A Q&A with Mae Martin...

In advance of her "live" show at Soho Theatre this week (6/7 June, 7.30pm, Tickets from £10), we caught up with Canadian Comedian Mae Martin to see how things are going since we last spoke...



Planet London (PL): How did you enjoy the slumber party tour and your last date at Soho Theatre? - we loved it

Mae Martin (MM): I love Soho Theatre, it's always buzzing with people and energy, and I fancy every member of the staff.

Touring is always great and opening for Nina Conti was brilliant - she's so talented and a good portion of her show is improvised, which is thrilling to watch and so inspiring. I also love long car rides because people are forced to indulge me with my rounds of "would you rather" questions, so tours are good for that.

PL:  Where did you go with the tour? Who was the best crowd?

MM: We went to lots of small towns I had never previously heard of and I sampled all of their jacket potatoes and had a grand old time. Manchester was the best, though - we were in a beautiful old music hall where my Dad once did a play when he was my age!

MM: You're recording your best of live next week... so a few best of questions for you

- best joke you've heard?
Every time someone farts.

- best heckle?
in Edinburgh I once walked on stage and before I had spoken a single word a man yelled, "what are you doing, lass?" which plunged me into an existential crisis because, really, I don't know what I'm doing.

- best joke you never told/used?
I have a thing I do at parties where I improvise the opening monologues to indie movies based on whatever song is playing (I'm great at parties), but I've never thought of a way to do it on stage. I think it might be really annoying.

- best source of material for your sets?
My fears and my family.

 - best thing about being a stand up comedian?
When you are in the zone on stage and improvise a punchline on the spot that you know as you say it is good enough to keep.

PL: What's coming up for you? Any tour dates or special gigs we should know about?
MM: I am really excited about recording my album at Soho Theatre, and then I'm in full Edinburgh Fringe prep mode. My show is at 3:30 every day at the Cowgatehead, and I'm also appearing in Natasia Demetriou's brilliant show at 9:20 at the Underbelly. Come to both!


**************
Mae Martin is performing at Soho Theatre on 6 and 7 June at 7:30pm.

Following a sell-out run at the Soho Theatre in October last year, two-time Canadian Comedy Award nominee Mae Martin returns…
 

Popcorn Comedy and John Noel Management proudly present MAE MARTIN: LIVE AT SOHO THEATRE a best-of hour from one of London’s finest recent imports.

TICKETS: £12.50 (£10)
BOX OFFICE: www.sohotheatre.com; 020 7478 0100


If you're yet to experience the delight of Mae Martin, you can read our previous review from her last Soho Theatre gig 'Slumber Party' here:

COMEDY REVIEW Mae Martin Slumber Party: | Read the full review here

 

We have also had the pleasure of interviewing Mae Martin in the past. If you are interested, you can read this interview here:  INTERVIEW: Mae Martin | Read our feature here

By Katie

 

 

London Gay Big Band reaches Britain's Got Talent Semi Finals

It's an absolutely incredible feeling to be through to the Britain's Got Talent 2014 - Live Semi Finals. 

***Watch London Gay Big Band and vote for them this Saturday 31 May in the live semi finals! ITV 7pm***

When we founded the London Gay Big Band three years ago in a damp and dingy basement of a London bookshop, we could never have dreamt of the amazing journey that we have been on, culminating in our upcoming Semi Final performance this week on the World's most prominent Talent show and a global stage! 


As the only LGBT Big Band in the world, we are proud and privileged to showcase our unique style, music and energy to the entire nation. With Conchita winning this year's Eurovision song contest, the Zeitgeist is absolutely right for another LGBT and gender-stereotype breaking act to be showcased on national television and on digital platforms across the globe. We take our responsibility very seriously, proving that the gay scene is so much more than many of those pre-conceived stereotypes that are so often still prevalent amongst society. Our Band is about about making music. Creating a community spirit. Supporting each other. Breaking boundaries. And bringing something fresh, new and exciting to the LGBT scene and beyond. 

So if there's one thing you do this week - watch Britain's Got Talent, and make your vote count! Let's show our nation the true diversity, variety and spirit of the LGBT community.

Kate Coole (trumpet):
"I think this is a chance to show people that being gay is not just about clubbing. There's a whole lot more to LGBT life, and making music is just one example.

"It's been such a rollercoaster of a ride. We've played for large crowds before, but performing in a TV studio - with the cameras, the lights, the sets - is another thing altogether; an incredible experience. Very exciting!

"Thinking back to our audition at Hammersmith Apollo, among all those other acts auditioning, and now being one of the lucky ones to get through to the semi-final shows is just amazing."

