actors’ characterisations to maintain the pace of the narrative. Throughout there is a tremendous sense of energy on stage and the actors’ commitment to telling Matthew Shepard’s story is apparent, so much so that it almost becomes a mission. It would be difficult not to be deeply moved by the speech that Francis Adams makes, in the role of Shepard’s father, when addressing a court on the question of the death penalty. For a play that is largely based on words there are many highly charged visual images, not least the simple opening image where chairs create the fence where the crime took place, with simple coat pegs loaded with costumes echoing the three crosses of the crucifixion. My only significant reservation about this production is in relation to the decision to have two intervals instead of one, which seemed to unnecessarily disrupt the flow of the piece as we were approaching the finely tuned conclusion.
As the evening developed, another piece of verbatim theatre, by the Tricycle Theatre about the murder of Stephen Lawrence, sprang to mind. We have our own hate crimes closer to home and ‘The Laramie Project’ is an important piece of work because, for all its focus on small town America, there are universal truths in this play that give it a direct relevance to our local community.
The Laramie Project, Tue 21 – Sat 25 September 2010
Contact Greenwich Theatre for tickets.
‘Emotionally searing’ The Laramie Project talked to 200 townspeople following Matthew Shepard’s torture and murder in 1998.Joseph C Walsh is the young Greenwich director behind the “searing” Laramie Project coming to Greenwich Theatre later this month. Based on the life and brutal 1998 murder of US student Matthew Shepard, the play’s subject matter – prejudice and homophobia – is still, as illustrated by Greenwich’s very own recent , a hot topic. Greenwich.co.uk spoke to Joe to find out more.
Joe, you’re bringing the Laramie Project to Greenwich Theatre – your local theatre – later this month. What’s the play about?
It examines a small town’s reaction to the murder of 21-year-old University of Wyoming student Matthew Shepard in 1998. The original writers of the play travelled to Laramie six times in the 18-months after Shepard’s death and conducted over 200 interviews with people in the community.
Those interviews paint a fascinating, sometime funny, incredibly moving and insightful portrait of a town struggling with its own identity and international media scrutiny.
So every word in the play is ‘real’?
Yes. It’s completely based on interviews with the people of Laramie as well as journal entries and court documents. The play does an incredible job structuring this into a satisfying theatrical event.
You’ve produced it before haven’t you? What’s the history behind the show?
It was premiered in Denver, Colorado in February 2000 and then in New York in May 2000. Since then it’s become one of the most produced plays in the USA and has received productions worldwide including two major London productions. Our production is the first major London outing for the show since 2005.
And what’s your relationship with the show?
It started in 2000 when I saw the original Off-Broadway Production. To this day it is one of the most powerful, memorable and special experiences I have ever had in the theatre. It became a goal of mine way back then to direct the show and try to share it with as many people as possible.
Last year we presented it at The Space in Mudchute and revived it as part of the Dublin International Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival. We’re thrilled to bring it to Greenwich Theatre – my home theatre.
It’s been described as a ‘must-see’ and ’emotionally searing’. Why emotionally searing?
Because the audience is aware that every word said on stage came from a real person. The town of Laramie is shown warts and all, and we as an audience are asked to come to our own conclusions about the people and the incidents presented.
The subject matter itself is hugely emotive, and the play is so well structured that the audience becomes completely wrapped up in the story-telling.
Joe Walsh in action in West Side Story. Photo: Mat Roberts / Facebook
Tell us about yourself. You’re from the States but live in Greenwich…
I’m originally from a city called Lynn just outside Boston. I grew up performing and in my teens began directing. Theatre has always been a part of my life. I grew up in a political family and although I didn’t follow directly in their footsteps I feel that my interest in projects like The Laramie Project comes from that background.
Is where you are from anything like Laramie? Are you from Smallsville USA?
Lynn is a fairly big city, so no. But I think what is amazing about The Laramie Project is that I do see some of where I grew up in it and the people I knew. I think the themes and concerns expressed by the townspeople are universal.
How did you end up in London and Greenwich?
I moved here eight years ago to do my Master’s Degree in Directing. I’ve lived in and around Greenwich the whole time.
And now you work fulltime as a director?
At the moment I split my time between freelance directing and education. I’m the musical theatre director in residence for Plumstead Manor, and previously was the head of musical theatre for Greenwich Theatre.
As a director, I’ve directed half-a-dozen UK premieres, a couple of Irish premieres, an acclaimed Irish tour of The King and I and a London revival of The Anniversary. In the West End I served as resident director on When Harry Met Sally and Coyote on a Fence.
What’s Laramie like now?
