Something to Pout About - 4th Birthday and a new venue!

Venue: Yager Bar, 2-3 Old Change Court, Peters Hill, London EC4M 8EN

Tickets: £5 guest list in advance; £7 before 10pm; £10 after. www.theglassbar.org.uk/id1.html

Timing: 8pm to 2am 

Photos of Pout's 4th Birthday:

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POUT is back with a-vengeance for it's 4th Birthday, making it one of the most established club nights around for lesbians and bi women in London.

This month it takes place in it's new venue, the laid-back Yager Bar. Drinks are average for London. There are sexy seating areas, and a large capacity, a bar area, mezzanine dance floor and smoking balcony - meaning it's a great space to hold this buzzing event.

Popular DJ's Jo Bunny (9pm-11pm), Ritu (11pm-1am) and Shady Lady (1am-2am) play a mix of feel good music: Disco, funk, soul, pop dance, 90s club house - something for all tastes and guaranteed to keep you on the dance floor all night. 

The birthday party celebration is about the friends we have made, the laughter had and the fact events like POUT represents all that is good about being able to meet other wonderful gay women.

POUT is run by Elaine McKenzie, known throughout the London scene as the creator of the Glass bar. Elaine continues to run Glass Bar events for the community because she wants to "provide a variety of choice for women to come out and play and interact, extend their friendship circle. It's about a space with no stereotypes." 

Following a short break to take a time out and reflect over the summer (with a book and the radio and family), Elaine is back with a bang, refreshed and raring to go. She appreciates all the positive feedback she's had from Glass Bar fans over the summer, and especially her National Diversity Award Nomination. She was a runner up in the 2013 NDAs this year. The Glass Bar itself turns 18 this year. More reasons to celebrate at POUT.

NB: Yager Bar has a strict door entry policy so when coming to POUT you must, must have photographic ID to enter the Yager Bar. This is a condition on their drinks license.

 

Not just Lounging About - the REBIRTH of LOUNGE!

Yes, it's true LOUNGE is making it's return to London on November 30th at Voltaire in Central London. 

Lounge, run by scene legend Christine Townsend ended in 2012 because of a number of factors. One of the Lounge crew was lost to cancer which understandably affected the rest of the team's party spirit. 

The evolving scene meant the event changed - it lost some of it's original atmosphere and the venue wasn't creating the special vibe the organisers wanted, so they decided to stop.

There is a real challenge to running a successful club night for lesbians an bi women, it's not easy, it's hard work to make it work and make it a night women want to attend and not many people really understand that. Also, the tastes of women that go out on the scene have changed since 2001 when Lounge started - it's good to change things up, take stock and be able to respond to that.

Townsend mentions the space that lesbians and bi women need for socialising has also changed - it's less about a segregation and more about a celebration if les/bi taste.

Unsurprisingly Lounge regulars were disappointed that the event had ended. For Townsend it was a 'period of mourning' as she genuinely thought there would never be another Lounge event. However she needed to give time to other business projects in the pipeline.

Townsend wants Lounge to return. She knows people have missed Lounge, she knows people may want something different from the event. She's heard through the grapevine about all the connections Lounge gave the women that went along (turned into weddings and babies!). There's an appreciation that Lounge allowed lesbian and bi women's events to feel a bit of glamour rather than the stereotyped dank basement affair.

It's back now because it's wanted, because the time is ripe for the music the organisers want to play (soul, disco, hip hop and funk) and because digital media allows an opportunity to grow and promote the event.

Most importantly, the venue Voltaire was the key ingredient inspiring the rebirth. Townsend describes it as 'fabulous' with 'wow factor'. There's a separate entrance, secluded and heated smoking area, sophisticated decor, and a great sound system. Plus lovely staff and a sense of sauciness. There are vaults for privacy and snuggling. And there are cocktails.

