Stonewall Fundraiser: Girls' Night Out

Laughter, in the name of equality

Venue: Bloomsbury Theatre
Tickets: £25

It's a rare scenario whereby a large theatre audience is ostensibly, notably made up almost entirely of women - and gay women at that. What a turn out for the second Girls' Night Out - raising the profile not only of female comedians, but also in aid of a fantastic cause - Stonewall.

Expertly hosted by a well behaved Jen Brister, the utmost pro MC, who guided us through the most amazing line up of all female comedy, all waiving their fees for the night (whom, we were told by opening speaker Stonewall Deputy Chief Executive Laura Doughty, Jen helped to draw in).

And what a high calibre line up we were treated to. A mixture of lesbian and lesbo-friendly comedians, all personifying women power. 

Kathryn Ryan opened the line up, and chatted, danced, face-pulled her way through a recreation of the ultimate beautiful powerful black woman's performance as Beyonce at the Superbowl (and in the bank queue and at the supermarket).

Suzi Ruffell took us on a hilarious tour through a break up experience with her girlfriend (with the gift of hindsight), living life as a lesbian in a house share in East London (that's full time lesbian, right?) and whether £106 and a hangover buys you a branch of Wetherspoons?

Rosie Wilby, hot-pants-clad, hot stuff, brilliantly courted us (and Jen Brister) through a slice of lesbo-life.

The first act ended with Derek star Kerry Godliman and the dramas of becoming a washing machine review reader in this modern world. 

Act 2 opened with Francesca Martinez, redefining normal (by how many times we poo a day) with a personal spin that challenges preconceptions and enlightens. 

We learned about the non-Stonewall-approved scheme 'Shadow a Lez' whereby straight women can explore all the facets of being a lesbian and go from 0-100% in just a day. Leisa Rea, and shadower Candy were sponsored by Gran's Going Gay - an independently produced set of commercials to raise awareness of the fact older women can come out too.

Australian Hannah Gadsby took us on tour with her Junior State level Golf Squad (apparently you only needed to be able to hold a stick to make it) all the way through to the awkward and somewhat painful moment she rode the kiddie waterslide post-pubetic spurt. A lesson for us all.

'Headlining' in a non headline sense of the word, was firm favourite Zoe Lyons, who made it very clear to us life is still exciting post-40 (and thrills come from all new places) and she does not want to die trapped in her own anorak.

This event drew an amazing turnout, yes lesbians can go out on a Monday believe it or not, mostly an older crowd (well the over 30s cheered more loudly than the unders). It was just lovely to see so many women laughing their socks off in the name of a good cause, and to celebrate that women can be funny!

By Katie

Rosie Wilby, Nineties woman: Revolution or Reloaded?

Venue: Lost Theatre, Wandsworth

Date: 2 July

Rosie Wilby’s humour-filled Quest tale of attempted rediscovery of all that student anger and passion that swallowed us up whole at 19 and 20 offers a humble, nostalgic but not nauseating lens through which to peer back in time at our younger selves (especially those of us that were ‘activists’ and feminists in our glory days) and re-live what is was that fuelled us in our wonder years, and what formed us to the ‘grown ups’ we are today (or perhaps still aspire to be).

Autobiographical and often self-deprecating but at the same time universal and engaging, Rosie takes the audience on three journeys. From the attic of her childhood home, thanks to a mother who hasn’t thrown anything away, to York university in the early nineties, we trace the steps of Rosie’s quest to find out why it mattered to be a feminist then, and where it sits with the women of Matrix newspaper (York’s first student feminist paper) today.

The performance opens with a mysterious set of curiosities (props) laid out on a table, and Tori Amos’s “Crucify” as a soundtrack, building in expectation towards a Star Wars/Red Dwarf-esque entry that is complimented by another angry female guitar track from Wilby’s own 90s band.

Once back in the past, and then the further past, Wilby muses over why women got involved in the cause in the first place – was it about fitting in, finding a voice or lust-driven (mainly lust), or all of the above in some cases?