The company returned to Laramie for the 10th Anniversary of Matthew Shepard’s death to see how the town had changed. It seems that many people feel that Matthew’s death opened a dialogue that changed people’s opinions about sexuality. Others think nothing has changed and there are some who try to excuse the entire incident as a robbery gone wrong.
Matthew’s father said, “Matt’s beating, hospitalization and funeral focused worldwide attention on hate. Good is coming out of evil. People have said enough is enough.”
I suppose one of the messages from the play is that prejudice and bigotry happens anywhere, and can have dreadful consequences. What do you think then when you see something like the News Shopper letter row, in your own big-city back yard?
Well, it’s people like Mrs Fitzsimon’s that make me so proud of the work we are doing with this play. Mrs Fitzsimon is perfectly welcome to her beliefs and opinions, however, it does concern me that this letter may be read by some as a reason to commit violence against members of the gay community – marginalisation and judgement of a minority group plant the seeds of violence.
I would very much like to share The Laramie Project with Mrs Fitzsimon and hear her opinions on the Matthew Shepard case. I will try to get in touch with the News Shopper and offer her free tickets to the show.
Are you a campaigner at heart? Is that why you’ve brought this play to the stage?
Yes, I think I am. I was brought up in a political family and have always been drawn to theatre with a social conscience. I love the theatre. I love all genre of theatre, and I do think that at the heart of anything you can find a message to share.
Can theatre really change the way people think? Or is it usually a case of preaching to the converted?
I think great art can change the way people think. When I saw the original production of The Laramie Project there were older women sitting in front of me. At the interval one said she wasn’t enjoying it and wanted to leave. The other convinced her to stay. By the end the one who wanted to leave had to be helped out of the theatre by her friend because she was so moved. It had a profound impact.
Living in a place as seemingly open as London it is very easy to forget that people have fought hard and some have lost their lives in order to open up a dialogue about sexuality and all forms of equality.
I know your local is the Rose and Crown, next door to the Greenwich Theatre… what are your other local haunts / top tips?
Well, there is obviously our gorgeous park, lovely beer gardens and of course Greenwich Theatre and Picture House. I can also guarantee that the Organic Café has the best breakfast in London.
And what’s next for you? And the Laramie Project?
As I said, we’re keen to bring The Laramie Project to a wider audience. We’d love to take it on tour and find a home for a longer run in London. We’re also developing a very exciting schools project for the show, and are hoping to present The Laramie Project: 10 Years Later at Greenwich Theatre in October. Personally I’ve just begun writing a new musical and am going to be touring Germany with a theatre company.
Thanks Joe. That’s enough from us. Plug your play in 25 words or less.
The Laramie Project is an important, entertaining and moving piece of theatre. It will open your mind and make you think about yourself and your community. It is a special piece of theatre that will resonate with everyone, and leave you contemplative and inspired. Oh, that’s 44!
The Laramie Project, Greenwich Theatre
Tuesday 21 September – Saturday 25 September 2010
Greenwich Theatre Box Office: www.greenwichtheatre.org.uk / 020 8858 7755
A Greenwich charity has slammed the decision by a local newspaper to publish a “homophobic” letter and award it a prize.
The Metro Centre in Norman Road, which provides support services for the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual and Transgender) community says that the letter that was given Star Letter status and awarded with a prize in last week’s News Shopper was “appalling”.
The controversial letter (available to read in full here), written by Mrs Fitzsimons from Lewisham, refers to gay people as being “perverted” and goes on to say that “there is no equality today due to everything being biased towards homosexuality”. She suggests that adverts for gay, lesbian and bisexual clubs promote “perversity”.
As author of the paper’s Star Letter, Mrs Fitzsimons was given a free pen from Webster’s Pen Shop.
Marguerite McLaughlin, CEO of the Metro Centre, has written a furious letter to the News Shopper accusing them of trying to create a “tawdry controversy”. She calls the letter a “hate-filled rant against lesbians, gay men and bisexual people”. The charity boss says that the newspaper should give an apology to its gay readership.
Click here to read Marguerite McLaughlin’s letter to the News Shopper’s editor
Ms McLaughlin has also revealed to Greenwich.co.uk that she has ordered all of the charity’s advertising with the newspaper to be suspended until a satisfactory explanation has been provided by the paper’s editor.
Soon after the letter was published in last week’s Greenwich & Lewisham edition of the freesheet, a storm erupted on local blogs (see here, here and here) and on the social networking site, Twitter.
Greenwich councillor, Nigel Fletcher (Conservative, Eltham North) wrote on his blog that the News Shopper had made a “a big error of judgement” and that rewarding the letter’s author with a prize was “inexcusable”.
