Sinderfella

I don't tend to write reviews of shows I've seen, but feel I have to for a panto I saw last night called Sinderfella. It is currently showing at the Above The Stag theatre in Victoria, and well worth the trip and price of admission. First of all, a big thank you to Anthony B for sorting out some kind of deal with them in which the Pinkies support them, and they support us in return. And I happen to think it is wonderful that we have these small cabaret type places which support gay-themed theatre.

Anyway, Sinderfella tells the age-old story of a lovely drag queen played by Bette Rinse who wants to go to the Prince's ball(s), but who is constantly thwarted by her ugly step sisters. Along the way there are a footman, a fiary godmother and a rather random camp Russian to deal with. It is very rude/ lewd, so avoid it if you are prudish. And be prepared for audience participation as along the way there is a lot of singing and dancing in your seat.

I went with a couple of friends who, shall we say, were all the merrier for a few hours in the pub previously. The cast handled their enthusiasm with consummate professionalism, and I have to say that our boistrous row (which also included Michael Da and Daniele) actually helped lift the performance. How often can you find five people who know all the lyrics to It's Raining Men, Dancing Queen, Hero (the Mariah Carey version) and Be Our Guest, and who are willing to sing it at maximum volume?

All in all not a panto for the faint-hearted, but oh so much fun if you are willing to get into the spirit of things. A must at this time of the year!

New Press Photos!

At yesterday's dress rehearsal Mark's uncle came along and took photos for more up-to-date press pics. Here is a taster of things to come! The tenors are looking particularly resplendent, if I may say so myself. I can't wait for the rest - it is a standing joke that the press always uses the same prehistoric photo of us from years ago. Now at least they'll have something else they can choose.

A Man Bra For Your Moobs

Okay, it is Christmas, and time to go present hunting. What better to get that (slightly pudgy) man in your life but a man bra? I mean we already have mantyhose, so really, it represents the next logical step. In fact, a company in Japan called Wishroom clearly thinks the time has arrived for boulder holsters for men and has started selling them on-line. In a few short weeks the man bra has become their top selling item. Why? Well as their rep says, "I like this tight feeling. It feels good.”

A pity about the model they're using though, it is already a tough sell. I'll take three in pink please.

A Bit Of Diversity At Christmas

On Saturday two of the Pink Insiders, as well as some other Pink Singers, went along to the Diversity Christmas Concert: O Magnum Mysterium. It was a fantastic performance, and a great demonstration of choral singing, not only in its traditional sense, but also in a modern way, with a few exciting chants and poems thrown in for good measure. The concert's eponymous piece was performed twice: at the very start in the de Victoria incarnation which I had not heard before, and at the very end in the Lauridsen arrangement. The latter is, without a doubt, one of my favourite pieces of Christmas music, and is very difficult to sing with its long sustained notes. It requires a significant amount of choral discipline to perform it without sliding down the register, and even more sweat and tears to put the emotion into it. Diversity performed it with aplomb and I applaud them greatly for it.

Sitting in St. Botolph's, I couldn't help but wonder how fortunate we are to be in a city which can sustain three major gay and/or lesbian choirs. Of course, the reason is that choral singing is a very diverse art: Diversity certainly tackles the more technically challenging end of the musical scale, the London Gay Men's Chorus has a brasher and more theatrical style, and the Pinkies, well, we try to do a bit of everything. Then there is the actual choir itself and its community which is different in all three.

Eyeballing Diversity, they are now over forty in number. When I first went along to a concert of theirs, about six years ago, they were only half that. Indeed, the Pink Singers have increased in size as well, mainly in an attempt to accomodate the growing interest in choral singing we've been having. I do wonder whether this is due to the halo effect of 'Last Choir Standing' on telly, or people generally want to get out and meet people in these financially uncertain times. Whatever the reason, all three choirs seem to be enjoying a bit of a sustained renaissance and that has got to be a good thing.

It certainly bodes well for Various Voices next year!

Dress Rehearsal And One Week To Go!

It is now under a week to the concert and the pace is picking up. Yesterday was the dress rehearsal back at our old haunt, the Royal Academy of Music. As the choir has grown in size, so have we outgrown the rooms. One of the few spaces which could fit us all in was the small concert hall in the basement, but with poor ventilation and the cramped conditions, sitting there for two hours I caught more than an intimate whiff of eau de Pinquie.

After the break it was into Duke's Hall for the dress rehearsal. I love the venue. First of all it looks very grand, but more importantly, it is designed specifically for choral performances and is very forgiving. Unlike the rehearsal rooms at the Place for instance, all the voices are almost forcibly melded into one, and the resonance is really audible. The change in venue is significant, and it is a great indicator that we are sounding good when I suddenly feel I could cry because one of the songs we are singing is so beautiful. This certainly was the case for Midwinter: what a glorious song! The choreography was also fine-tuned by the very capable Karin and Rachel, and it is looking slick.