Vince Walsh (trumpet):
"We're not in a competition, we're in an experience and loving it.

"How do I feel about trying to play in front of 10 million people? I'm not the one trying to dance in diamante-encrusted heels.

"Do I think we'll win? We've won just by being here. Millions of people get to hear what we do. That's why we play.

"People forget that Big Band and Jazz music are about fun and emotion. Well, we're here to remind you." 

Stuart (sax):

"If being on prime time TV gives a sign to our international LGBT brothers and sisters that things can be better, then we have done our job."It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing and we are swinging into those semi-finals with all the love we can give!

"I am so proud of what we have achieved as a band, and BGT lets the whole nation share it with us." 


Watch their first performance on Britain's Got Talent here 

by Stefan Doering, Manager and Co-Founder of the London Gay Big Band 

Where art and science make magic: Fun Palaces for 2014

Stella Duffy, writer and theatremaker has set in motion a 2014 cultural movement to bring back to the forefront of modern day society, Joan Littlewood's concept of Fun Palaces - over 50 years on from Littlewood's original vision, and marking the centenary of Littlewood's birth.

Recently announced, Fun Palaces with a modern twist, the brainchild of Duffy, who has teamed up with Co-Director Sarah-Jane Rawlings, has received nearly £200,000 from Arts Council England to support the development of a national Fun Palaces festival (presented by The Albany and Fun Palaces) that will see over 100 pop up Fun Palace events take place around the country on Saturday 4 and Sunday 5 October 2014.

Arising out of a simple question Duffy asked at the beginning of last year, "Who wants to do something for Joan Littlewood’s centenary in 2014, that isn’t another revival?", a movement is really taking shape.

For the uninitiated, Fun Palaces are spaces where participants can  

"Choose what you want to do – or watch someone else doing it. Learn how to handle tools, paint, babies, machinery, or just listen to your favourite tune. Dance, talk or be lifted up to where you can see how other people make things work. Sit out over space with a drink and tune in to what’s happening elsewhere in the city. Try starting a riot or beginning a painting – or just lie back and stare at the sky."

To be accepted as a contribution for this year's festival, the proposed events must be "self-generating, self-organising, and self-funding" and guided by with five principles that ensure a little of Joan Littlewood’s spirit permeates the events of 2014...

• FREE: Fun Palaces are free (for people to participate)
• LOCAL: Fun Palaces have community involvement, engagement and participation at heart.  To make a Fun Palace you agree to ask local people what they would like to do.
• INNOVATIVE: Fun Palaces find new ways to bring the arts, culture and sciences together.
• TRANSFORMATIVE: Fun Palaces intend to transform the place/spaces you are working in, they transform the makers, and they transform the participants. We expect to be different after we have engaged with Fun Palaces.  
• ENGAGING: Fun Palaces are about full participation. Sitting and listening is fine, as long as we also include opportunities to have a go.

Alongside the local events will be a Digital Fun Palace providing an open, welcoming space that connect and encourage contributions from the local Fun Palaces, engaging participants both at actual events and online.

Duffy says “This is not just an event, it is a movement, shouting that arts and culture belong at the heart of the nation. As the Olympics did for sport, Fun Palaces could show that arts, culture and science are also core passions for Britain.”

It's hard not to get caught up in the enthusiasm as Duffy shares "I’m hugely excited about the Fun Palaces campaign – having worked in the arts for over 30 years, I truly believe in the power of arts, especially community-led arts, to make a difference to where we live and how we live. I also believe that when the arts and sciences speak to each other, astonishing things can happen. Joan Littlewood believed in inclusivity and diversity, long before they became the more commonplace (if not achieved) notions that they are today. She was well ahead of her time, hopefully Fun Palaces on 4/5 October will prove how right she was." 

It's not just about 2014 either, with a commitment from Duffy and Rawlings to run the festival for "2015, 16 and beyond". All this plus continuing to write and recuperate, the 20^th anniversary in June of her first novel Calendar Girl (featuring lesbian PI, Saz Martin), and a short story collection coming out with Salt Publishing in September, makes 2014 a busy year for Duffy.


Further information:
#FUNPALACES
www.funpalaces.co.uk
www.thealbany.org.uk
@FunPalaces
@theAlbanySE8

By Katie

DIVE INTO A SPRING FLING

Out to Swim celebrates women in May with free introductory sessions across a range of disciplines

Out To Swim (OTS) is proud to be offering a range of activities and events in May especially for women who swim, or who want to swim more.

May will celebrate OTS’s female members, and open the doors to encourage more women to get in the pool. New female members will be able to participate in a range of activities, from beginners and improvers lessons to coached swimming, synchronised swimming and water polo. For these activities we offer free taster sessions (one free session for lessons, three free sessions for all other activities).

