I’m pleased to say that the show did make me laugh, unlike the clip above. Quite a lot actually and Franklin was a likeable performer, unlike the clip above. I do think the new performance style owes quite a lot to Russell Brand, or possibly Jordan Gray, Brand’s very own mini-me.
The feminism of fools with Sophie Lewis, part deux …
Stood behind the lectern draped with her own keffiyeh, Lewis spoke about the need to fight fascism. I must admit I didn’t actually notice the keffiyeh until she muttered the word ‘inshallah’ much later, which I’ll explain when we get to it. But just to highlight up front how clueless Lewis and academia generally is towards an ideology which would happily vaporise them in an instant.
Review of documentaries: Trans Memoria & Everywhere I Look
Introduction I returned to the BFI’s Flare Festival 2025, which is now forty years old (it began life, of course, as a lesbian and gay
Review of Leigh Bowery! – Tate Modern Exhibition
I couldn’t be arsed to upload the photos to my laptop, so this review exists as a thread on Twitter instead and is probably the
In Conversation: Shon Faye on his new book ‘Love in Exile’
It always startles me just how popular trans still is; Shon Faye almost sold out the event, a thousand seater, in the Queen Elizabeth Hall, Southbank. It was mainly young women but a fair few trans-identified males of various ages were dotted throughout. On the whole it felt like a cis-het crowd though, if you’ll pardon the lingo, one desperate to align itself to everything woke and a poke in the eye to its mums. Pre-signed books were available in the foyer, a neat way of letting us know that Faye was not to rub shoulders with us later. That didn’t bother Faye’s biggest fan though, sat next to me, who literally laughed, gasped, sighed, etc, non-stop in response to his asinine lispy utterances.
Journey through Del LaGrace Volcano’s archive
Two hours. Two hours of Del LaGrace Volcano (formerly Della Grace but Deborah Diane Wood originally) talking non-stop. You would expect an artist looking back over her massive oeuvre to spend at least some time speaking eloquently of her interest in portraiture and composition but no, all we got were anecdotes about all the people she had known.
The Lies They Tell 
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