There are also, inevitably, losses to mourn, the loss of that political passion as people grow up, the loss of women’s only spaces and the worrying evolution of political feminism into girl power followed by apathy. Meaning the issues that were written about in the original Matrix (body image, violence against women) were the same issues that were being written about in Matrix Reloaded the 2006 reformed version of the magazine.

Video clips of lively interviews with some of the former Matrix feminists provided a light hearted and wider subjective perspective of the origins of Matrix and joining the cause, and give Wilby the opportunity to comment on the quest and its journeys, via subtle but hilarious re-enactment mime, with props, of what is taking place on screen.

As the journey, and pursuing narrative rounds its climax, the pace quickens, the soundtrack swells and a triumphant Rosie emerges from a gate crashing-lake entrance scenario, only to be escorted away by Security and twenty years of time passing.

If you were ever an angry student, or if you’ve ever looked back at your life and thought that used to really mean something to me, this one-woman show is for you.

Witty, empathetically nostalgic, and incredibly well narrated; a thoroughly enjoyable piece with a chance for self reflection thrown in.

By Katie

 

 

Hip Hip Hooray, we sash-ayed the Big Gay 10k

Sunday 30 September, Vauxhall Pleasure Gardens. Sunny cloudy weather. A bunch of gays. What more could you want for the end of the Summer?

We arrived early, ready to set up our stall, which was bang in the middle of the row of pop up gazebos.

Within an hour we were ready to go with our village fete games – pick a lolly, play your cards right, tombola and find the cash behind the tube station, as well as a fine assortment of homemade cakes to sell (Naomi spent all day Saturday in the kitchen baking!).

Katie checked in for the walk, and took park in the group limbering up, with lots of dynamic stretches led off from the main stage.

Just before midday, Diva’s Jane Czyzselska called all the women over to take part in the lesbian visibility kiss. Before we knew it dozens of lesbians were smooching away with each other.

And then, Cheryl Baker was calling the start of the walk! All the runners, walkers and mincers led off, on the 10k path that took them along the riverside, South Bank, up to London Bridge, over and back down the other side.

It was a beautiful walk and the weather was perfect. It got a little busy in the South Bank area and Westminster – making it hard to keep full pace throughout, but Planet London walkers returned to Vauxhall in very respectable times indeed.

The afternoon continued with some great acts on the live stage including lesbian bands such as Grey Matter, stand up comedians Jen Brister and Zoe Lyons, and rounding off with members of the L Project singing It Gets Better.

The village fete worked really well and all the stalls had made a big effort to be fun and informative. There was a chilled party-like atmosphere all afternoon.

Planet London is very proud to have been a part of this event – walking and in the fete. We raised approximately £200 from the stall and walking which will go towards helping London Friend and Pace.

Red in the Face Comedy at Candy Bar

Date:             Thursday 22 March 2012
Location:       The Candy Bar, 4 Carlisle Street, Soho
Price:              £7 members, £9 non-members

Sweet Sensation

We were lucky to unwrap four sweet treats at the monthly Red in Face Candy Bar Comedy night along with a motley crew of lesbians who were anything but the perceived stereotypical customer (think art dealers and microbiologists!).

In the depths of the Candy Bar basement, renowned for being home to damp drunken dancing on the weekend or pole dancing, is now also home to London's newest lesbian comedy night.

The night, which draws in excellent talent from London and further afield, had us laughing from start to finish.

Gracefully compered by last minute sub in Juliet Stephens, the scene was set for the expected and the unexpected comedy of turkish delights.

American Katie McCabe, musing over cultural differences across the pond, also gave us a refresher course on the joke that is the Citizenship test.

Christmas for Two offered a pick 'n' mix of sketches and are certainly a duo to watch out for, in particular their Victoria Wood-esque internet sketch.

Finally classic confectionery in the form of Zoe Lyons rounded off our sugar high covering everything from Germany's towel on the sunbed of Greece to Chawoua's in a pram.

Red in the Face Comedy is a monthly event at the Candy Bar. Tickets are a mere £7 for members or £9 for non-members. 

Great value and each month has a different set of talent to offer. Previous comediennes to provide allsorts of comedy include Tiffany Stevenson, Julie Jepson, Sarah Campbell and Mae Martin.

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Feature by Naomi