The other thing to say is that it is really wonderful that the formal concert gear has really smartened up in the last few seasons. Whereas before almost anything black was the norm, I noticed quite a few waistcoats and jackets in amongst the mix. That really is the way to do it: my hearty approval.

So, one last rehearsal to polish the music on Thursday, and then it is the concert this Saturday - hope to see you there! Tickets are available in the column on the right.

Glamour Shot?

From this week's QX magazine. Guess who was considered hot enough to make it into the photos?

With WAD on December 1st, it was always going to be a week packed full of charity fundraising nights, but rather than boring, dry, dull-as-dish-water affairs, we usually find they are stacked with fun, frolics and dragtastic performances designed to lovingly coax the pennies and pounds from our pockets rather than extract them by guilt! ‘Speaking Out for Ourselves’ (an HIV positive support group in Haringey) and ‘Positive Rainbow’ (a group of positive gay men working in north London) organised a joint fundraiser at Catch 22, a cute, small local boozer in Turnpike Lane, complete with a full complement of Pink Singers who ran through a set of traditional, as well as more modern numbers, that will form part of their huge forthcoming show at the Royal Academy of Music (Dec 13th). The evening was hosted by the inimitable W.O.H, Sandra who spiced it up with close-tothe-
knuckle comedy and songs, as well as drag terrorist Miss Rose Garden and the lovely Mrs Moore in one of Rose’s cast offs! With food and drink served by friendly (and hot … Lewis … mmmmm!) bar staff, it was one charity event that was a joy to be at.

Ding Dong Merrily On High!

I thought I was sick of carols on Monday, but then the Pinkies did another carolling gig, this time on behalf of Marie Curie Cancer Care at Victoria Station last night. Then I realised I didn't truly know what 'sick' was. Let me first of all say that I am thankful that I do not have to take public transport to go to work since I cycle most places. The crush getting from home to the station was not a pleasant one, and not one I wish to experience again. On the flip side, however, it did mean that there were more people to see us sing.

In fact, I'm not sure we could have had a more different venue if we tried. First of all there was a constant stream of people walking from the underground to the train platforms. There was talking, announcements over the tannoy and flashing advertisements around us, so it was entirely different from the near empty streets of Soho last night. We could barely hear ourselves sing it was so noisy.

As events go, however, I think this time round was more successful because many more people stopped to listen and donate a bit of cash. After having spent most of yesterday's carolling trying to find harmonies for the six carols in our set, I was also more confident of singing out. In numbers we were fewer, but in music we were stronger.

When I was a tourist in London at Christmas many years ago I remember seeing a group of carollers performing outside Penhaligon's in Covent Garden. It was such a wonderfully twee scene, just thinking about it makes me feel all warm and mushy inside. So it is pretty wonderful to be view things from the other side, and even more so knowing that we are doing our bit for charity, and having a good time at that!

Fa La La La La La La La La!

Is it possible to be sick of Christmas Carols? Until Monday evening, I thought this was a physical impossibility. This was, of course, before I had sung all six verses of The Holly And The Ivy six or seven times in one night, as part of the Pinkies small group. As part of our annual tradition, a bunch of us from the choir volunteers their time to carol for good causes, and Monday night's event was in aid of Crusaid for World AIDS Day.

It was a freezing night, and an intrepid bunch of Pink Singers gathered on the corner of Berwick and Broadwick Street to sing a few songs. We were joined by bucket carrying fund-raisers from Crusaid and a trio of drag queens who looked fabulous darling! It was a rather incongruous bunch, but made rather Christmassy by Michael De's conical hat (concealing a fleece beanie underneath), his sleigh bells, and a tiny Christmas tree. Hey, at least we could rock around it!

It turned out that our start location had perhaps less footfall than anticipated, and so we migrated over to Old Compton Street where there was marginally more traffic. I can't actually remember having been in Soho on a Monday night before, so didn't really know who or what to expect on the street. As it turned out there were commuters rushing home, a few drunken women staggering home from an office party, some tourists, an Italian waiter in his Fonz black leather jacket, quite a few cute gay men and the resident homeless man.

Most of them looked on with incredulity as we stood in the freezing cold, but the majority were quite supportive and stopped for a while to watch us perform before making a donation. The homeless gentleman even came up to us clutching a chopstick and led us with a bit of impromptou conducting. He got a bit too near to Cilla's guitar for comfort but stepped back when she said a stern 'no' to him and shook her head disapprovingly.

We had a short 15 minute break before regrouping for the final half hour at about 9pm. By then the slight drizzle was turning into quite significant rainfall, and the streets were clearing. Michael gave us the chance to call it quits, but as Janet said, only the Pink Singers are crazy enough to say, oh let's just sing a couple of songs and see whether the rain will stop. After a burst of Hark the Herald Angels Sing it actually did, and we closed the evening with our first public performance of Rockin' 'round the Christmas Tree. Thank goodness for Michael's little prop!