Currently, there's only one date - November 30 - on the horizon but if it's a success it could lead to more. There's a lot of pressure on event organisers to pay an upfront hire fee and a minimum bar spend. If these aren't met the organiser is liable. If these figures don't satisfy the venue, they will quickly replace one event with the next.

Guests can expect a stylish event that shies away from drinks offers and cheesy chart music. Lounge is going to have it's own identity through its music and venue. A cool vibe, that does not alienate people - for women who want to have a good, sophisticated time.

Where: Voltaire, 19 New Bridge Street, London, EC4V 6DB 
When: Saturday 30th November from 8pm Who: Sophisticated, discerning and gorgeous ladies and their devilishly handsome boys Door: Very limited £5 in advance tickets, otherwise £10 on the door Music: Classic disco, soulful house, retro grooves and ironic anthems
Tickets: £5 in advance, £10 on the door.
More info: www.welovelounge.co.uk;
https://www.facebook.com/LoungeLondon

Spotify playlist Lounge Rebirth

Twitter: @L_ounge / @ceetownsend

Theatre: From Russia with Love

Date: Sunday 27th October 2013 @6.00pm 
Where: Marylebone Gardens, 35 Marylebone High Street, London W1U 4QA 
Nearest Tubes: Regents Park, Baker Street 
Tickets: £20. 
Available: from http://www.ticketsource.co.uk/event/44289 
**This a promenade performance. If you require a seat please email  in advance.

A one-off theatre show raising money for groups combating homophobia in Russia. When Jennifer Lunn, Artistic Director of Culturcated Theatre Company, had the idea for “From Russia For Love”, she had no idea whether anyone would be interested. “But we put the call out there, and suddenly, we were overwhelmed with people wanting to help and get involved”, said Jennifer. “The response has been just amazing”. 

Over 17 theatre companies are now involved, and those performing on the night include actresses from ITV hit show, Broadchurch - Simone McAullay (who played hotel owner Becca Fisher) and Carolyn Pickles (Maggie Radcliffe, Editor of the Broadchurch Echo). 

“It’s gonna be great,” says Simone. “We get into the venue on the day having already rehearsed our scenes, and then we literally do the show, and get out again. Rough and ready, Pussy Riot-style guerrilla theatre!” 

Says Carolyn, “I couldn’t wait to get involved. It just feels like such an important cause”. 

Jennifer describes the show: “We are working with two theatre companies who have taken over this old BBC building in Marylebone, and now use it for performances. On the night, our companies will be performing in different rooms, doing love scenes from Russian plays, poems and monologues, all recast with same sex couples. The audience can wander at will, and find different scenes happening simultaneously. A bit like Punchdrunk meets Chekov, with a party vibe going on at the same time”. 

She continues: “It has been one of those, ‘sod it, lets just do it’ kind of things. From start to finish, we’ll have had 5 weeks to pull it all together, so it is real seat-of-your-pants, exciting stuff”. 

All the money raised will go to Stonewall and the Russian LGBT Network, who work with groups on the ground in Russia. Since the Russian parliament passed a law that outlaws the ‘propaganda of homosexuality’, the difficulties for the LGBT community, and acts of violence against them have been well documented. 

Stonewall are working with the UK Foreign Office to lobby for equality in Russia, and are welcoming the event. Jasmine O’Connor, Stonewall Senior International Officer said: ‘We’re really grateful that this event is supporting our international work. We’re using our established lobbying skills to make sure the UK Government and European Union do all they can through their diplomacy and international aid programmes to support gay equality globally.’ 

“Stonewall have been really supportive,” says Jen. “I guess we’ve got the same core message: same sex = same love. And when it is that simple, people just say yes”. 

For Them on World Coming Out Day

Jill Bennett directs this moving tribute video -  a tribute, a goodbye, that Jill felt compelled to film after another rash of suicides within the LGBT community in America. 