Despite a barrage of criticism, the News Shopper, based in Petts Wood, insists that the decision to award the letter with Star Letter status and give its author a prize was not an endorsement of the letter’s content.
Many thanks to local photographer, Warren King, for supplying this photo from Saturday night’s Greenwich Drag Race. The annual event is organised by the Rose and Crown pub, with proceeds going to the Metro Centre in Norman Road.
Brian Clear has posted this great video of the Drag Race up on YouTube:
A man has been sentenced to life in prison for the murder of Greenwich pensioner, Edward Highwood.
Marcin Orlowski, 21, befriended the victim before going back to his home in Hollymount Close where he attacked and robbed him. Mr Highwood, 79, died from injuries caused to his head.
Orlowski was found guilty at the Old Bailey on Wednesday. Yesterday, Judge Richard Hawkins ordered that Orlowski serve a minimum of 23 years in prison.
The Cost of Love (cert. 18) is a new feature film that was filmed almost exclusively in Greenwich and features a very local cast and crew. I joined much of that cast and crew last week for a special screening before its premier next Monday at the Greenwich Picture House.
Greenwich based male prostitute Dale (Christopher Kelham) has all sorts of clients. Dale sees them all, from voyeuristic guys into school uniforms, to an older gentleman into scrubbing the bathroom floor for ‘Sir’ (stylish Greenwich guesthouse owner Robert Gray of ‘The Hotel Inspector’ fame).
Dale loves his job, proclaiming: “I like sex, and lots of it”, however you question this as sometimes he delves deep into his imagination, suggesting that he might not love his job so much after all. Aside from this he also has a normal life as best friend and confidante to Raj (Valmike Rampersad). Raj is confused about his up and coming marriage to ‘boring’ Veena (Mandeesh Gill), shown in some beautiful sun-drenched riverside scenes.
It is quite clear that perfectionist cinematographer Amarjeet Singh has spent hours working on this fine film to make it look the way it does.
The costume and makeup department must also be mentioned, as Michael Joyce a.k.a Estée Applauder as ‘Sean’ looks absolutely fabulous. Michael regularly appeared in drag at local pubs but was tragically killed in November 2009, which is possibly the most moving aspect of the film, since his performance is hilarious. Sean’s best scene is sat at dinner with Dale, Raj and Veena, where he has gone all Indian in his dress and comes out with some of the best quips in the film.
The theme of this film has been portrayed in a fantastically funny way encompassing a multitude of fantasies that most of us never admit we have. Aside from the humour, there is a serious theme which upholds the film, ‘the cost of love’. It cuts across each of the characters’ stories, making the viewer think about fate and sacrifices that we all make in order to be true to ourselves.
Shot on location in Greenwich, director Carl Medland shows life in this part of South East London extremely well, with glimpses of Creek Road and pubs The George and Dragon and The Rose and Crown. In Sean’s drag act he mentions the “177 bus from Peckham to Thamesmead” which only a South East Londoner would have a chuckle at. The Greenwich Drag Race is also shown; as Sean shows his latest flamboyant outfit off to the crowds whilst Dale films on a handheld camera.
This film’s trailer does not do the film justice. When I watched it, I thought it was going to be a cheesy, wall-to-wall sex, ‘gay’ film. There is a fair amount of sex in it, which I think would be missed if it weren’t there, but there is more depth to the film than that. It shows some of life’s problems, whether it’s that dreaded trip to the sexual health clinic, or the memory of an abusive family member, there’s something that most can relate to. I felt that, occasionally, some of the characters’ problems were sprung upon the viewer without sufficient development, but aside from that, they were excellently acted out.
In his first full length movie, Carl Medland has skillfully created a film which successfully speaks to a gay or straight audience, and leaves the viewer feeling both emotional and upbeat by the end of it.
The Cost of Love (cert. 18) will have screenings at The East London Film Festival; Greenwich Picturehouse; and The End of the Pier International Film Festival. More details can be found at www.thecostoflove.com.
It’s not uncommon to see film crews in Greenwich but usually they are here mainly to capture the historic buildings of the Old Royal Naval College and create a perfect period setting. Seeing Greenwich on the big screen as it really is today is something rather less common, but soon to change thanks to a new movie by local film-maker, Carl Medland.
‘The Cost of Love‘ is Medland’s first feature length movie having previously worked on corporate films and a number of award winning shorts. It’s been a very personal project for the Greenwich-based filmmaker – he wrote, directed and part financed the project himself. He is now working on the final edit and looking forward to seeing his film at the Greenwich Picturehouse in the Spring.