OTS member Alex Davis says “During the past eight years with OTS I've taken part in synchro demonstrations, played water polo, competed in swimming competitions all over the world and had innumerable cakes, dinners and celebrations with fellow team members. I can’t recommend the club enough to any women looking to improve their fitness, take part in new challenges and make some great friends in the process.”

OTS will also be hosting lots of women's events this month, starting with drinks on Thursday 8th May at OTS’s new monthly Women's event. The month will end with a big celebration on the 31st May, which will include a free fun swim with club swimmers past and present and a party. 

The swimming offer

• Beginners Lessons Programme offering one of the best programmes for adults in the country, with four groups of varying ability to suit every level
• Qualified, experienced, award winning teachers to guide you through all the skills to build your swimming strength and fitness
• Coached swimming sessions for club level and competitive swimmers to improve fitness and technique (indoor all year, open water during summer months)
• Water Polo sessions to introduce to and develop skills in this team sport
• Synchronised swimming sessions to improve technique and core strength

Come along for your first swim on a Sunday night or to the women's session on a Thursday night to be sure of an extra warm welcome!

Sunday 7-8pm - Queen Mother Sports Centre

223 Vauxhall Bridge Road, Victoria, London, SW1V 1EL

• New Members
• Swimming Lessons
• Development
• Main Club Group 4
• Main Club Group 3

5.45-7.15pm - Queen Mother Sports Centre

• Synchronised Swimming Coached Session

6.45-7.45pm - Marshall Street Leisure Centre

• 15 Marshall Street, London, W1F 7EL
• Main Club Group 2
• Main Club Group 1

Monday

7-8.30pm - The Serpentine Lido (registration from 6:30pm)  Hyde Park, London, W2 2UH

• 2nd June until 8th September ( you must register with OTS and SwimforTri )

7-8.30pm - Queen Mother Sports Centre  223 Vauxhall Bridge Road, Victoria, London, SW1V 1EL

• Synchronised Swimming Coached Session

7.30-8.30pm - Oasis Leisure Centre  32 Endell Street, London, WC2H 9AG

• Main Club Group 4
• Main Club Group 3
• Main Club Group 2
• Main Club Group 1

8-9pm Impulse Leisure - Wadurs  Kingston Broadway, Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex, BN43 6TE

• Out to Swim South, Two Lanes

Tuesday 8-9pm - University of London Union Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HY

• Main Club Group 4
• Main Club Group 3
• Main Club Group 2
• Main Club Group 1

Wednesday 8.30-9.30pm - Prince Regent Swimming Complex Church Street, Brighton, East Sussex, BN1 1YA

• Two Coached Lanes

8-9pm - Orchard Lisle Swimming Pool At Guys Basement of Wolfson House, Weston Street, London, SE1 3RB

• Development
• Main Club Group 4
• Main Club Group 3
• Main Club Group 2
• Main Club Group 1

9-10pm - Porchester Baths Queensway, Bayswater W2 5HS

• Coached Waterpolo Session
• Intermediate & Advanced Members Only

Thursday 7-8pm - Oasis Sports Centre - Short Distance 32 Endell Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9AG

• Main Club Group 4
• Main Club Group 3
• Main Club Group 2
• Main Club Group 1

7-8pm - Orchard Lisle Swimming Pool At Guys - Open Water Long Distance  Basement of Wolfson House, Weston Street, London, SE1 3RB

• Main Club Group 4
• Main Club Group 3
• Main Club Group 2
• Main Club Group 1

8.00pm - Oasis Sports Centre 32 Endell Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9AG

• Main Club (1-4) Women’s Lane
• Mixed Development

Friday 8-9.30pm - Marshall Street Leisure Centre 15 Marshall Street, London, W1F 7EL

• Development
• Main Club Group 4
• Main Club Group 3
• Main Club Group 2
• Main Club Group 1

8-9pm - Porchester Baths Queensway, Bayswater W2 5HS

• o Coached Waterpolo Session
• o Open to all ability levels

Saturday 5-6pm - University of London Union Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HY

• Main Club Group 4
• Main Club Group 3
• Main Club Group 2
• Main Club Group 1

5-6pm - Roedean Independent School, Rodean Way, Brighton, BN2 5RQ

• Three Coached Lances
• One Instructor-led Lessons Lane

6-7pm - University of London Union Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HY

• Waterpolo Coached Session

6.45-7.45pm - Marshall Street Leisure Centre 15 Marshall Street, London, W1F 7EL

• Lessons

For more information, including full details of what OTS offer and session times, visit http://www.outtoswim.org/women/ or email ots.swim@gmail.com