In Jill's own words:

Back in February, I read a story about Jadin Bell, an Oregon boy who was bullied and subsequently hanged himself.  I was brought to tears reading about his father's quest to cross the country on foot in hopes of educating high school students about bullying and suicide.  I felt sad...angry...confused.  It brought me back to 2010 when Dan Savage created the It Gets Better initiative in response to the rash of LGBT suicides that year.  Every time a new story about another suicide broke, our community's collective response was one of frustration and hopelessness.  

How could this still be happening?   In this era of legalized gay marriage, GSA's, Glee...how could our community still be struggling this much with self-hatred?   

I had the idea for this tribute then, but it wasn't until August when lesbian filmmaker Vanessa Libertad Garcia took her life that I finally decided to call upon some friends to help me say goodbye.  While I did not know Vanessa personally, we exchanged emails and messages via social media on a few occasions.  She had actually reached out to me about an upcoming project just one month before her suicide.  

Her public suicide note was an absolutely devastating and painful post to read, but I think it captured the hopelessness that these people must have felt in their final moments of life.  We used portions of her letter in the video.  

I read her post and once again, I cried.  I cried for Vanessa, for Jadin, for all of them.  I felt powerless, impotent.  I wondered what more could be done.  I knew that I didn't have the answer, but what I could do is say goodbye.  This video is a tribute and a statement from us, the survivors.  My aim was to capture our pain and reaction to this epidemic.

All the actors featured in the video are members of our community - Dalila Ali Rajah, Conor Lane, Tyler Lowell, Haviland Stillwell, Tom Lowe and Lauren Neal.  I asked them to read Vanessa's suicide note, and simply filmed their response.  We had to use Sia's song "Breathe Me" because her evocative, haunting words still remain the quintessential soundtrack to this tragedy, even almost a decade after its release. 

We're proud to support and publish this video - please share it.

Barberette in photos

We popped in to see Barberette Klara in her new home. We took some pictures because we were so impressed with the salon and wanted to share this with you. As well as getting your barnet sorted, Klara offers an exhibition wall, a community noticeboard, a mini bookcase of lesbian and hair literature and a few games to boot. Klara is going out of her way to make her salon a welcoming space.
 

 
Klara has some great ideas so watch this space as this gender neutral Barber has big plans and Planet London are looking forward to supporting her in these plans!!!
 
Read our recent feature here: http://planetlondonfeatures.blogspot.co.uk/2013/08/bar-bar-bar-bar-barberette-now-in-east.html

Naomi

Changes afoot for The Lesbian Lounge @ MyLesbianRadio.com

If you've listened to the "Lesbian Lounge" podcast from October 2nd, you'll already know this, but for those of you who haven't yet tuned in, Denise and Donna made a major announcement on the show, "We'll now be a direct-to-podcast show," they explained, citing the big "T's"- technology & timing as the main reasons. 

If you are familiar with "The Lesbian Lounge" you'll know that for the last 8 years, Denise and Donna hosted a weekly, live-streaming internet radio show from MyLesbianRadio.com every Wednesday night with an unwavering commitment to their live listening audience, very rarely missing a date over the years. 

"Schedules, time differences, day jobs...LIFE...and technology has finally beaten us down," they joked. But, in all seriousness, it was a difficult decision for the girls to make, knowing that being a live streaming show is what has set them apart from other shows you can find online. 

With heart felt thanks to the live listeners who made Wednesday nights such a good time over the years, the ladies bid adieu to the live broadcast days and are focusing on the positive. "We really aren't going anywhere, we'll still be in your ears constantly because we have a bunch of new stuff coming your way, as well as your ol' stand by, The Lesbian Lounge," says Denise. 

The girls will record "Lesbian Lounge" shows on a more limited basis, but with the same helpful, informative and explosively funny, raw format as they always have. "Just because we're going to record the show, it doesn't mean we're editing out anything, so if we fall off a chair, you'll hear it, if we spit soda out of our noses from laughing, you'll still hear it," says Denise. 