Primarily, but by no means exclusively, aimed a gay audience, the film was shot in just sixteen days last August. Greenwich is at the very heart of the film, both with its scenery and its cast. Look carefully and you will see many recognisable places and faces, including Michael Joyce who frequently appeared in local pubs as the drag act, Estee Applauder, and who tragically died in a car crash just months after filming ended, and the ubiquitous Robert Gray.
I met Carl last week at the Picturehouse, naturally, to find out a bit more about him and his new film, and began by asking him about his background.
I moved from Devon to London for university and obtained a 2/1 degree, and after that I set up a theatre company. The thing I most liked doing was the writing of plays and the directing of them. My childhood passion was making films, I used to hire cameras and make short films with family and friends. I set up a film company , and half of my business is making corporate films. Last year was quite a quiet year so I had the time to commit to the project. I’ve done about twenty short films over the past five years, I really needed to make the leap and make my first feature. It’s good to learn your craft on the short films and I’ve won some awards like best music video last year, and best performance in a short film. Everyone kept saying to me “have you done your first feature film?”, so I thought why not get all of Greenwich behind me and make a Greenwich film.
Greenwich.co.uk: What’s the film actually about?
The film speaks quite loudly to a gay audience, although there’s as many straight characters as there are gay. Dale [the central character], played so brilliantly by Christopher Kelham, is like a whirlwind with everyone he comes into contact with, and everyone in the film is affected by love, either good or bad, and they have this real cost to giving themselves to love. It all takes place in Greenwich over four days, and you flashback into the characters’ past as the story unfolds. There’s shades of light and dark, high drama and high comedy.
I wanted to capture the truth of what’s happening today, especially in the gay community. In the last year we’ve had gay beatings, a gay killing, there’s been a lot of homophobic attacks and I didn’t want the film to shy away from those themes. A lot of gay films in the UK come from America, there’s not many British films. I wanted to make a British film, directed at a British audience with British people in real locations.
Greenwich.co.uk: You part financed the film yourself , which is a brave thing to do. Do you think it can be successful?
I think it will. It’s such a professional look to the film. We’ve got really good cameras, really good lighting. Everyone was at the top of their game. The actors were amazing. It’s the best script I’ve written, and I think it all came together.
Greenwich.co.uk: There’s been some quite well known gay British films – I’m thinking ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’, ‘Beautiful Thing’ and ‘Get Real’ – and they have quite a cult following. Do you have the same expectation for this, that it might attract that kind of following?
Yeah, completely, yeah. I really think this would be good for the UK. I think we need another film like ‘Beautiful Thing’ or ‘Get Real’. And actually, ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’, funny you should say that because the whole premise of this film is a white attractive, young guy in love with an Asian guy [played by Valmike Rampersad], so it has that ‘My Beautiful Laundrette’ feel, and there’s a bit of a reference to that and ‘Beautiful Thing’ in the film.
Greenwich.co.uk: A lot of filmmakers choose Greenwich for its period settings. Do you think it works well as a contemporary backdrop for filmmaking?
Yeah, I do. We used the gay bars in Greenwich – we shot scenes in the George and Dragon, and the Rose and Crown, and we used the Metro [sexual health] centre in Norman Road. We also had the Greenwich Drag Race, which we filmed as an actual live event. As we were filming it, there was a scene just before the drag race where Michael [Joyce]’s character gave the character Dale, a handheld camera and says “can you film me?”. So it gives the scene a documentary feel, a bit like ‘Cloverfield‘.
What we’re trying to do with this film is capture the truth. A lot of it based people on people I know; qualities they have. I think some of my friends will know exactly who they are when they watch the film.
The Cost of Love will be shown here at the Greenwich Picturehouse in March with dates and times to be confirmed. Carl believes that the film will then get onto the festival circuit, and he is currently in talks with distributors in the hope of securing a wider release.
A young actor, known to many locally as drag artist Estee Applauder, has been killed in a car accident. Michael Joyce had gone home to Tasmania for Christmas where the incident happened on Wednesday. His mother was also in the car at the time and has been very seriously injured.
Michael was well known for his appearances as “Estee” in local gay venues such as the Rose & Crown pub on Crooms Hill and in the George and Dragon. He had recently completed a role in a forthcoming movie, filmed in Greenwich, called The Cost of Love. One of his co-actors in that film, Robert Gray from the Number 16 B&B, told Greenwich.co.uk:
“Michael Joyce was a one off, who always wanted to know what you had been up to before talking about himself. He was funny, hard working, and Greenwich will be much more dull with his passing. I do hope The Cost of Love will be a great tribute to him”
Friends of the actor gathered in the Rose and Crown this evening to pay tribute to Michael and a Facebook group has been set up in his memory.