In addition to the "Lesbian Lounge",  the MyLesbianRadio.com team in conjunction with ReallyWow Productions, LLC. will be producing some new podcasts with exclusive, extended interviews with some familiar LGBT famous face as well as a variety of new content including book chats with some of our favourite authors, conversations with great indie bands & performers from all over the globe, a multi-part series on the making of an indie film with it's writer, Shiralyn Lee plus special spotlights on creative projects happening from all kinds of international LGBT artists including comedians, singers, actors, directors, producers, authors, bloggers. 

As usual, you can find Denise hosting at many different local gay & lesbian events throughout the UK, and Donna's familiar face at tons of LGBT events in South Florida. 

For interviews & bookings, please contact Denise (denisew@mylesbianradio.com) 

Planet London's interview with Denise & Donna: http://bit.ly/14YcYOY

"Exciting times ahead so stick with us!"- Now is the time to subscribe to the iTunes or Podbean feed so you don't miss anything! 

• iTunes:  https://itunes.apple.com/gb/podcast/lesbian-lounge/id417672606?mt=2 
• or from Podbean: www.mylesbianradio.podbean.com 

 

Interview with Mae Martin

We caught up with Mae Martin as she prepared for her upcoming show at Soho Theatre (Wed 9 to Sat 12 October). We decided to dig into her inner mind and find out a bit more about Mae and her comedy antics.

Q. What is your favourite joke?
I sometimes search for "people falling down" on YouTube. Hours of fun. Also my brother used to tell a joke when we were kids that was pretty classic - the basic structure was he would insult me, I would cry, then he would say "just kidding!"

Q. How do you deal with hecklers?In England it's usually just friendly people answering rhetorical questions and joining in the conversation, which I love to engage with. In Canada it's usually my parents shouting "get a job!" from the back, which is trickier.

Q. What has been your best audience response to date and why?Once a woman arrived late to my show bleeding profusely from her knee, and sat right in the front row. She'd fallen over on the way in. Minutes later the venue staff came in and tried to convince her to get medical help but she aggressively refused, saying she'd been looking forward to the show for ages. Luckily I didn't bomb. I loved that, though. That was great.

Q. Where has been the best place that you have got inspiration from when you least expected it?Kids have a way of identifying all your insecurities in a weirdly abstract way. I used to look after a four year old who, in response to me telling him he wasn't allowed any more Oreos, told me that my calves looked like spiky chickens and my head looked like a light bulb. That inspired me.

Q. What is the journey to get from initial concept to full-blown set for you (or at least for this slumber party show)?
The journey involves so many patient, bemused audiences enduring long rambling sets with no punch lines. If you go on stage with no real jokes enough times your instinct for self-preservation kicks in and the punch lines start to emerge. I always record my sets on my phone and listen to them on the way home, too. And I have friends who give me extremely, unnecessarily harsh feedback, which helps.

Q. Have you found it hard to break into the comedy circuit as a female comedian? What has helped and hindered?
On the live circuit things are getting much better in the past few years I think. Less casual sexism and less reluctance to book more than one woman on a bill. Generally I've had an ok time! When you get to TV, though, there's still a huge imbalance - on most panel shows etc. there is still a noticeable absence of female comedians, which is so discouraging. 

Q. If you were to go and see any other female comedian, who and why?
The list is endless. Claudia O'Doherty's show Pioneer at the Soho Theatre just rocked my world and I'm opening for Nina Conti on tour right now and she is brilliant. I'd love to see Chelsea Peretti, Tig Notaro, or Sarah Silverman live. Or Amy Poehler and Tina Fey doing an improv set would probably make me weep.

Q. Three words to describe why people should come and see the show at soho theatre?We. Will. Hug.
I. Am. Broke.


MAE MARTIN: SLUMBER PARTY AT THE SOHO THEATRE 9TH – 12TH OCTOBER
Buy tickets here: http://sohotheatre.com/whats-on/mae-martin-slumber-party/

Website: www.maemartin.ca
Facebook www.facebook.com/maemartincomedy
Twitter: @TheMaeMartin